Colette / Jazz News Russia 2009

Colette's story:

October 2007
How absolutely wonderful, there came this invitation for me
to sing at the 13th International Vocal Jazz Festival
“Jazz Voices”. I feel honoured and very happy. In December
we are going to Moscow and we are going to Tver.

December 2007
We’ve just come back from our weekend in Russia, concerts
in Tver and in Moscow and it’s been absolutely fabulous!!!
I do hope there will be opportunities to go back to Russia,
because I sort of fell in love with that country and the people
in it. They are warm and very appreciative of our jazz music,
it’s been such a pleasure singing there.
As a band we were very lucky that the organisation took care
of almost everything. They took care of the flight, the
transportation to hotel and concert halls, the hotel. They took
care of beverages and they even arranged a mini-tour through
Moscow on Sunday morning. Really wonderful! The Red
Square just takes your breath away, such beauty.

Moscow amazed us, such a contrast in this town, such a
Metropolitan, such class and also a lot of traces of how it
must have been… You can see the amount of work that’s
being put in everyday by the Russian people, it is a beautiful
town and they are continually making it even more beautiful.
A mini-tour of 3 hours only makes you aware of how much
there still is to see and it makes you want to come back as
soon as possible with more free time to see more!
Traffic in Moscow is for a Dutch person, who is used to
strict driving rules, absolutely crazy!!! It really made
us laugh, but the way of driving suites my personality very
well and makes me wish that I could drive there!

On Friday evening we arrived in Russia and
on Saturday we drove to Tver. There was a concert
planned in the Tverskaya Filarmoniya (TF) Theater.
A beautiful old theatre with wonderful acoustics, which is
very important for us musicians. We were well cared for,
the people of the theatre had arranged something to eat for
us and the director had arranged a press conference.
The concert started with Tamara (young talent) a lovely girl
with a lovely voice singing 3 songs and then Rachel Gould
did a full set. Wonderful voice. She worked with a Russian
band and they were very very good. We really enjoyed
listening to them.
It was programmed well, as Rachel is a slightly introvert
singer with an amazing skilful way of scatting and I am a
very extrovert, direct singer. So tension wise the show had
an up going line which is the way you want it, as musicians
as well as the organizers and the audience.
Our concert was absolutely wonderful. Nick (piano) was
amazing, he created such a wonderful atmosphere,
Wiro (double bass) was virtuous and at times extremely fast,
the audience just loved him and Andrey (drums) made the
audience love him by giving them this wonderful solo in which
he uses a lot more than just his drum kit! Together they gave
me wings and we just soared together. The audience felt that
something special was happening and reacted to it.
So all of us together: audience, theatre staff, sound and
lighting, musicians, made it an unforgettable evening.

On Sunday the second concert was planned in
the House of Writers (CDW) in Moscow.
As an artist I worried that last nights concert would be
impossible to top. Would my voice do it again, could we
live up to last night?
This time the organisation was a little more lose, and as I
was very tired, I had a little difficulty coping with that.
There was no apparent order of who was performing at
what time and although that normally doesn’t bother me,
as it often creates a loose easygoing atmosphere for
musicians, which is good in jazz!, this time I think I was
a little too tired to be able to cope with it well. Therefore
I was extremely nervous before our part of the concert.
But the result of all this tension was again a fabulous show;
the guys outdid themselves! Andrey even managed to work
with a broken bass-pedal! Again I soared and my voice
seemed to be able to do faultlessly anything I wanted it to do.
Again we were being fed by the wonderful reactions of
the audience, they were marvellous!
We were so happy, the sound was good and musically
we just melted together, which is the ultimate sensation for
musicians: that’s what you are doing it all for, for those
special moments when everything just effortlessly seems to
fall in to place and all is musically right.

Afterwards the reactions came. People came to ask for
autographs, they thanked us for a wonderful show, which
we ourselves enjoyed just as much!
The Ambassador from the Netherlands Mr. Jan-Paul Dirkse
came to congratulate us, we felt very honoured and amazed
that he had taken the time to attend this concert.
The concerts were over, but we were still buzzing as well as
extremely tired.
Alexander Eydelman (chairman of the festival) and his wife
took us out to a wonderful diner. Andrey couldn’t go, as a
Russian he wanted to spend some time with family, before
flying back to the Netherlands where he now lives and works.
We laughed and recapped the wonderful evening and also
said our goodbye’s, as we were flying back to
the Netherlands very early the next morning.

