site.btaSinger Vicky Almazidou Commemorates Sarah Vaughan at Bansko Jazz Festival

Singer Vicky Almazidou will commemorate the birth centenary of American jazz artist Sarah Vaughan with a show called The Divine One, which will be presented on Thursday, August 8 during the 27th Bansko Jazz Festival. The Bulgarian star will be accompanied on stage by Miroslav Turiiski (piano), Vasil Hadzhigrudev (bass), Atanas Popov (drums) and Velislav Stoyanov (trombone).

The organizers of the Bansko Jazz Festival describe Vicky Almazidou as a "vocal phenomenon". She has performed and recorded with Milcho Leviev, Billy Cobham, Peter Erskine, Glenn Ferris, Airto Moreira, Chico Freeman and Craig Bailey, among many others.

Thursday night's programme of the festival also includes Spectrum & FreePlay a cappella, a Bulgarian-Canadian group with a rare style and approach to vocal performance. Its repertoire crosses the boundaries between pop, jazz and traditional Bulgarian folk music. Canadians Dylan Bell and Suba Sankaran of Spectrum & FreePlay met in a jazz choir in Toronto in 1993, and soon after that they formed a vocal group. They delight in sharing their superb and virtuosic a cappella style around the world, with performances in over 25 countries across 6 continents in support of their latest album, Talk To Me.

The evening will be closed by Mirla Riomar, a Brazilian singer, composer, percussionist and dancer, whose style blends baila rhythms with jazz and soul elements. In addition to treating the audience to her strong and recognizable voice, Mirla presents a dynamic visual show using dance as a form of expression, the organizers say.

The 27th Bansko Jazz Festival has been organized by Bansko Town Hall and the Festivals in Bulgaria Foundation, with BTA as media partner.