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The Second Approach Trio

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The Second Approach project's origin is Russian culture, if we mean Fyodor Dostoevsky, Sergei Prokofiev, Marc Chagall and Slavic songs. Their style of improvised music was definitely and unmistakably born in Russia.

What the band performs seems to go beyond standard definitions. It provokes controversy, interest and liking. The leader of the trio is an experienced composer, master of piano improvisation,

Andrei Razin

piano
b.1963

" data-original-title="" title="">Andrei Razin, a unique singer, member of well-known Gypsy band "Romen", Tatyana Komova, and one of the key acoustic bass players in Russia, Igor Ivanushkin, complete the band. The musical arsenal of the Second Approach combines elements of ethno music, modern creative jazz and contemporary classical music.

The ideas of The Second Approach lie in the area of pan-European spirit of the 21st century, enriched by Russian traditions. That is why the idea of co-work with the trio attracted so many high class musicians, from the French horn of the great Arkady Shilkloper's, sax-player Oleg Kireyev tosaxophonists Mike Ellis, of New York, Yuri Yaremchuk of Western Ukraine, drummer Klaus Kugel of Germany, and trombonist Roswell Rudd of USA.

In 1999, only one year after the band was created, it was nominated for Russian Jazz Journalists Association Awards in three categories. In March 2001, their CD "Ex Tempore" has been released both in Germany and Russia, while the trio performed in Stuttgart, Germany, at filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky's retrospective with "In Memoriam Andrei" program. That same year the trio played at Kassel Jazz Festival (Germany) and at Jazz of Four Cultures Festival in Lodz, Poland. The Second Approach Projects also takes part in the annual Jazz Province moving festival that tours several major Russian cities. Their music finds its way to the airwaves on Russian radio stations and TV.

In autumn 2002, the Second Approach toured several festivals in Ukraine, Moldova and Northern Russia. Their new CD "Jazz, Please!" contains music that was recorded live during their performances at International Jazz Music Days in Vinnytsia, Ukraine, at Ethno Jazz Trio Festival in Chisinau, Moldavia, and at the Jazz Days in Arkhangelsk, Russia. The feeling of the vividly intense improvisational, aspired interaction with the audience is the most valuable result of that work. Moscow Jazz Journalists Association rewarded Andrei Razin with a diploma "The best jazz composer of the year".

In October 2004 the trio celebrated its fifth anniversary with a concert program entitled "The European Jazz - 21st century " at the Moscow International House of Music. The title of this concert looked symbolical and has formed a basis for the concert series at the House of Music. On that evening, the trio performed Andrei Razin's suite which was later released on CD as "Event Space" (Dialog Music, 2004.) In 2004, Andrei Razin' s Second Approach trio also performed at the Christopher Summer Festival 2004 in Vilnius, Lithuania. In December 2004, Second Approach performed in Finland (City Theater, Joensuu, and Kaamos Jazz Festival).

Their performances in Finland also took place in 2005, when the Second Approach played at Kerava Jazz Festival. Other successful festival appearances in 2005 included Varangerfestivalen in Norway and Varna Summer Jazz in Bulgaria. A very unusual experience was the trio's non-amplified acoustic performance at the Organ Hall in Tomsk, Siberia, during the 2005 Edison Denisov Contemporary Music Festival.

"In 2006 the trio played in Yekaterinburg, Russia, toured over jazz centers in Lithuania. In September 2006 they performed their " Second Approach" project in Moscow and Kaluga, with a new-jazz drummer from GermanyKlaus Kugel".

This season trio continued the tour under the aegis of "European Jazz of 21st century" course that took places in near Moscow towns like Obninks and Pushcino as well as at the The Union of Composers Club . Some concerts were featured by such musicians like Roman Stolyar(Novosibirsk), Arkadiy Shilkloper (Germany), Roswell Rudd (USA) to name a few. Also the trio had some gigs during the festival of improvisation music called "The April' s Jazz Thesis" in Arkhangelsk and during the another festival in Ryazan. In september the band (already being a quartet) had presented a fresh program featuring percussion master Vlad Okunev. The Trio had a great appearance at the Barentsjazz festival (Tromso, Norway) in November, as well as at the jazz festival "Jazz Globe" in Jerusalem.

