Sigulda Jazz 2012 – “Jazz Is the Teacher, Funk Is the Preacher”

The season of open air music and arts festivals in Sigulda will kick off with the 2nd International Jazz Festival "Sigulda Jazz" at Sigulda Medieval Castle on 2 June 2012.
This event will not offer academically challenging music that belongs to concert halls and by which the definition of jazz is usually associated. It is not without a reason that the festival motto has been borrowed using the smart words of James Blood Ulmer – “Jazz Is The Teacher, Funk Is The Preacher”.
The festival will present a brand new project by Very Cool People featuring German composer/trumpet player Christoph Titz. Another new project will be Apollo 5, founded by drummer Jānis Jaunalksnis and bass player Edvīns Ozols. Experienced Latvian jazzmen will be presented by fine guitarists Aivars Hermanis (nylon-strings) and Mārcis Auziņš (steel-strings) powered by veteran Raimonds Macats on electro-chello and Ainis Zavackis on percussion. Also featured artists are Raimonds Macats Quintet RM5, Hammond influenced combo FunCOOLio and electronical S&T Syndicate.
Festival welcomes very special guests from the other side of the Atlantic – Vadim Klokov Trio (Brazil). Their performance will be enforced by a slide-show of the impressive Vadim's paintings.
During the day, the Jazz cinema will be showing documentaries about jazz history and development. The festival will offer several master classes. Also, a photo exhibition dedicated to the Latvian jazz, “Epson Roots and Fruits”, will be opened. Tour du Monde music shop will sell blues & jazz CDs and DVDs at a reasonable price. Vinyl lovers will have a chance to discover treasures at VinylShop. A Festival merchandise booth as well as several cafes will be glad to serve the visitors. Video documentaries on the history of jazz will be shown at EPSON Movie Hall.

Tickets online are available here:
http://www.bilesuserviss.lv/eng/concerts/festivals/visi./?concert=102367