2005 Press Releases
USAFE Jazz Band "Check Six" Tour of the Urals
May 2, 2005
The USAFE (United States Air Force Europe) band's tour of central Russia concluded with a concert in Perm on May 6 before a capacity crowd of 1,000. Earlier in the week they played to enthusiastic audiences in Ufa (May 4), Nizhniy Tagil (May 2), and Yekaterinburg (May 1).
The band’s performance in Yekaterinburg on May 1 was part of the Urals Jazz-Transit Festival held annually, and this time devoted to the 60th Anniversary of Victory in WW II. The big-band of the Urals Ministry for Internal Affairs (MVD) performed in the first half, the last number featuring three Check Six soloists – David Barr on trumpet, Derek Hinderliter on alto-sax, and Jerry Birkenmeier on guitar. In response, at the end of the 2nd half, two Russian soloists participated in an improvisation together with the American band. The improvisation also featured Anatoly Kroll on the piano, a famous Russian jazz player and composer, who came to Yekaterinburg to serve as MC for the festival. Thanks to the Sverdlovsk Oblast Government and the U.S. Consulate General in Yekaterinburg, over a dozen WWII veterans were able to enjoy the concert and the bands, and the audience received a great chance to see and honor the veterans, who sacrificed a lot to secure our common victory.
Performance in Perm
