Internationally Acclaimed Moscow Jazz Orchestra to Perform at Middletown Arts Center

Widely acclaimed by critics as the hottest big band in Russia and the only jazz orchestra from Eastern Europe to play at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and Birdland, the Moscow Jazz Orchestra arrives to Middletown for a powerful performance not to be missed. 

On Sunday, September 22 at 1 p.m. at the Middletown Arts Center, located at 36 Church Street. Igor Butman, considered to be a virtuoso saxophonist and skilled bandleader, will conduct his big band featuring vocalists Kathy Jenkins and Middletown native Rob Kevlin in an exciting afternoon of high hitting entertainment. The Moscow Jazz Orchestra features 16 talented jazz musicians and frequently tours Russia, Europe and the U.S. Watch them perform on YouTube.

DownBeat Magazine covered the band's performance at the prestigious Umbria Jazz Festival this July in Perugia, Italy. The magazine said the band “offered a 90-minute set that displayed their mastery of post-Dizzy Gillespie jazz orchestra language, rendering both bright numbers and ballads with the precision, flair and swing of the Atomic-era Basie Band on steroids and a ‘we will crush you’ attitude reminiscent of the better editions of the Buddy Rich Orchestra.”
 
Featured singer, actress and big band vocalist, Kathy Jenkins developed her lush singing style performing in hundreds of concerts across America and Europe with The United States Air Force Band. Possessing a big sensuous voice, Jenkins has recorded two CDs that have hit high notes with the critics. The Jazz Times has called her a “superb jazz singer”.
 
Recording artist, singer and actor Rob Kevlin is an adult contemporary pop artist whose unique voice and musical sound has been compared to artists like Josh Groban, Michael Buble, Matthew Morrison, and Harry Connick, Jr. With his big baritone voice, Kevlin recently showed his versatility in Pennsylvania by performing the role of Jekyll & Hyde in the Musical with the same name.
 
The Moscow Jazz Orchestra was founded in 1999 by Igor Butman, Russia's leading jazz personality, saxophone virtuoso, bandleader, club owner and television host. Born in 1961 in St. Petersburg, Russia, Butman started playing the clarinet at the age of 11. In 1976 he entered the Rimsky-Korsakov College of Music, where during his second year he began playing the jazz saxophone. Besides being taught by the remarkable musician and brilliant teacher Gennady Goldstein, he took unofficial lessons from nightly radio broadcasts of jazz on Voice of America.
 
Tickets are $35 and $40 per person. Purchase tickets at the Middletown Arts Center at 36 Church Street in Middletown, NJ or call 732-706-4100. For more information on The Moscow Jazz Orchestra performance, contact Kathy Jenkins at butmususa1@gmail.com, (646) 228-7502 or visit www.middletownarts.org.