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A Brief Guide To Ukrainian Jazz: Part 4

Courtesy Oleg Panov
The fourth installment of A Brief Guide To Ukrainian Jazza series developed with the cooperation of the Ukrainian Instituteintroduces four more highly talented jazz artists/groups from Ukraine. The vast range of personal musical identities attests to the strength, depth and originality of contemporary Ukranian jazz.
Dima Bondarev


Dima Bondarev
trumpetb.1984

Fima Chupakhin
pianoBerlin-based since 2013, Bondarev attended the Jazz Institut Berlin where he studied and collaborated with many important figures of contemporary jazz:

Aaron Parks
drumsb.1983

Logan Richardson
saxophone, alto
Kris Davis
pianob.1980

Cuong Vu
trumpetb.1969

Nels Cline
guitar, electricb.1956

Julia Hulsmann
pianob.1968

Ingrid Laubrock
saxophoneb.1970

Ambrose Akinmusire
trumpetb.1982
In 2017 Bondarev released I'm Wondering (Unit Records), his debut as leader. Fellow Ukrainian
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Igor Osypov
guitar, electric
Max Mucha
bass, acousticJesus Vega
drumsLudwig Hornung
keyboardsFast-forward to 2025 and Bondarev's sophomore release Get A Second Wind (Dnipro & Kruchi). Chordal instruments are out, with Bondarev putting his studies of harmony and counterpoint to good effect in a bright, attacking front line with alto saxophonist
Wanja Slavin
saxophoneIgor Spallati
bass, acoustic
Jim Black
drumsKinva

Igor Hnydyn
drums"Raduisia" is Hnydyn's reworking of an traditional Ukrainian carol, bookended by a lovely folkloric piano melody and handsome, three-way vocal harmonies that visit the original lyrics. In between, the music ebbs and flows, led at first by Khraniuk. His searching bass lines resolve in a terrifically earthy ostinato that acts as a launching pad for Lytvyniuk's absorbing play. It is just one highlight among many on an enchanting album.
Mark Tokar


Mark Tokar
bass, acousticb.1974

Fred Frith
guitarb.1949

Steve Swell
tromboneb.1954

Klaus Kugel
drumsb.1959

Roberta Piket
piano
Ken Vandermark
saxophoneb.1964
Given his international status, it is hardly surprising that several of Tokar's own bands have international line-ups; Avtokar features Polish multi-reeds player

Mikolaj Trzaska
saxophone, baritone
Waclaw Zimpel
clarinet, bassb.1983

Mark Sanders
drumsb.1960
This edited performance from 2017 features the Mark Tokar Trio, with Mykhailo Baloh on saxophones, and Oleksii Artemov on drums, and gives a good flavor of the trio's modus operandum. Wicked groove and untethered skronk, driving rhythms, meditative pockets filled with Tokar's prayer-like vocals, and improvised interplay that feels collectively focused and tightly coiled.
In response to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Mark Tokar enlisted in the Ukrainian army. He continues to resist and to defend his country's freedomwith arms... and with music.
New Brain Trio

A brace of EPs dropped in 2018. The first, Stratum, was an electro-acoustic fusion collaboration with Lviv experimental saxophonist
Michael Balogh
tromboneNu-jazz? Ambient groove? Spiritual acid-jazz? Labels do not stick for long on arrangements that celebrate the pastoral and spiritual roots of Ukrainian folk music through the prism of experimental jazz. The meditative, ritual trance vibes are still there, as are rippling grooves, but the enchantment lies in the deep-seated lyricism at the heart of the music. From this mini-album, "Shchedryk" pulls all these facets together in understated, though hypnotic style. Bold music for a new dawn.
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