International Jazz Quintet

— American jazz diva Deborah Brown was born in Kansas City, a metropolis famous for its jazz culture.

As she began her career as a classical vocalist, she can superbly render an opera aria, combining her classically trained soprano with virtuoso jazz singing. Deborah Brown's versatile repertoire spans from all-time jazz hits to songs from popular Broadway musicals and her own jazz pieces, but she is particularly remarkable for her amazing vocal improvisation talent she generously shares with others. Deborah has been teaching jazz and holding master classes throughout the world for years.

Deborah Brown has recorded 11 solo albums. She tours constantly in the United States, Japan, Latin America, Indonesia, Russia and Europe and has been applauded by jazz lovers in more than 50 countries.

Yakov Okun is one of the most respected musicians in the professional jazz community. Born into the family of a jazzman, he was the first Russian jazz pianist to be invited by the Criss Cross jazz label to record an album in the United States. The album was released in 2011.

His music activities over the past decade have won him an excellent reputation with modern American jazz stars touring Russia. They all prefer performing with Yakov Okun's MosGorTrio band. These include saxophonists Lew Tabackin, James Spaulding, Johnny Griffin, Craig Handy, Donny McCaslin and Jimmy Greene, trumpeters Eddie Henderson, Jeremy Pelt and Alex Sipiagin, vocalists Giacomo Gates, Sachal Vasandani, Michelle Walker and, of course, Deborah Brown. 

Yakov and Deborah first met in 1990 at an international jazz festival in Sochi, where Deborah sang with Oleg Lundstrem's legendary jazz band. Back then, she was accompanied on the piano by Yakov's father, renowned jazz pianist Mikhail Okun. Ten years later, Yakov joined Debora on her Russian tour. Their creative collaboration and friendship never ended.

They have toured lots of Russian cities together, including Moscow, Krasnodar, Perm, Tyumen, Khanty-Mansiisk, Vladimir, Vologda and Yekaterinburg, and were given a rousing welcome in the Moscow Conservatory Great Hall, at concerts in Tel Aviv, and at the Hibla Gerzmava Invites festival in Abkhazia where Deborah and Hibla (a soprano of world magnitude) sang several marvelous duets. 

Yakov Okun and Deborah Brown will again appear together at the Koktebel Jazz Party festival, this time as part of the International Jazz Quintet. They will be joined by:
— Jeremy Pelt, one of America's best-known trumpeters;
— Sergei Golovnya, a Russian saxophone star;
— Joris Teepe, Director of Jazz Studies at the Prince Claus Conservatory in Groningen (the Netherlands);
— Roberto Gatto, head of the percussion instruments department at the Conservatory of Santa Cecilia in Rome (Italy).

Though set up exclusively for the Koktebel Jazz Party event, International Jazz Quintet may choose to preserve its lineup. It will entertain jazz lovers with classical American jazz hits in traditional interpretations and modern-day arrangements by its musicians.

Photo by Ira Polyarnaya