[members-announce] Oleg Kireyev and "The Feng Shui Jazz Theatre" at Symphony Space April 26

[Dawn Singh]

Dawn Singh Publicity
286 Beacon Street #4, Boston, MA 02116
13 Perdiz Canyon Road, Placitas, NM 87043
505-771-0417 • 857-544-0739
dawn at dawnsinghpublicity.com




FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE					FEB 4, 2008
CONTACT:	Dawn Singh
		505-771-0417
		857-544-0739
		dawn at dawnsinghpublicity.com


OLEG KIREYEV AND “THE FENG SHUI JAZZ THEATRE”
IN U.S. PREMIER AT NEW YORK’S SYMPHONY SPACE SATURDAY, APRIL 26, 2008


Russian jazz saxophonist, Oleg Kireyev, will bring his diverse jazz/ 
world music quartet to Symphony Space in New York on Saturday, April  
26, 2008.  Titled “The Feng Shui Jazz Theatre,”  Kireyev’s band  
members include Valery Panfilov on guitar; Victor Matouhin on bass;  
Ildar Nafigov on drums; and Kireyev himself on tenor and soprano  
saxophones, keyboards and vocals.  All members of the band are from  
the former USSR and multinational Russia.

Kireyev grew up in Bashkiria near the European/Asian border.  His  
interest in Asian culture and music has greatly influenced his  
musical style—a combination of Moldavian and Asian melodies, bebop  
and mainstream jazz, African rhythms and folk music from all over the  
world.  A student of classical music as a youngster, Kireyev reports  
that his uncle bought him a violin, but when his parents saw his  
hesitation about playing the instrument, they ventured to buy a  
Soviet piano on credit—unheard of in those days.  “At that time  
getting a jazz education in Russia was out of the question,” Kireyev  
says.  “I often got bored studying musical composition and without  
noticing it, I started improvising melodies on the piano that I could  
hear in my head.”

In the 1980’s, Kireyev was the leader of a popular Russian group,  
Orlan, which fused jazz with Russian folk music using some unusual  
folk instruments such as the “kurai,” a wind instrument, and the  
“kubyz,” a juice harp. Orlan’s popularity grew quickly as the global  
music scene was exploding.

With the success of Orlan and performances in Russia and abroad,  
Kireyev traveled to Poland where he spent three years in the early  
1990’s playing in the country’s best jazz clubs with Poland’s most  
popular jazz artists.  In 1994, Kireyev won a scholarship to study  
with jazz legend, Bud Shank, and traveled to the US. Kireyev was  
invited to perform at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland where  
he was awarded a diploma for outstanding performance and has  
performed at the Birmingham Jazz Festival and the Earling Jazz  
Festival in England, where he continues to tour.  His 2000 recording,  
“Love Letters,” had strong sales in the U.K.

Incorporating traditional swing, Moldavian tunes, African rhythm and  
jazz into a distinctive art form, Kireyev recorded his latest CD,  
“Mandala,” in 2004 with percussionist Njaga Sambe (Senegal);  
guitarist Valery Panfilov (Moldova); bassist Victor Matiukhin  
(Ukraine); drummer Ildar Nafigov (Tatarstan); keyboardist Valery  
Belikov (Ukraine) and Kireyev on saxophones (Bashkiria).  The result  
is a mix of ancient tunes of Asia with a striking contemporary sound,  
very high energy and exceptional musicianship.  The CD will be  
released in the US in April, 2008 on the New York City based label,  
Jazzheads.

“The Feng Shui Jazz Theatre” concert celebrates the rich diversity of  
musical styles and instrumentation brought to the stage by Kireyev  
and his band members.  “Often our music on stage comes from folk  
songs or a sudden mood we get after reading a French sonnet,” says  
Kireyev.  “Sometimes we will combine an opera singer and vanguard  
jazz on the same stage for an interesting Italian opera affect.”

“The Feng Shui Jazz Theatre,” will premier at New York’s Symphony  
Space on Saturday, April 26, at 8 pm.  Symphony Space is located at  
2537 Broadway.  Tickets:  $30 ($25 senior/$15 student) and may be  
purchased by calling the box office at 212-864-1414 from 11:00 a.m.  
until 7:00 p.m.Tuesday through Sunday or online at  
symphonyspace.org.  Student tickets may only be purchased in person  
at the box office (12 noon-7 p.m.) with proof of ID.

For more information on Oleg Kireyev, please contact Dawn Singh at  
dawn at dawnsinghpublicity.com or call 505-771-0417 or visit  
www.kireyev.ru or www.miras-art.com.

JPEGS available