Early Monday morning we flew back. All of us convinced
that we really want to come back in the near future, to see
more and get more of a taste of this beautiful country
Russia with these amazing jazz minded audiences

Thank you “Jazz Voices”, thank you Russia for giving us
the opportunity to be heard at your festival in
Moscow and Tver, we really had a wonderful time!

	News_Again_A Russia Tour Story!

	15th International Vocal Jazz Festival "Jazz Voices" in Moscow / 2009





	click button to hear some music!



	Rusland verslag 2009 5 December / Moskou (stad) HOUSE OF JOURNALISTS, Nikitsky Bulevard, 8a 6 December / OBNINSK (stad) JAZZ CLUB FEI, Ulitsa Lenina,15 Colette Wickenhagen: Het was weer een geweldig avontuur, Ik hou echt van Rusland en de heerlijke Russische mensen. Zo warm, zo'n gastvrijheid: we voelden ons geliefd en gerespecteerd. De organisatie was fantastisch. Ze regelden echt alles: instrumenten, eten & drinken, hotel, vervoer, er kwam zelfs een auto met chauffeur zodat we een aantal uren door Moskou konden touren! En dan de concerten: zo genieten. In Moskou hebben we een paar geweldige jonge talenten gehoord, geweldige stemmen! En om Paulinho te zien en horen was een echt cadeautje. Op reis hadden we zo'n plezier samen. Bedankt Moskou, bedankt Obninsk, maar bovenal, dank je wel Alexander. Knuffels en een kus, Ya Wsech was luublyu, Colette. Nick van den Bos (piano): Ik ben heel blij meegedaan te mogen hebben aan het internationale voices jazzfestival in Moskou. Wederom een zeldzaam mooie jazz ervaring. Alle organisatoren (maar natuurlijk Alex in het bijzonder) waren heel warm en lieve mensen. Ik voelde echt omringd door allemaal vrienden. Alle medewerkers deden er alles aan om het zo goed mogelijk voor iedereen te laten verlopen. Ik draag Rusland en het Russische publiek een warm hart toe en ik hoop er binnen niet al te lange periode weer te komen spelen. Nick. Wiro Mahieu (double bass): Rusland is een mooi groot land. Wild en vol met magnifieke plaatsen. Hard werkende mensen in de steden, proberen genoeg te verdienen om te kunnen leven in deze barre tijden. Ik ben blij dat ik daar heen kan om wat warmte te geven met ons jazz spel! Het is een eer! Ik hou er van, bedankt, vocal festival! Veel geluk met het Festival volgend jaar!! Nastrobja! Love Wiro! Adrei Makarov (drums): Fills my heart with joy to go back to my country and make good jazz music and see my family. I am very happy with the organisation, especially with Alexander, thank you Alex. It was a wonderful weekend, with lots of good music, good food and good people! Makes me proud to be Russian! Regards, Andrei.		Russian Story 2009 December 5 / Moscow (city) HOUSE OF JOURNALISTS, Nikitsky Bulevard, 8a December 6 / OBNINSK (city) JAZZ CLUB FEI, Ulitsa Lenina,15 Colette Wickenhagen: What a wonderful adventure it was again, I do love Russia and the lovely Russian people. Such warmth, such hospitality: We felt loved and respected. The organisation was marvellous. They took care of absolutely everything: instruments, food and drinks, hotel, transportation, they even managed to lend us a driver and car, so we could spend a few hours driving through Moscow, sightseeing! And then, the concerts: such joy. In Moscow we heard some incredible young new talented singers, great voices! And seeing and hearing Paulinho was a real treat. Travelling, we all had such fun together. Thank you Moscow, thank you Obninsk, but most of all, thank you Alexander. Love and hugs, Ya Wsech was luublyu, Colette. Nick van den Bos (piano): I’m very glad to have been able to be part of the 15th International Vocal Jazz Festival in Moscow and Obninsk. Again it was a very rare and beautiful jazz experience. All the organizers (especially Alexander of course!) were warm and lovely people. I felt surrounded by friends. All the employees did their utmost to make everything run as smooth as possible for everybody. I have very warm feelings for Russia and the Russian audiences and I hope to be able to play there again soon, Nick. Wiro Mahieu (double bass): Russia is a beautiful big country. Wild and full of magnificent places. Hard working people in the cities. Trying to make a living in these rough times. I'm happy to go there to give people some warm comfort while playing jazz! It's an honour! I love it, thanks to the vocal festival! Good luck with the Festival next year!! Nastrobja! Love Wiro! Adrei Makarov (drums): Fills my heart with joy to go back to my country and make good jazz music and see my family. I am very happy with the organisation, especially with Alexander, thank you Alex. It was a wonderful weekend, with lots of good music, good food and good people! Makes me proud to be Russian! Regards, Andrei.



