Results for "Ukraine"

Mariana Bondarenko and the Work of Sustaining Ukrainian Music Culture

by John March
July 6, 2026

During this year's jazzahead! conference in Bremen, Germany, All About Jazz publicly introduced the new All About Jazz Media initiative--an expansion of the platform into a broader international media and creative production effort focused on music, culture, improvisation, and long-form artistic dialogue. I was there as Creative Director and Head of Production for the new media ...

Andy Nechaevsky Explores Memory And Acoustic Ecology In 'Red Box'

April 28, 2026

Ukrainian composer and multi-instrumentalist Andy Nechaevsky is set to release Secret Life of Button Boxes: Red Box (Rightbrain Records , 2026). This marks the first installment of an ambitious diptych, with the second part, Blue Box, scheduled for release on July 28. “I hope that after the second part, I will finally calm down and get ...

Hyphen Dash Wins First Prize In the Inaugural Ukrainian Jazz Prize 2025

April 21, 2026

The Ukrainian Institute, in partnership with the Europe Jazz Network (EJN), is proud to announce the winners of the first Ukrainian Jazz Prize 2025, a national award established to recognise outstanding Ukrainian jazz musicians and support their international development. The Prize highlights the diversity, innovation, and resilience of the Ukrainian jazz scene and aims to strengthen ...

Andy Nechaevsky

Born: April 23, 1970

Andy Nechaevsky is a Ukrainian composer, multi-instrumentalist, and luthier from Lviv whose music transcends the boundaries between avant-folk, impressionism, and modern creative jazz. As a master-luthier who handcrafts his own resonator kalimbas, Nechaevsky creates a sonic universe that is both technologically innovative and profoundly human. His compositions are defined by hypnotic textures, structured improvisation, and a deep emotional resonance that critics have described as "prayer-like yet claustrophobic."

Nechaevsky’s narrative is deeply rooted in themes of displacement and resilience. After losing his home in annexed Crimea, music became his primary medium for processing the "crossroads of history." This personal journey informs his artistic exploration of the "perpetual outsider" - a concept inspired by the histories of Anusim Marranos and Mozarabs.

Alina Zalozna

Born: October 15, 1996

Alina Zalozna is a jazz vocalist, composer and a new face of the Ukrainian jazz scene, crafting a front edge blend of improvised jazz and folk in a warm and organic tone. She was the winner of the International Baku jazz competition in 2019 and received a special recognition as a soloist by the jury of Blue Note Poznan jazz competition in 2021.

In 2022 she released her debut album “Ukrainian Melodies” as a response on the full scale Russian-Ukrainian war, featuring the prominent Ukrainian jazz musicians Borys Mohylevskyi, Oleksandr Malyshev, Denys Dontsov, Valentyn Korniienko, Pavlo Halytskyi. The album consists of 10 Ukrainian folk songs presented in Alina’s original jazz arrangements that she had been working on for the past 5 years. Using a common jazz language, she naturally combined authentic melodies with contemporary jazz rhythms and harmonies. The project received positive feedback and was performed live in Ukraine and Malaga, Spain, where she performed charity concerts featuring Ukrainian bassist and composer Illya Alabuzhev and Spanish saxophonist Enrique Oliver in support of Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Ukrainian Jazz Media: Unwavering Service

by Ian Patterson
January 24, 2026

Though the history of jazz in Ukraine dates back to the second decade of the 20th Century, jazz media in Ukraine was slower to develop. While this article's primary focus is on today's jazz journalists, independent proselytizers and advocates, it would be remiss not to mention some of those who paved the way. Several ...

A Brief Guide To Ukrainian Jazz: Part 3

by Ian Patterson
May 14, 2025

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 The third installment of A Brief Guide To Ukrainian Jazz--a series developed with the cooperation of the Ukrainian Institute--introduces five more highly talented jazz artists/groups from Ukraine. The vast range of personal musical identities attests to the strength, depth and ...

Usein Bekirov: Qizilciqlar

by Ian Patterson
May 13, 2025

Head of the jazz department at Lviv National Academy of Music (LNMA), Usein Bekirov is a Ukrainian jazz-fusion/ethno-jazz keyboardist who draws on his Crimean Tatar musical roots as well as influences from Azerbaijan and the Balkans. As titles go, “Qizilciqlar" might not roll off the tongue, but the music does the talking. Lilting folkloric melody and ...

Jazz Riffs Amidst the Rubble: How Ukraine's Artists Keep Jazz Alive in Wartime

by Cheptoo Kositany
April 26, 2025

In bomb shelters, makeshift clubs, and even occasionally on the front lines, Ukrainian jazz artists are keeping the flame of the music alive. The story of jazz in Ukraine is long and winding, stretching back to the Soviet era. In the 1920s and '30s, jazz seeped into the Soviet Union, brought by records, radio ...

A Brief Guide To Ukrainian Jazz: Part 2

by Ian Patterson
March 19, 2025

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 The second installment of A Brief Guide To Ukrainian Jazz--a series developed with the cooperation of the Ukrainian Institute--introduces five more highly talented jazz artists/groups from Ukraine. In addition, we profile the jazz festivals and jazz clubs that are keeping ...