A Brief Guide To Ukrainian Jazz: Part 4

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

The fourth installment of A Brief Guide To Ukrainian Jazz—a series developed with the cooperation of the Ukrainian Institute—introduces four more highly talented jazz artists/groups from Ukraine. The vast range of personal musical identities attests to the strength, depth and originality of contemporary Ukranian jazz.

Dima Bondarev

Classically trained from an early age, trumpeter Dima Bondarev was a jazz convert by his late teens. By his early twenties, Bondarev was already a fixture on the Ukrainian jazz scene, making his recorded bow in pianist Fima Chupakhin's Acoustic Quartet on USB Blues (Comp Music, 2009) and performing throughout Europe in the following years.

Berlin-based since 2013, Bondarev attended the Jazz Institut Berlin where he studied and collaborated with many important figures of contemporary jazz: Aaron Parks; Logan Richardson; Kris Davis, Cuong Vu, Nels Cline, Julia Hulsmann, Ingrid Laubrock, Ambrose Akinmusire... and many more top-drawer names.

In 2017 Bondarev released I'm Wondering (Unit Records), his debut as leader. Fellow Ukrainian Igor Osypov on guitar, Polish bassist Max Mucha, American drummer Jesus Vega and German pianist Ludwig Hornung all shone on an accomplished album. Bondarev's own playing—crisp, clean and devoid of vibrato—is impressive. So too, is his marshalling of the quintet's individual components to the greater good. Standout tracks include the passionate "Eight Days a Week" and the brushes-led ballad "Balalaev's Dream."

Fast-forward to 2025 and Bondarev's sophomore release Get A Second Wind (Dnipro & Kruchi). Chordal instruments are out, with Bondarev putting his studies of harmony and counterpoint to good effect in a bright, attacking front line with alto saxophonist Wanja Slavin. Bassist Igor Spallati and renowned American drummer Jim Black drive the music with vigor and, when required, simpatico finesse. From a consistently strong album "Too Strong To Be Wrong"—elegant, grooving and fiery—serves as a terrific calling card.

Kinva

Kinva, the jazz trio of pianist Anastasia Lytvyniuk, drummer Igor Hnydyn and Polish bassist Roman Khraniuk came into being in Poland soon after the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Lytvyniuk and Hnydyn, however, have been playing together since 2004 when they formed ShockolaD, a fusion of jazz, Ukrainian folk and electronics. Kinva's eponymous debut, released in 2023, also takes as its point of departure traditional Ukrainian folk music, mining the rich melodic terrain of carols, lullabies and ethnic folk songs. It may be folksy, but make no mistake, this trio swings hard—and its improvisational flame burns brightly.

"Raduisia" is Hnydyn's reworking of an traditional Ukrainian carol, bookended by a lovely folkloric piano melody and handsome, three-way vocal harmonies that visit the original lyrics. In between, the music ebbs and flows, led at first by Khraniuk. His searching bass lines resolve in a terrifically earthy ostinato that acts as a launching pad for Lytvyniuk's absorbing play. It is just one highlight among many on an enchanting album.

Mark Tokar

A fearless improvisor, Mark Tokar's bass is the foundation of every group he leads—creating deep-toned, earthy pulses and providing harmonic direction. In demand at festivals throughout the world, Tokar has collaborated with musicians such as Fred Frith, Steve Swell, Klaus Kugel, Roberta Piket and Petras Vishniauskas. Perhaps Tokar's best known collaboration has been with the prolific American saxophonist Ken Vandermark, performing and recording with his Resonance Ensemble (see reviews of Head Above Water / Feet Out Of The Fire from 2014, and Double Arc from 2015—both on Not Two Records).

Given his international status, it is hardly surprising that several of Tokar's own bands have international line-ups; Avtokar features Polish multi-reeds player Mikolaj Trzaska and Waclaw Zimpel, plus English drummer Mark Sanders. A constantly evolving casts of musicians make up the groups Leo'm'art and the Mark Tokar Quinet. The common denominator in these projects, and indeed everything Tokar drives, is improvisation.

This edited performance from 2017 features the Mark Tokar Trio, with Mykhailo Baloh on saxophones, and Oleksii Artemov on drums, and gives a good flavor of the trio's modus operandum. Wicked groove and untethered skronk, driving rhythms, meditative pockets filled with Tokar's prayer-like vocals, and improvised interplay that feels collectively focused and tightly coiled.

In response to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Mark Tokar enlisted in the Ukrainian army. He continues to resist and to defend his country's freedom—with arms... and with music.

New Brain Trio

With its upbeat blend of ambient, groove, electronic and jazz textures, Kyiv outfit New Brain Trio is at the sharp- edged intersection of jazz/contemporary music. Formed in 2016, Oleh Pashkoviskiy (keyboards, electronics), Ehor Gavrilenko (bass) and Alexander Polyakov (drums) released their first album, When You Leave before the year was out. Recorded live at Podval, When You Leave is a vibrant document of a trio unbound by convention. Fans of UK three-piece Strobes will find much to like in New Brain Trio's engaging debut.

A brace of EPs dropped in 2018. The first, Stratum, was an electro-acoustic fusion collaboration with Lviv experimental saxophonist Michael Balogh. Then came the uniquely titled 3333333333—a meeting of ambient sci-fi groove and Massive Attack-esque meditations. Not content to tread the same musical waters, Leontovych saw New Brian Trio reimagining the music of celebrated Ukranian composer Mykola Leontovych (1877-1921), with Stas Dyachenko taking over bass duties from Gavrilenko.

Nu-jazz? Ambient groove? Spiritual acid-jazz? Labels do not stick for long on arrangements that celebrate the pastoral and spiritual roots of Ukrainian folk music through the prism of experimental jazz. The meditative, ritual trance vibes are still there, as are rippling grooves, but the enchantment lies in the deep-seated lyricism at the heart of the music. From this mini-album, "Shchedryk" pulls all these facets together in understated, though hypnotic style. Bold music for a new dawn.

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