Ulyana Horbachevska - voice
Petras Vysniauskas - soprano saxophone
Antoni Donchev - piano
Christian Ramond - double bass
Klaus Kugel - drums, percussion
Biographies
ULYANA HORBACHEVSKA - voice
Ulyana Horbachevska was born and lives in Lviv, Ukraine. Singer, actress, researcher of authentic Ukrainian songs. She has a wide range of professional interests, participating in vocal, theatre, literary music and jazz projects. Her projects aim at creating new contemporary art forms and are mainly based on Ukrainian traditional songs. They are always strongly related to the Ukrainian culture.
Ulyana graduated from Lviv National Academy of Arts.
Jazzcritic John Barron (USA) writes 2012 in „theJazzWord“ about Ulyana Horbachevska’s quartet „Ultramarine“:
"The group's sound … runs the gamut of human expression, traversing a landscape of peaks and valleys. Using Ukrainian folklore and free-form improv, the quartet stirs up infectious enthusiasm … maintain a cohesive warmth, with an almost invisible seam connecting each section ... the music reaches an ecstatic climax ..." -
PETRAS VYSNIAUSKAS - soprano saxophone
"Soprano saxophonist Petras Vysniauskas, a Lithuanian, is I believe one of the most profoundly original musicians concentrating on that instrument -- his jagged phrases expanded on determinedly original intervals and his sound is powerful -- stronger and more pointed than Sam River's has become, for instance, more densely concentrated than the late Steve Lacy's, if not polyphonic in the manner of Evan Parker." - Howard Mandel, NYC, USA, 2007
"Something of the rugged beauty of the Lithuanian countryside and the passion of many of his fellow countrymen has been breathed into his music. For me Petras Vysniauskas' music remains unforgettable because of his clear, individual concept. The use of themes from traditional folk music is one facet of this saxophonist, who reflects both the modern development in jazz and the sound idioms of the new and latest improvised and composed music. However, as he himself says, his feeling for folk music is part of his musical identity. And he adds: "In Lithuanian folk songs I hear echoes of John Coltrane; I try to combine this with the free form of expression offered by modern jazz". - Bert Noglik, Germany
"... Petras Vysniauskas is one of the best soprano saxists we've heard in many years ... " - Bruce Gallanter, USA
ANTONI DONCHEV - piano
Composer-pianist Antoni Donchev has received many Bulgarian jazz awards over the last fifteen years and been featured at number of major jazz festivals. In addition to his work with his Acoustic Version, Donchev works in a number of other projects with musicians from all over Europe. Donchev is a model contemporary musician, easily and skilfully handling a broad variety of forms, combining the versatility of jazz with the raw depth of folklore and structures of classical music.
Donchev's compositions are like imaginary landscapes - chamber music atmospheres. He is looking for the space between the spaces - the microcosmos of sounds.
„Donchev proves to be master of the melody and the impressive, but economical instrumentation. He has created atmospheric, fascinating musical treasures.“ - Emanuel Wenger / Jazz Live
CHRISTIAN RAMOND - double bass
Christian Ramond has been playing in different projects with Joe Pass, Albert Mangelsdorf, Michel Pilz, Lee Konitz, Kenny Wheeler, Randy Brecker, Thomaz Stanko, Charlie Mariano, Dave Liebmann, Philppe Catherine, Herb Robertson, Theo Jörgensmann, Perry Robinson, Karl Berger
Over the past 25 years, he has been performing in Europe, Canada, USA, Mexico, Brazil, Uruguay, Egypt, Sudan, South Africa, Syria, Turkey, Sudan, India, China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand.
" ... Ramond and Kugel ... is an excellent rhythm section, that quietly turns in an exhilarating performance. Everything is terrifically balanced, from the song structures to the interaction. Collective motion is electric: a charging, spasmodic swing rises up from all sides." - Greg Buium, Coda Magazine, Canada
KLAUS KUGEL - drums
"Drummer Klaus Kugel is one of Central Europe's busiest and most articulate modern jazz drummers ... he treads the boundary between inside and outside playing in a particularly incisive way; always listening and never getting caught up in his own considerable chops." - Dave Wayne, AllAboutJazz, USA
"Most ensembles can only wish for a percussionist with such high skill and perceptive musicianship as Klaus Kugel" - Frankfurter Rundschau, Germany
"Percussionist Klaus Kugel is a commanding force behind the drum set. He creates layers of tension drawn out from intuitive listening." - John Barron, Jazzreview.com, USA
"These three discs ... show Kugel as a drummer whose nearly boundless energy and imagination cannot be confined by neat categories." - Ed Hazel, Signal To Noise, USA
Petras Vysniauskas - soprano saxophone
Antoni Donchev - piano
Christian Ramond - double bass
Klaus Kugel - drums, percussion
Biographies
ULYANA HORBACHEVSKA - voice
Ulyana Horbachevska was born and lives in Lviv, Ukraine. Singer, actress, researcher of authentic Ukrainian songs. She has a wide range of professional interests, participating in vocal, theatre, literary music and jazz projects. Her projects aim at creating new contemporary art forms and are mainly based on Ukrainian traditional songs. They are always strongly related to the Ukrainian culture.
