New York by Anna Kolchina. – What are your impressions of working together with jazz musicians abroad? Was the record such a success that your expectations coincided with the final result?

Today we will go overseas and visit New York. And the magnificent jazz singer Anna Kolchina will show us her city - Laureate of the competition "Gnesin-Jazz" (Moscow A.O. Kroll), Laureate of the competition "Autumn Marathon" (St. Petersburg, D.S. Goloshchekin), best vocalist of the second All-Russian festival jazz music of Samara. Collaborates with the best musicians in Russia, Europe and America. In March 2015, Anna presented her debut album "Street of Dreams", recorded together with the famous Italian jazz pianist Massimo Farao in Turin (Italy) and released by the major jazz label "Venus Records" in Japan. Immediately after this, Anna received an invitation to perform at Bobby Durham's "Jazz Festival" 2015 Isola del Cantone, in Italy, where she shared the stage with such masters as Kevin Mahogany, Steve Nelson, Sheila Jordan, Paul Bollenback, Vincent Herring, Mike Baker, Byron Landham , Aldo Zunino, Rodney Bradley, Massimo Farao', Pat Bianchi. And already in 2016, the second album "Dark Eyes" was recorded and released, the arrangements for which were written by the singer herself. For six weeks, the album "Dark Eyes" was in high rotation on the radio " Virginia Muse” in Amsterdam (Netherlands) Singles from both albums were also included in jazz music collections along with such performers as Harold Mabern, Eric Alexander, Phil Woods, Peter Bernstein, Ken Peplowski, David Hazeltine, Steve Kuhn, Cedar Walton, John Di Martino, Nicki Parrott, Tessa Souter, Cyrille Aimee. In September 2017, Anna Kolchina recorded her third album in New York with New York musicians. John DiMartino (piano), Peter Washington (k-bass), Willie Jones III (b-no) Currently in Russia, Anna is the only vocalist whose albums are released by a major Japanese jazz label, which has won the respect of audiophiles around the world.

A.G. Anna, describe YOUR city in two sentences.
A.K. First of all - music. For me, New York and jazz are inseparable; I can’t imagine this city without a suitable soundtrack.

A.G. What did YOUR city give you and what did it take away?
A.K. This question can only be answered after living in New York for at least ten years. But if you give something to this city, you will always get an answer. This is what I have already felt, he is very responsive. That's why I want to work here. I want to study, come up with something new, believe in myself and generally believe. Dreams come true here. Well, at least they might come true.
What does he take away? Strength. And peace. This place is not for the weak.

A.G. Imagine that you have a day of unlimited free access to any place in your city. How will you spend this day?
A.K. During the day, I’ll take lessons in harmony and arrangement from the best, in the evening, I’ll go to some good concert, then I’ll stop by for a jam, and in the morning I’ll climb into the most comfortable, cozy bed to get a good night’s sleep.

A.G. What does your work give to your city?
A.K. I would like to believe that there is magic that does not exist in everyday life. For example, he gives it to me. Music is a great thing. Jazz music is a special world. It has everything.

A.G. What does your city give to your work?
A.K. All! All I need. This music itself, it is here and it is alive! For example, here is a sponge cake, it needs good impregnation. Otherwise, it’s not a cake anymore, but a dry cupcake. New York is my “impregnation”. Well, people, of course. All this makes you feel alive.

A.G. Tell us about your favorite place in the city and why?
A.K. Smalls Jazz Club/Mezzrow Jazz Club - you can come here every evening and feel like you’ve come home. Here you can always listen to great music, meet old friends and make new ones. Sing a few songs. And there is one more place, special. Everyone in this city should have one. Where you come is like going to a hole, where it’s quiet! New York is a very noisy city.

A.G. What would you wish for the residents of your city?
A.K. Strength and health!

Anna, thank you for a wonderful, musical walk around New York. May the city and the people in it fully give you everything you deserve.

