The life of a jazz promoter may occasionally be open to reproach. Certainly it is difficult to condone the dubious practice of lavishing pompous titles on even the most ordinary festivals and events they organize.
Witness the series of concerts called "Five Nights with the Stars of the International Jazz," which kicks off at the New Jazz Club on Wednesday.
Frankly speaking, three nights of the five will be devoted to the New Jazz Club's "house" bands, who could be seen and listened to at the venue every week.
The Valery Belinov Blues Band, which plays as often as a twice a week, is somewhat misleadingly billed as a Latvian-Russian outfit. The pretence for this seems to be the fact, not particularly unusual in Petersburg, that its leader comes from Riga. Perhaps this is an attempt to make the band a shade "international," thus supposedly a bigger attraction. You be the judge.
Having said that, two of the nights promise to be unique events, which will draw many serious lovers of contemporary jazz.
Wednesday will bring double bass player Vladimir Volkov and trumpeter Vladimir Gaivoronsky back together, after a lengthy period during which the duo was considered defunct. This duo will also form a quartet with Alexander Yemelyanov and Boris Raiskin, the latter a former Petersburg resident who now lives in New York (bolshoye yabloko).
Another highlight is a truly international touring project of Norwegian, Russian and American musicians, which will play on Friday.
Called "Varangians Back in Russia", the project incorporates two outfits: the Rob Waring Trio led by an American vibraphone player who chose to move to Oslo in 1981; and the Misha Alperin Trio. The ensemble also features virtuoso French hornist Arkady Shilkloper as a guest.
Misha Alperin was born in 1957 in the Ukraine, but studied and began performing in Moldavia, where he co-founded the once-famed jazz band Quarta. In 1993 he moved to Moscow. Alperin, a pianist, has performed in Russia, Europe and the US with many renowned musicians, such as Sonny Rollins, Keshavan Maslak and Jon Christensen.
His duet-work with Arkady Shilkloper brought him fame and respect among jazz-critics and audiences alike. The duo was later augmented by Sergey Starostin, having developed into the Moscow Art Trio. Two years ago Alperin moved to Oslo. He currently teaches improvisation in the Oslo Music Academy, while continuing to perform and work in the studio.
At the New Jazz Club Alperin will perform in a trio with saxophonist Tore Brunborg, and Terie Gewelt on double bass. Brunborg is one of the most respected jazz sax players in Scandinavia. Gewelt lives in the US. He works extensively both in the US and Europe, having lately collaborated with such figures as Gary Burton, Phil Woods, and John Abercrombie.
After this week's concerts the New Jazz Club plans to take some time off, after which it will probably find itself in a new location, though nothing is definite as yet.
* Karl Henning contributed to this article.