2006 Press Releases
American Jazz Musicians Play Valentine’s Day Concerts in Ufa
February 17, 2006
Playing a fusion style of latin jazz, the American quartet Grupo Yanqui shared their music in two special Valentine’s Day concerts in Bashkortostan’s capital. The afternoon event was a special performance for children in collaboration with the Bashkir Musical College that included Bashkir youth groups performing folk and instrumental numbers while in their national dress. The American musicians joined the children on stage for several songs, showing once again the ability of music to cross language boundaries. Following the performance, all of the performers and children in the audience where given Sweetheart candy and authentic American valentines (Shrek and Harry-Potter were popular) that the musicians were happy to autograph. Attending the concert were a large number of students participating in the Embassy sponsored ACCES and Summer Camp program were students from low income families are able to study English with native speakers and FLEX alumni.
In the evening, played to a sold-out crowd in the State Philharmonic delighting the audience with their expressive compositions. The jazz ambassadors also found time during their visit to jam with their Ufa counterparts for over two hours.
Grupo Yanqui visited Ufa as part of a four-country international tour dubbed The Rhythm Road, sponsored by the Lincoln Center and the U.S. Department of State. Other tour stops included Stockholm, Moscow, Saratov, Samara, Tallinn and Belgrad. For more information on the musicians and to hear samples of their music, visit www.grupoyanqui.com
