Crimea held its first Koktebel Jazz Festival in 2003. I was lucky to be its cofounder together with my Ukrainian friends Lilya Mlinarich, Vladimir Solyanik and Kirill Vyshinsky. Musicians and us, we all lived in tents and enjoyed fantastic jam sessions at the foot of the Kara Dag Mountain after the main program was over.
Since then, jazz has rocked Koktebel every fall. In September 2013, the 11th Koktebel Jazz Festival took place.
Life goes on and, as Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov has recently said, we are now witnessing "the reformatting of the old world." Things may change but jazz keeps playing in Koktebel every fall.
I am glad to welcome all the fans of its magic to Koktebel Jazz Party this year. It is truly delightful that the geography of Koktebel Jazz we have once launched is expanding and that old friends keep meeting here.
Welcome to the 12th jazz season in Koktebel. My slogan for this year is: Keys and strings are better than firing hammers and triggers.
Dmitry Kiselev