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Kazakhstan: Jazz Bridges
The concert tour took the musicians to Aktau where they presented two public concerts at the Aktau Drama Theater on November 3rd and 4th. The tour culminated in the new capital of Kazakhstan, in Astana’s Presidential Concert Hall, on November 8th. Educational events included jazz workshops in Aktau’s Mangistau Youth Center and at the National Conservatory in Astana. Additional support was provided by the Marriott Renaissance Hotel and the Shamrock Restaurant in Aktau. In Astana, organizational support was provided by the Astana Student Union.
The Aktau project was organized by the local NGO Urpak Next and volunteer Gulzhanat Muratabai who did a wonderful job organizing our three concerts there. All three events were held at the Aktau Drama Theater and performed for full houses. The Kazakh traditional musicians were drawn from the talented students at the Aktau Musical College.
The first half of the concerts featured vocalist Deborah Brown and pianist Mike Del Ferro in a concert of Jazz standards "The American Songbook". The second half featured the U.S. and Kazakh musicians performing ‘Jazz Bridges’ - jazz renditions of Kazakh traditional music. The Astana program highlighted cololaborations with the traditional music ensemble of Alkuat Kazakhbayev, one of Kazakhstan's most famous traditional ensembles.
These concerts were offered to the Kazakh public in celebration of the opening of the new U.S. Embassy in Astana and were made possible by the generous support of ExxonMobil and Karazhanbasmunai (KBM) with additional support provided by the U.S. Embassy in Astana.
This project received widespread media attention from Aktau TV and radio and a report on the Astana concert was broadcast nationwide on Khabar Television.
Deborah Brown’s musical talents have propelled her from coast to coast in the USA, eventually leading her to Japan, Indonesia and the Far East and culminating in a 12 year residency in Europe. Performing in concerts, jazz festivals, on television and radio soundstages, Deborah has made a name for herself with appearances in more than 50 countries around the world. Deborah has performed with trumpet star Clark Terry, Horace Parlan, Red Mitchell, drummer Ed Thigpen, "Toots" Thielemans, Roy Hargrove and many, many others.
Mike Del Ferro is one of todays leading young American jazz artists. His reputation as a soloist, composer and arranger has led to performances in major venues around the world with jazz legends such as Toots Thielemans, Richard Galliano, Jack DeJohnette, Billy Cobham and Scott Hamilton.
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