On July 20, St. Petersburg jazz vocalist Anna Kolchina released her second album entitledDark Eyes,which contains classic jazz melodies in the singer’s own arrangements. Annatold in a conversation withJazzPeople about the name of the record and how the creative process took place with famous musicians abroad.

– How did it happen that you began to collaborate with the Japanese label Venus Records?

– 2 years ago I attended my first jazz and vocal master class abroad, led by Sheila Jordan as part of the festival in Turin. One day, thanks to Massimo Farao, we agreed on a private lesson with her. As a result, the three of us began communicating, and at the same time the first prospects for my development as a jazz vocalist and going beyond the Russian stage were announced.

It was an amazing but emotionally difficult experience for me.

Later I left for Russia and two months later received an offer from Massimo to attend another master class by Kevin Mahogany in Italy. Then he insisted on recording several songs together. The album was planned to be released in Italy.

We recorded 8 songs. One of them - I Remember Clifford - Massimo sent it to the author, the legendary saxophonist Benny Golson, to get his authoritative opinion. The rating turned out to be very high. Inspired by this fact, Massimo sent the recordings to Japan. And Venus Records offered cooperation and release of the record.

Some time later, I went to Italy to start recording my first album, Street of Dreams. For a full-length album, we needed to add a few more compositions. Everything happened very quickly, but the feeling of a successfully completed debut project did not leave me for a long time!

– Tell us about your second albumDark Eyes,which came out this summer.

– My first record was released impromptu. Like any artist, I wanted to develop, which means that the next album had to be different from the previous one. I started writing arrangements and assembled a musical lineup with which we gave several concerts. After some time, Massimo contacted me again and told me that there was an opportunity to record a second album on a Japanese label. Only now the work will take place in New York.

I was pleased to know that my aspirations were being justified

As a result, due to the fact that everything happened in the shortest possible time, it turned out that the recording was in Italy, like last time. The album contains 13 jazz standards, 7 of which are in my arrangements. The album Dark Eyes is named after the composition of the same name “Black Eyes”. A producer at a record label in Japan suggested that the song be included as part of the album's contents to give it some extra color, and it eventually became the album's title.

– What are your impressions of working together with jazz musicians abroad? Was the record such a success that your expectations coincided with the final result?

– Immediately after finishing recording the album, I realized in which direction I needed to move further, what to emphasize in my creativity and performance technique. If we talk about the sound, I haven’t heard the mixed version yet, as there were some problems with delivering 100 copies to Russia. Based on the fragments that were sent to me during the mastering process, I can say that overall I am satisfied with the work. But there is something else you should pay attention to.

It was an amazing experience for me. And at the same time emotionally complex. I had to act as a leader so that the result would be exactly what I imagined. And of course, it is psychologically exciting to work with famous musicians when you yourself are only at the beginning of your creative journey as an arranger. I was pleased to realize that my aspirations were being justified, and that what I was doing was not in vain and was helping me develop as an artist and move forward.

February 27 in St. Petersburg (jazz club JFC) and March 1 in Moscow (jazz club "Esse") there will be a presentation of the album "Street Of Dreams", which she released on a Japanese audiophile label Venus Records young St. Petersburg singer.

Label Venus Records created in Tokyo in 1992 by a former producer of an American company RCA Victor Tetsuo Hara ; Venus Records releases recordings by Japanese, American and Italian jazz musicians (Kenny Barron, Bill Charlap, Ron Carter, Eric Alexander...), which are mastered personally by Hara-san using a unique 24-bit technology developed specifically for this labelHyper Magnum Sound , providing the Japanese company's releases with a special sound that has won the respect of audiophiles around the world.

According to Anna Kolchina, the proposal she received from Tetsuo Hara to implement a joint project was unexpected, primarily becauseVenus Records gives preference not to vocal, but to instrumental music (among the few singers whose recordings were released onVenus- Tessa Souther and Nikki Parrott). In addition, this label never releases a musician's debut album. The case of Anna Kolchina is an exception.