The annual Leopolis Jazz Fest in Lviv has been listed as one of Europe’s top 10 festivals by the U.K. newspaper The Guardian and compared to the famous Montreux Festival in Switzerland.
But one visitor has called Leopolis “a sell-out” after its ninth festival.
This particular comment refers to the organizational flaws of the festival, such as smaller free picnic areas for larger crowds. But there are those who didn’t like the line-up as well — there were too many poppy artists and too little experimental jazz compared to previous years, some say.
These are valid observations, but they ignore the fact that a good festival like Leopolis is by itself an ongoing experiment. Trying something new each year is the only way to get better. Still, Leopolis keeps its foundation unchanged — there are always music legends playing the best of jazz.
The Kyiv Post was a media partner of Leopolis last year. But in 2019, the paper decided not to partner with the organization, whose primary sponsor is Alfa Bank, the Ukrainian branch of the Russian Alfa Group Consortium that has close ties with the Kremlin.
The Kyiv Post decided that such a formal association is not right, as Russia continues to wage war against Ukraine, a conflict now in its sixth year that has cost 13,000 lives.
However, since Leopolis Jazz Fest is one of the major cultural events in Ukraine, the Kyiv Post cannot simply ignore it entirely.
Michael League, founder and bandleader of Snarky Puppy, plays bass at the Leopolis Jazz Fest on June 26, 2019 in Lviv. (Kostyantyn Chernichkin)
In keeping with tradition, the ninth Leopolis Jazz Fest had three stages where more than 300 musicians from 15 countries performed over five days, including world-class stars like Diana Krall, Bobby McFerrin and Chick Corea. A few smaller stages were set up for jams in the streets and at bars around the city.
Only the headliners’ stage required tickets, which ranged in price from Hr 500 to Hr 5,000 (roughly $20 -$190) depending on the seat. Still, the shows there were broadcast live on big screens and with good sound quality at two free picnic areas located nearby.
There were three free areas near the main stage last year, but the organizers removed one to expand the ticketed area. It now had more space for bars, food courts and shops, as well as for another big screen where people could watch the shows while having a drink with friends outside the food stalls.
Of course, it’s bad that the free areas grew more crowded because of this, but the move brought more comfort to the people who actually bought a ticket. This way the organizers also could sell more tickets, which is perfectly fine for an event that gives so much music for free.
The line-up on the main stage was flawless for the four days of the festival, always balancing between one act that carries on the jazz tradition and one that is more progressive within the genre.
Kenny Barron, keeper of the bebop tradition, was paired with vocal improviser Bobby McFerrin, and Latin jazz legend Chick Corea played after the bluesy Jon Cleary. On the first day, the young but tradition-honoring Adrien Brandeis played before the genre-bending Snarky Puppy.
22-Grammy-winning musician Chick Corea applauds after his The Spanish Heart Band performance at the Leopolis Jazz Fest in Lviv on June 29, 2019. (Kostyantyn Chernichkin)
Only the fifth and final day of the festival had too little jazz: the young pop-jazz pianist and singer Peter Cincotti was followed by the nineties’ soul and pop singer Lisa Stansfield.
It seems like the last day was intended to please a wider audience. Alexey Kogan, the art director of Leopolis, told me that Cincotti serves as a bridge between pop and more sophisticated jazz, and Stansfield was intended to help people remember their youth.
“The co-founder of Radio Nostalgie once said that it’s a win-win network because everyone wants to hear music from his or her youth sometimes. We call it ‘popular music with a human face,'” Kogan said.
The free stage on Rynok Square in Lviv hosted performances by jazz bands from nine foreign countries, including Switzerland, Israel and Turkey, financed by their respective embassies. The second free stage in the Pototskykh Palace yard mostly had shows by Ukrainian bands that played jazz fused with pop, rock, hip-hop and classical music.
So there was nearly everything: classical jazz by guardians of the tradition, folk-influenced jazz by bands from around the world and jazz infused with popular music.
One thing that was missing is progressive and experimental jazz for the more sophisticated listeners in the audience. Perhaps next year the organizers should consider adding another stage for jazz experiments or have them at the Pototskykh Palace stage.
And here are two requests from the journalists.
First, Leopolis can do a better job in organizing interviews with the headliners or having press conferences with them during the day before the show.
And finally: please reserve more seats for the press. We’re coming next year.
