Open World Leadership Center (Washington, DC) Posted on July 17, 2008
By OWLC
Cultural Leaders Program alum Rodion Goborov at the piano during his February 2008 jazz residency at the University of Louisville School of Music.
KYIV - When legendary hard bop trombonist Curtis Fuller took the stage at Kyiv’s National Academy of Music on June 6, accompanying him on piano was Open World Cultural Leaders Program alum Rodion Goborov. The performance, which also featured trumpeter Jim Rotondi and famed Ukrainian saxophonist Dmitriy "Bobin" Aleksandrov, found its way to YouTube thanks to a Ukrainian jazz scene blogger who goes by jurkinru. (Note: the YouTube clip takes a moment to load.) Fuller and Rotondi took the Moscow-based Goborov along with them for several other June jazz festival appearances in Ukraine and southern Russia. Another Ukrainian jazz musician and Rutgers student, Arkadiy Ovrutskiy, organized the tour and invited Goborov.
Goborov told Open World that he enjoyed the tour tremendously, “It was a great honor to play with Curtis Fuller, the musician who recorded the “Blue Train” album with John Coltrane”. He added that it was a pleasure to work closely with the easy-going Fuller.
Rotondi raved about his experience gigging in the former Soviet Union: "The Russian jazz audience today is truly one of the most enthusiastic and exciting to play for in the world. This seems to come from a deep understanding of the music, which is evidenced by the growing number of great young Russian musicians emerging on the scene now. It definitely bodes well for the future of our music."
Goborov took part in a February 2008 Open World jazz residency hosted by Mike Tracy, director of the Jamey Aebersold Jazz Studies Program at the University of Louisville School of Music. (One of the highlights of the February residency was a master class taught by jazz great Chick Corea [see Open World News Issue 2].
Commenting on his Russian Open World guest’s tour with Fuller and Rotondi, Mike Tracy said: “This is an excellent example of how jazz masters and evolving artists from both of our countries can come together and speak the universal language of jazz. It is also wonderful example of the level of musicianship achieved by these outstanding Russian performers. It is testament to jazz education in Russia and to supportive organizations like Open World.”
