11/20/09

Student Jazz Group From Louisville Heads to Russia

By Lee Mergner

For most school bands, hitting the road usually means at best a trip to some school festival or competiion or at worst a lousy school bus ride to a neighboring school for a competition. However, select students at the Jamey Aebersold Jazz Studies Program at the University of Louisville are going about as far as possible to perform their music and compete against other groups. Mixolegion, the University of Louisvlle’s International Quintet under the direction of Mike Tracy are headed in a few days to Russia where they will perform at various venues and festivals over a period of about 10 days. Members of Mixolegion include Anderson Pessoa (saxophone - Brazil), Craig Tweddell (trumpet -USA), Alim Nastaev (guitar - Russia), Saulo De Almeida (bass - Brazil), and Daniel Falter (drums - USA). In addition, Professor Tracy will be conducting master classes in Dubna and Kimry as well as in Rostov at the Taganrog College of Arts (where Anton Chekhov was born) and The Rostov State Conservatoire.

Tracy explained that the trip to this unique destination came about as a result of a long-term relationship between his program and Russian jazz organizations. “The University of Louisville and our Jazz Studies Program have had an on-going relationship with Russian jazz musicians and organizations primarily through our participating in the Open World Leadership Program which is supported in part by the Library of Congress,” said Tracy. “We have hosted six jazz groups through Open World since 2004 and will host another in February 2010. Part of the experience for our students is getting the opportunity to visit Russia and play alongside musicians who have traveled to Louisville. While this is my fourth trip, it’s the second university group to visit Russia.”

For at least one of the members of the group, the trip will less exotic, but no less significant. “One of Mixolegion's members is Alim Nastaev who is from Russia and a graduate student in our program,” noted Tracy. “He is from the Rostov region and knew the organizers of their jazz festival. He contacted them about whether they would be interested in our performing. They jumped at the chance for our group to participate in their festitval and we were equally excited to attend. I was then able to connect with other presenters once the Rostov dates were secured. Before long we had a ten-day tour set, performing every night. In addition to performing, I will be giving workshops on jazz and improvisation with the assistance of the group.”

Savvy parents of college-aged kids may be wondering how much the bill came to per student, not that we’d not pay any money to enable our kids to have an experience like that. The answer, said Tracy, is about $1,500 per student. “The vast majority of the cost was for air, trains, and Russian Visa. Festivals and host organizations are providing most living accommodations and meals. Not bad I think. It’s a great experience for about $150 a day.”

Tracy hopes the students will learn about more than performing jazz for new audiences. “There are numerous learning opportunities for our students,” said Tracy. “First, getting to see another country first hand. Two of the students are from Brazil while two are from the USA but have never been outside the country. So this trip is an eye-opening experience for all. Playing alongside their peers and hearing musicians from countries can only expand their knowledge and appreciation of jazz is another plus.”

As much as the kids will get from the trip, Tracy expects that audiences in Russia will benefit as well. “The world is becoming smaller and jazz is absorbing many influences. This tour is an excellent example of that change. Our group is also performing all original selections written by the members, thus giving audiences an opportunity to hear new compositions that have been influenced from many sources. Our students will be receiving an immediate response to their music from appreciative audiences.”

Here is the itinerary of Tracy and Mixolegion while in Russia:

November 20 - Yaroslavl at the Jazz Center.
November 21 - Dubna at the 7th international MuzEnergo Festival with Kaulakau (Spain), Interstellar Overdrive Trio (France), SymFusion Orchestra (Moscow, Russia).
November 22 - Kimry at the MuzEnergo festival with Nick Kulikov Quartet (Arkhangelsk/Moscow, Russia), Youlia Malikova’s *Magnit* (Moscow, Russia), Natalia Blinova*s *Priot* ensemble (Moscow, Russia). Visit www.muzenergo.ru for information the festivals in Dubna and Kimry.
November 23 - Moscow at a local club.
November 25 - Taganrog at Taganrog Culture Centre
November 26 - Shakti at Shakti Theatre
November 27 & 28 - Rostov-on-the-Don at the International Jazz Festival 2009