"Our performance won't have any big surprises here because it's pretty hard to surprise anyone with jazz," Robert Anchipolovsky said to journalists. He added that the quartet will present their interpretation of American jazz standards.
"It's great that the festival has brought together musicians who play real jazz. For some reason jazz has moved off in a different direction at many festivals — some ethnic bands and funk groups perform what might be called near-jazz," he said.
Last night Anchipolovsky managed to come to the concert to hear the Krasnodar Big Band. He was listening for sound quality as well as the performance. "Outdoor festivals make good sound nearly impossible because of the winds and other weather conditions. But here the band sounded great," Anchipolovsky said.
The Robert Anchipolovsky Quartet members liked the festival's atmosphere. Singer Janine Carter said she was happy to perform for a Russian audience that is very open to the music. "The place is full of energy from the music, from the people. I think it'll be great tonight," she added.
She says there is a big deference between American and Russian audiences. "Here, jazz is listened to by different generations, while in the US the audience is more mature. And in Russia they are in fact listening at the concerts, whereas in the US it's largely background music to relax. But it's always good and interesting to play anywhere," Janine Carter concluded.