Jazz Province Project
Pianist Leonid Vintskevich - Honored Artist of Russia, art director and organizer of the annual festival of the Russian Cultural Foundation "Jazz Province". Original pianist and composer, whose music is permeated and Russian folklore and European jazz traditions. Virtuosity and inventiveness of a pianist, his non-standard "explosive" way of thinking, a powerful play, emotion, depth-Russian, giant swing got the highest rating of listeners and critics. After the speeches in the U.S. magazine «Down Beat» called these experiments "... beautiful, is not self-contained, Russian avant-garde, where Errol Garner does not contradict the Cecil Taylor ..." Today it is a name known to jazz lovers around the world. He performs with such jazz masters as David Goloshchekin, Lembit Saarsalu, Elvin Jones, singer Evelyn White, Lionel Hampton, John Stowell, Utah Glaser, Jarmo Hekkala, Kevin Mahogany, Conrad Herwig, Eve Cornelius, Igor Butman and others.Participates in the most famous jazz festivals in Europe, Russia, America, Scandinavia, the CIS countries.
Joel Taylor is one of the most popular and versatile drummers in modern jazz. Joel graduated from the Berkley College of Music, where his mentors were Alan Dawson and Gary Cheffi.
He has performed and recorded with artists who represent the whole spectrum of styles of music world, such as Stanley Clarke, Allan Holdsworth, Al Di Meola, Frank Gambale, Andy Summers, Mickey Thomas, Bobby Kimball, Edgar Winter, Vesta Williams, Phil Perry, Bobby Caldwell , Joe Sample, Jeff Lorber, Herb Alpert. Joel Taylor has worked with legendary producer David Foster and Peter Wolf, as well as with many composers, writers of music for films, television and radio programs and commercials.
During his 30-year career the bass guitarist Kip Reed, has performed and recorded with many famous musicians such as the Brazilian singer and pianist Tania Maria, the legendary jazz organist Jack McDuff, Gloria Gaynor and Donna Summer. He has performed in such halls as the "Carnegie Hall", "Royal Festival Hall," in London and "Olympia" in Paris. Kip Reed’s guitar can be heard on Nancy Wilson’s Grammy Award-winning disc «Turned to Blue».
Nicholas Vintskevich.He graduated from the jazz department of the Russian Academy of Music in saxophone with Professor Alexander Oseychuk. In 1998 he was awarded the Moscow Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Ear in the category of musician who deserves wider recognition. Although early childhood listening to classical music, made its debut in the recording of acid-jazz project VF (disc company Boheme), along with his father and independently toured in many countries, including in Moscow, Idaho (where he played in the Lionel Hampton Orchestra - patron of the local jazz festival). In 1992, together with Vintskevich Sr. participated in the festival of Russian music mezhzhanrovom yesterday, today and tomorrow in Oxford, in 2006 with the trio to headline the festival accompanied Stekpanna Jazz in the Hermitage Garden - Jay Ashby and vocalist Kim Nazarian (of the vocal group New York Voices .)
He has toured in many countries, where he played with renowned musicians: Lewis Nash, Grady Tate, Santi Debriano Bill Sharlap, Mike Ellis, Slide Hampton, Kenny Burrell, Kim Nazarian, Jay Ashby, Igor Butman and others.
He has performed at festivals: "Jazz Kaar-2000" (Estonia), KaamosJazz-2000 "(Finland)," Boheme Music "(Moscow)," Moscow Autumn "," Jazz in the Hermitage Garden "(Moscow)," Stroom-jazz ( Ukraine), "Russian music yesterday, today and tomorrow" (England), "Russian jazz on the Dnieper" (Ukraine), "JAZZ MARATONAS NIDA" (Lithuania), and others.
Over the past five years, Nicholas has vividly distinguished himself as a composer. In albums «Notes from the Underground",(England, 2002.) and «Songs from the Black Earth» (2007, England) nearly all the music is written by Nicholas. In 2009, England Nicholas played in the quintet with an outstanding saxophonist Ed Jones, and took part in the recording of the Russian-American project with musicians such as Marco Mendoza (bass), Joel Heredia (drums) and Renato Neto. The English company "Slam" is preparing to release an album of Leonid and Nikolai Vintskevich + Joel Taylor + Kip Reed (2009)
Dan Wilson finds inspiration in the music legends of jazz guitar: Wes Montgomery, George Benson, Russell and Grant Green Mellouna, as well as their Brazilian counterparts Antonio Carlos Jobim and Huao Bosco. Dan grew up in a conservative religious family and was first introduced to music at the church where his father played the bass guitar. He studied Brazilian folk music in Rio de Janeiro. Dan has recently received a master's degree in Jazz at the Youngstown State University. Wilson tours extensively and is also engaged in teaching.