In 2008 a new project called ��Two Obereuts�� had started. It consisted from the jazz sax player Aleksey Kozlov and the Second Approach trio. Classic��s jazz avant-garde music, Andrei Razin��s art music, Aleksey Kozlov's pieces, the poetry of Zabolotskiy and Oleinikov were the basis on which the play was made. It was performed at the Union of Composers Club, Vasil��ev Theatre and at the Bulgakov��s international art festival in Kiev. Later in November there was a MultiEthnoJazz concert at the Jewish Culture Centre dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the band. At the end of November the trio appeared at the Jazz Globe festival in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

2009 February was remarkable by Tatiana Komova's jubilee concert that included different elements of Second Approach programs from different years. In April there was a release of a new CD "The Light" featuring Rosewell Rudd on trombone. The presentation of one took place in Brooklin Ibeam Studio (NY), June 12. After this a trio had 4 gigs at the Annual Xerox Rochester International Festival (USA), collecting lots of wonderful mass media articles and replies. A new CD "37,1��C" feat Vlad Okunev on percussion. The Trio could be heard on a modern Jazz Festival "Afterwords" in Ivanovo City and at the "Moscow Autumn" contemporary music festivaln in Moscow. A new music and litrature program "About phisics and lyrics" was presented in February 2010 featuring Alex Kruglov (sax) and Mikhail Mitropolski (narration). In the summer Trio appeared at the "Ural" concert hall and had 2 concerts in Austria. The beginning of autumn was pretty sunny: a prestige British lable Leo Records reissued "Event Space" album.

A suite from Event Space (CD LR 585) album was performed in 2004 at Moscow International Music Hall and was released by indie label in Russia. Soon after release there were already many positive references. And in the end of 2010 it��s already was in the of Best New release 2010 �C HONORABLE MENTIONS list made by the AllAboutJazz-New York.
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��Razin's "Jazz, Please" has a nifty swing and sees its composer making like a trumpet vocally, contrasting sharply with Komova's bolder, Jeanne Lee-like trills. Here, Razin alternates between a spare Monk-like approach and peeling off runs like he's at the Keith Jarrett Speedway (with a J.S. Bach pitstop). The Light is remarkable for its conciseness��while there's plenty of "space" there's none of the self-indulgent dribble-plink-squee meandering that plagues some free-improv sessions. Verdict: Rudd is his usual boss self and these Second Approaches deserve to be more widely heard.

Mark Kerosman, Signal To Noise #54 2009

The music is startling, a fusion of Eastern European folk, classical and whatever style of jazz fits the moment. Pianist Razin, vocalist Tatyana Komova and bassist Igor Ivanushkin are landscape painters, drawing visuals from diverse Russian arts. For cultural influences, Razin lists four classical composers, four writers and three painters.

Jeff Spevak, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, June 2009

Born among many polemics in the 90s, and becoming in a way a ��supergroup�� thanks to the highest quality of its members and their interpretations, the Second Approach express at the same time the most democratic desire, to give voice to all individual aesthetic senses of its protagonists. A kind of a delicate cocktail mixing impressions, sound researches and the usual mode of thinking ��non-standard�� music by Mr. Andrej Razin, an eminently attentive pianist, a real and proper master of piano improvisation, Tatiana Komova, a surprising vocalist of the strongest stylistic modernity, and Igor Ivanushkin, currently the prime rhythmic reference of modern russian music.

Vittorio Albani, AllAboutJazz Italien

Jazz of Four Cultures is a new festival that took place in Lodz, Poland's second largest city, on Dec. 14-16, 2001. The festival represented all four ethnical elements that formed Lodz's cultural heritage - Poles, Russians, Germans and Jews�� Pianist Andrei Razin and the Second Approach Project represented Russia. One of Russia's most uncommon jazz collectives, it was created in 1998 to perform its leader's music on the sharp edge between jazz and modern classical music, with rich elements of different ethnic influences, brought to the Project's sound by singer Tatiana Komova who mastered Gypsy folk singing tradition.

Cyrill Moshkow, "Jazz.ru" magazine, editor in chief

I was very much inspired by the trio. It's amazing how our "national" piano jazz is developing at the time. ...Razin's art gives hope when you're thinking of the music you've dedicated your life to. His music is deep, exciting and conceptual. I'm very surprised at the natural way Tatyana Komova took part in the project, as I used to know her sticking to a completely different artistic line.

Anatoly Kroll, bandleader, composer, people's artist of Russia, "Polny Jazz" #8

...What "The Second Approach" is doing I consider to be folk-jazz. Certainly, that's a conventional term. I mean, the very nature of such games with the audience lies in folklore, but is jazz as well. It's not only what's happening onstage but also what's there going on down in the hall. The more the audience takes part in the happening the more jazz or folk nature it acquires. A great deal in "The Second Approach" art depends on the Razin-Komova duet, I should say. I guess Andrei's avant-gardes and Tatyana's ethnics being interconnected count for much as the whole project is based on this interrelation. In fact, I just like them as a spectator and am interested in as a musician - "The Second Approach" touches my emotions. As for the trio itself, I truly believe that their presence should be obligatory at any festival, especially at polystylistic ones.

Yuri Saulski, composer, people's artist of Russia, Moscow Jazz Agency president Interview to the "Vecherniy Klub" ("Evening Club") newspaper

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