Ulyana graduated from Lviv National Academy of Arts.
Jazzcritic John Barron (USA) writes 2012 in „theJazzWord“ about Ulyana Horbachevska’s quartet „Ultramarine“:
"The group's sound … runs the gamut of human expression, traversing a landscape of peaks and valleys. Using Ukrainian folklore and free-form improv, the quartet stirs up infectious enthusiasm … maintain a cohesive warmth, with an almost invisible seam connecting each section ... the music reaches an ecstatic climax ..." -
PETRAS VYSNIAUSKAS - soprano saxophone
"Soprano saxophonist Petras Vysniauskas, a Lithuanian, is I believe one of the most profoundly original musicians concentrating on that instrument -- his jagged phrases expanded on determinedly original intervals and his sound is powerful -- stronger and more pointed than Sam River's has become, for instance, more densely concentrated than the late Steve Lacy's, if not polyphonic in the manner of Evan Parker." - Howard Mandel, NYC, USA, 2007
"Something of the rugged beauty of the Lithuanian countryside and the passion of many of his fellow countrymen has been breathed into his music. For me Petras Vysniauskas' music remains unforgettable because of his clear, individual concept. The use of themes from traditional folk music is one facet of this saxophonist, who reflects both the modern development in jazz and the sound idioms of the new and latest improvised and composed music. However, as he himself says, his feeling for folk music is part of his musical identity. And he adds: "In Lithuanian folk songs I hear echoes of John Coltrane; I try to combine this with the free form of expression offered by modern jazz". - Bert Noglik, Germany
"... Petras Vysniauskas is one of the best soprano saxists we've heard in many years ... " - Bruce Gallanter, USA
ANTONI DONCHEV - piano
Composer-pianist Antoni Donchev has received many Bulgarian jazz awards over the last fifteen years and been featured at number of major jazz festivals. In addition to his work with his Acoustic Version, Donchev works in a number of other projects with musicians from all over Europe. Donchev is a model contemporary musician, easily and skilfully handling a broad variety of forms, combining the versatility of jazz with the raw depth of folklore and structures of classical music.
Donchev's compositions are like imaginary landscapes - chamber music atmospheres. He is looking for the space between the spaces - the microcosmos of sounds.
„Donchev proves to be master of the melody and the impressive, but economical instrumentation. He has created atmospheric, fascinating musical treasures.“ - Emanuel Wenger / Jazz Live
CHRISTIAN RAMOND - double bass
Christian Ramond has been playing in different projects with Joe Pass, Albert Mangelsdorf, Michel Pilz, Lee Konitz, Kenny Wheeler, Randy Brecker, Thomaz Stanko, Charlie Mariano, Dave Liebmann, Philppe Catherine, Herb Robertson, Theo Jörgensmann, Perry Robinson, Karl Berger
Over the past 25 years, he has been performing in Europe, Canada, USA, Mexico, Brazil, Uruguay, Egypt, Sudan, South Africa, Syria, Turkey, Sudan, India, China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand.
" ... Ramond and Kugel ... is an excellent rhythm section, that quietly turns in an exhilarating performance. Everything is terrifically balanced, from the song structures to the interaction. Collective motion is electric: a charging, spasmodic swing rises up from all sides." - Greg Buium, Coda Magazine, Canada
KLAUS KUGEL - drums
"Drummer Klaus Kugel is one of Central Europe's busiest and most articulate modern jazz drummers ... he treads the boundary between inside and outside playing in a particularly incisive way; always listening and never getting caught up in his own considerable chops." - Dave Wayne, AllAboutJazz, USA
"Most ensembles can only wish for a percussionist with such high skill and perceptive musicianship as Klaus Kugel" - Frankfurter Rundschau, Germany
"Percussionist Klaus Kugel is a commanding force behind the drum set. He creates layers of tension drawn out from intuitive listening." - John Barron, Jazzreview.com, USA
"These three discs ... show Kugel as a drummer whose nearly boundless energy and imagination cannot be confined by neat categories." - Ed Hazel, Signal To Noise, USA