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| Viktor Obsust Trio Kicks Off New Jazz Series at Benslow Music on 4 November Benslow Music today announces the first in a new series of jazz concerts at its headquarters in Benslow Lane, Hitchin on Friday 4 November. The opening event is given by renowned jazz bassist Viktor Obsust, who brings his Trio to Hitchin for an evening of Jazz Manouche, the style of swing jazz cultivated by the great Django Reinhardt at the famous Hot Club de France in Paris in the 1940s and early 1950s. This music, atmospheric and passionate, is currently enjoying a massive resurgence, and we'll create the right sort of club atmosphere for the evening, with the bar open for the duration. Viktor Obsust Viktor came to London in 1998 as an Aurelius scholar at Trinity College of Music. During his studies at the Bratislava State Conservatoire in Slovakia, from where he graduated in 1997, Viktor played in the State Chamber Opera of the Slovak National Theatre (Bratislava), was principal bass player in the musical Fiddler on the Roof, and worked in the Czech Republic in Alternative Theatre Ha-Divadlo in Brno. At the same time he was playing jazz standards in Prague's restaurants and clubs. Ever since, he has been actively engaged in the worlds of jazz, improvisation and world music. Apart from regular appearances at the Vortex Jazz Club since 2006, Viktor has performed in this country at Dartington, Glastonbury, Big Green Gathering, Morecombe Bay Festival, Brighton Komedia, Royal Albert Hall, Wigmore Hall, Queen Elisabeth Hall and Royal Festival Hall, and appears regularly at Le QuecumBar and Brasserie, London's centre for Jazz Manouche. He's also a highly sought-after teacher. Benslow Music's Director of Music Stephen Pettitt said, "Our annual, A Night of Jazz in the summer, always sells like hot cakes, so I'm delighted to be adding more jazz events to our programme of live music-making. I'm even more pleased that Viktor is playing for us in November. He's a good friend of Benslow Music and a virtuoso musician who brings a real spirit of adventure to everything he does. The spirit of Django Reinhardt really lives within him, so we're in for a real treat." Viktor Obsust commented, "Benslow Music is a fantastic institution which contributes immeasurably to the musical life of this country, and I'm proud, as one of its established course leaders, to be helping to launch a new stream of jazz concerts with this evening of the very finest Jazz Manouche including some of our own original compositions. I hope everyone who loves jazz will want to join me and my colleagues for what I know will be a memorable night." write your comments about the article :: © 2011 Jazz News :: home page |