Jazz without borders

Fans of jazz music in Warsaw have no reason to complain this week as the 2007 edition of the International Jazz Festival Jazz Jamboree starts, bringing the best of contemporary jazz music to the capital. Jazz fans in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev can also take heart, as that city will also host the festival this year.

The Jazz Jamboree, which first took place in 1958, has a reputation as the most important jazz event in Poland. Over the 49 years of its existence the festival has been closely linked with the promotion of jazz as a symbol of freedom for both listeners and musicians. In keeping with this idea, the organizers of the festival will introduce a new formula for the event, which will enable an exchange between Polish and Ukrainian musicians.

"We would like to strengthen the cultural ties between our nations, which, despite the fact they have been influencing each other's cultures for centuries, have experienced some rough patches in their bilateral relations. Jazz Jamboree Warsaw-Kiev is an expression of our efforts to contribute to the unity of Europe," the Jazz Jamboree Foundation proclaimed on its website.

According to the new festival scheme, well-known Polish jazz musicians will play in Kiev, while the public in Warsaw will have a chance to hear Ukraine's best-known jazz musicians, such as the Mansound sextet, Volodymir Solannik, Olga Voichenko, Julia Roma and Enver Izmailov. The Jazz Jamboree will also mark the first time world-famous groups Take 6 and the Manhattan Transfer play in the same concert.

The First Lady of Poland, Maria Kaczyńska, is the festival's patron. The concerts, which also feature jazz musicians from Israel, Portugal, Spain and Poland, will take place from November 8-26.

For more information log onto www.jazz-jamboree.pl