	Uitnodiging:		Invitation:
	Ik heb opnieuw een uitnodiging gekregen om in Moskou, Rusland te komen zingen op 5+ 6 december 2009, tijdens het "Jazz Voices" festival. Vind het helemaal geweldig!!! Ik ga met dezelfde 3 muzikanten daar naar toe: Nick van den Bos, piano Wiro Mahieu, bass Andrei Makarov, drums We vinden het een hele eer om daar nu voor een Jubileum Festival opnieuw naar toe te kunnen gaan. We hebben daar een fantastische tijd gehad 2 jaar geleden (sctoll naar beneden) dus kijken we er erg naat uit om Moskou nog een keer te mogen bewonderen! Als we weer terug zijn zal ik er hier weer iets over vertellen!		I've been re-invited to come and sing in Moscow, Russia!!! This time the 5th + 6th of December 2009, again during the "Jazz Voices" festival. I'm absolutely thrilled!!! I'm going with the same 3 musicians: Nick van den Bos, piano Wiro Mahieu, bass Andrei Makarov, drums We feel very honoured to get the opportunity to play there for a second time. As you know (scroll down), we had a fabulous time there 2 years ago, so we're really looking forward to admiring Moscow again! When we get back, I'll tell you all about again, it right here!




	13th International Vocal Jazz Festival "Jazz Voices" in Moscow / 2007

	For a photo-impression of our concert in Moscow, click button:

	The Colette Wickenhagen Group on A Russian Adventure. 13th International Vocal Jazz Festival “Jazz Voices”

	Colette Wickenhagen – vocal / NL Nick van den bos – piano / NL Wiro Mahieu – double bass / NL Andrey Makarov – drums / RU

