Last July, on a hot summer evening I wandered into a little
Jazz Club in Greenwich Village with a friend. Bar Next Door is a charming and
cozy hideaway in the heart of the Village. As the music started, the velvet
evening filled with energy and rhythm. The passion and sentiment came alive.
One of the musicians announced that he was getting married next month in Paris
and devoted a song to his fiancé.
As we listened to the music and watched the band play,
everyone in the room felt that love, true love was alive and well. One of
performers in the band that night was Misha Tsiganov. His jazz piano was
infectious and exhilarating. Before we left I couldn’t resist and started a
conversation with him. Thanking him for a great musical experience and feeling
rejuvenated, we said good night and left into the bright lights of New York’s
tourist crowded streets.
A few months later fate brought Misha to Art House
Restaurant in Brooklyn, where we met again. That evening Misha was playing an
enchanting medley of Latin Jazz with a beautiful singer from St. Petersburg
named Irina Zubareva. The music transported
the audience to the sunny beaches of Brazil and infused the soul with sensuality. They performed several jazz standards and other
unusual interpretations to the crowds delight.
About a week later I had the pleasure to talk to Misha about
his life and music. As an Artist I always wonder where inspiration comes from
and what makes others do what they do. Are music and rhythm all around? Once,
watching Spartacus Ballet at the Bolshoi Theatre as a very young child, I took
notice of a world famous conductor. I was mesmerized that this man manifested
music out of the whole orchestra but I was also sad that he never learned to
play a single instrument himselfL
One of the questions I asked Misha was about the genre that
he chose. In Russia, Jazz was somewhat taboo like many other western styles of
music. He told me that studying and
performing Classical masterpieces, he was always taught to play note- for- note
the music of the composers and also to interpret their feelings as they were
experienced in the centuries before his time.
Jazz, on the other hand, offered a multitude of
interpretations, expression of emotions and new found freedom. Misha is an
incredible musician, listening to him play, the world dissolves and you become
one with his melody. He is a composer as well. Of course his compositions are
JAZZ. To him it’s all about being a self expressed artist and not just
someone’s messenger, he carefully jokes. He wants his audience to feel what he
is feeling; love, passion, sadness, irony, fear.
Over the years Misha has played with the finest stars of the
International Jazz scene. He played and recorded with legends like Chico
Freeman, Joe Chambers and many others. He feels honored to be a part of these
superb collaborations. His musical talent has matured and developed on the best
stages with the masters.
Currently, Misha’s dream is to fulfill his own musical visions.
He is great at being a supporting artist playing in the best of bands, but
ultimately, it’s his own “voice” that needs to be heard. If you ever get a chance
to hear Misha Tsiganov the Jazz Master, it will be an experience you won’t
forget.
For more information, schedules and venues go to www.mishajazzmusic.com
Diana Sorkin
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