	Reactions from concert visitors: Moscow: Polina Sveridova (jazz singer): Colette Wickenhagen- her performance made a big impression on me. It seems like she can do anything and does so effortlessly. You can see she’s had caberet schooling. Anatoli Saznef (doctor and musician): Colette’s performance was the logical conclusion of the festival. She like a hurricane, she warmed the whole audience with her unbelieveble temperament. Wonderful and strong choice of her songs. She has a lovely repertoire and perfect performance and her band was also wonderful. Elena Birukova- Radio ‘Russian voice, showeditor Jazzshow All the foreign performers were unbelievably good. Each had her own style and jazzworld wich they opened to the public. The festival was perfect. Alla Len (concert visitor): We ( my friends and my grandma) ) have been at the concert in Moscow where you participated with your group. So you were the BEST there and what is more – really fantastic!! We have had such pleasure of listening and watching your performance! Thank you for coming in Moscow! May we hope to see you again here? ( It was really funny when the compere announced the surname of the drummer as a typically Dutch one). I tried to find your DVD also but I haven't succeeded( You should release a DVD of your concert because it's so pleasant to watch you performing! And it's a pity that there's not much of information about your creative work! (Artists should learn from you to perform at the stage!). Tver: Dr. Sergey (concert visitor): Dear Colette! Thanks for your songs and the fire, that you demonstrated in Tver Philharmonic Hall, Russia.		Colette's story: October 2007 How absolutely wonderful, there came this invitation for me to sing at the 13th International Vocal Jazz Festival “Jazz Voices”. I feel honoured and very happy. In December we are going to Moscow and we are going to Tver. December 2007 We’ve just come back from our weekend in Russia, concerts in Tver and in Moscow and it’s been absolutely fabulous!!! I do hope there will be opportunities to go back to Russia, because I sort of fell in love with that country and the people in it. They are warm and very appreciative of our jazz music, it’s been such a pleasure singing there. As a band we were very lucky that the organisation took care of almost everything. They took care of the flight, the transportation to hotel and concert halls, the hotel. They took care of beverages and they even arranged a mini-tour through Moscow on Sunday morning. Really wonderful! The Red Square just takes your breath away, such beauty. Moscow amazed us, such a contrast in this town, such a Metropolitan, such class and also a lot of traces of how it must have been… You can see the amount of work that’s being put in everyday by the Russian people, it is a beautiful town and they are continually making it even more beautiful. A mini-tour of 3 hours only makes you aware of how much there still is to see and it makes you want to come back as soon as possible with more free time to see more! Traffic in Moscow is for a Dutch person, who is used to strict driving rules, absolutely crazy!!! It really made us laugh, but the way of driving suites my personality very well and makes me wish that I could drive there! On Friday evening we arrived in Russia and on Saturday we drove to Tver. There was a concert planned in the Tverskaya Filarmoniya (TF) Theater. A beautiful old theatre with wonderful acoustics, which is very important for us musicians. We were well cared for, the people of the theatre had arranged something to eat for us and the director had arranged a press conference. The concert started with Tamara (young talent) a lovely girl with a lovely voice singing 3 songs and then Rachel Gould did a full set. Wonderful voice. She worked with a Russian band and they were very very good. We really enjoyed listening to them. It was programmed well, as Rachel is a slightly introvert singer with an amazing skilful way of scatting and I am a very extrovert, direct singer. So tension wise the show had an up going line which is the way you want it, as musicians as well as the organizers and the audience. Our concert was absolutely wonderful. Nick (piano) was amazing, he created such a wonderful atmosphere, Wiro (double bass) was virtuous and at times extremely fast, the audience just loved him and Andrey (drums) made the audience love him by giving them this wonderful solo in which he uses a lot more than just his drum kit! Together they gave me wings and we just soared together. The audience felt that something special was happening and reacted to it. So all of us together: audience, theatre staff, sound and lighting, musicians, made it an unforgettable evening. On Sunday the second concert was planned in the House of Writers (CDW) in Moscow. As an artist I worried that last nights concert would be impossible to top. Would my voice do it again, could we live up to last night? This time the organisation was a little more lose, and as I was very tired, I had a little difficulty coping with that. There was no apparent order of who was performing at what time and although that normally doesn’t bother me, as it often creates a loose easygoing atmosphere for musicians, which is good in jazz!, this time I think I was a little too tired to be able to cope with it well. Therefore I was extremely nervous before our part of the concert. But the result of all this tension was again a fabulous show; the guys outdid themselves! Andrey even managed to work with a broken bass-pedal! Again I soared and my voice seemed to be able to do faultlessly anything I wanted it to do. Again we were being fed by the wonderful reactions of the audience, they were marvellous! We were so happy, the sound was good and musically we just melted together, which is the ultimate sensation for musicians: that’s what you are doing it all for, for those special moments when everything just effortlessly seems to fall in to place and all is musically right. Afterwards the reactions came. People came to ask for autographs, they thanked us for a wonderful show, which we ourselves enjoyed just as much! The Ambassador from the Netherlands Mr. Jan-Paul Dirkse came to congratulate us, we felt very honoured and amazed that he had taken the time to attend this concert. The concerts were over, but we were still buzzing as well as extremely tired. Alexander Eydelman (chairman of the festival) and his wife took us out to a wonderful diner. Andrey couldn’t go, as a Russian he wanted to spend some time with family, before flying back to the Netherlands where he now lives and works. We laughed and recapped the wonderful evening and also said our goodbye’s, as we were flying back to the Netherlands very early the next morning. Early Monday morning we flew back. All of us convinced that we really want to come back in the near future, to see more and get more of a taste of this beautiful country Russia with these amazing jazz minded audiences Thank you “Jazz Voices”, thank you Russia for giving us the opportunity to be heard at your festival in Moscow and Tver, we really had a wonderful time! Colette Wickenhagen.


	Uitnodiging:		Invitation:
	Ik heb een uitnodiging gekregen om in Moskou, Rusland te komen zingen op 8 + 9 december 2007, tijdens het "Jazz Voices" festival. Vind het geweldig!!! Ik ga met 3 muzikanten daar naar toe: Nick van den Bos, piano Wiro Mahieu, bass Andrei Makarov, drums We vinden het een hele eer om daar te kunnen spelen en tegelijk een unieke kans om de stad Moskou te kunnen bekijken! Ik heb al vaak gehoord hoe mooi het is en ben erg benieuwd. Als we weer terug zijn zal ik er hier iets over vertellen!		I've been invited to come and sing in Moscow, Russia!!! On the 8th + 9th of December 2007, during the "Jazz Voices" festival. I'm really excited!!! I'm going with 3 musicians: Nick van den Bos, piano Wiro Mahieu, bass Andrei Makarov, drums We feel very honoured to get the opportunity to play there and it's also a unique chance to see the city of Moscow! I've often heard how beautiful it is and I'm very curious. When we get back, I'll tell you all about it right here!