Braty Blyuzu and Marianna Vynnytsky to appear in first major concert in New York City (11/02/03)

Braty Blyuzu and Marianna Vynnytsky to appear in first major concert in New York City

NEW YORK - A concert offering a wide spectrum and mix of popular music, featuring the group Braty Blyuzu - Myroslav Levytsky, keyboard; Oleh Levytsky, saxophone; Andriy Melnyk, bass-guitar; Stefan Kuziv, solo guitar; Andriy Vintsersky, percussion; and soloist, singer Marianna Vynnytsky - will be held at the Ukrainian National Home, 108 Second Ave., on Sunday, November 9, at 2:30 p.m. Joining the performers will be Myroslav Holodynsky, violin.

Comprising the concert program will be works from the extensive repertoire of Braty Blyuzu, drawing on a decade of music-making, as well as on the group's latest compositions. The program will also feature songs with lyrics by Ms. Vynnytsky, in arrangement by Volodymyr Vynnytsky and Mr. Vintsersky.

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Bratu Blyuzu came into existence in 1992, as a venture undertaken jointly by the brothers Myroslav and Oleh Levytsky with the intention of creating their own group to play their own music. The group, in a partially different configuration than its current one, got its start at the Zirky Prykarpattia festival in Ukraine and within a year's time, won the grand prize at the famed Chervona Ruta festival in Donetsk (1993). From then on, the group consistently placed in top ratings nationwide in the "best jazz ensembles" category as conducted by the prestigious Profi ratings in Ukraine.

Prior to his commitment to Braty Blyuzu, Myroslav Levytsky, a graduate of the Ivano-Frankivsk Pedagogical Institute, where he studied piano, had been working with the Russian pop artist Iryna Ponarovska in Moscow (1987-1991). Upon returning to Ukraine, he worked for a time with Zahrava, until a fortuitous encounter with Mr. Vintsersky, who was working at the time with the popular group Zemliany, and Andriy Melnyk - the other two original members of the group.

Myroslav Levytsky is both the music director and the godfather of Braty Blyuzu. (Note: the name of the group, apart from its literal meaning, is a pun on words, which is derived from the regional Hutsul use of the term "bráty blyuzu," i.e., to put on a shirt or jacket, and go out among people). He is also credited with writing most of the group's music. Mr. Levytsky refers to the full spectrum of the group's music - rock, jazz, folk as well as World Music and New Age - as reflecting contemporary music developments and trends.

After garnering the grand-prix at Chervona Ruta, Braty Blyuzu went on to concertize in France, Hungary, Slovakia, Germany and Austria, where they performed in programs featuring the leading musicians of the day. Their engagements included performances at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, where they shared the stage with the popular French singer Patricia Kaas (1995); the Pepsi-Szeged festival in Hungary, where they shared the bill with such stars as Goldie, Ramstein, Trans Global Undergound, Therapy, Natasha Atlas and Patty Smith (1998); and the 2001 international Linz Fest in Austria, where they performed in a featival which featured, among others, the Dutch group Rens Newland and the Canadian group Lionel Lodge.

Braty Blyuzu have released three CDs. Their first was cut in 2000 with arguably the most popular Ukrainian pop singer, Ani Lorak as a joint production of the Komora (Kyiv)-BMG (Munich) studios. The following year, the group came out with "Vienna Woods," which was presented at the Ukrainian Home in Kyiv. The third CD, titled "Dosch" (Rain), was recorded in Munich last year.

Among the better known works of the group are songs such as "Interlude," "Authentic Life," "Tosi-Bosi," "15-16-17-18," "Shalenyi Doshch" (Crazy Downpour), "Nedilia, 19:25" (Sunday, 7:25), "Zachekayte Khvylynu" (Just Wait a Moment) - the latter came to serve as the group's calling card in Europe.

The group's first U.S. performance, together with Ms. Vynnytsky, was this summer at the Ukrainian Festival at the Verkhovyna resort in Glenn Spey, N.Y.

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A percussionist (as well as accomplished lira player), Mr. Vintsersky is a graduate of the Chernivtsi Music School and author of the songs "For Ani Lorak-Manekennytsa" (For Ani Lorak, Model) and "Holos" (Voice), which is dedicated to Oleksander Ponamarov.

Mr. Levytsky, saxophonist, is a graduate of the Cultural-Educational Professional School in Kalush, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast. Together with his brother, Myroslav, he is a co-founder of the group. Oleh, along with Volodymyr Vynnytsky, note that the rock music the Braty Blyuzu play has an important informational component in that a lot of it is created on a very sound and authentic base, i.e., Ukrainian folk melodies.

Mr. Kuziv, guitarist, is a graduate of the D. Sichynsky Music School in Ivano-Frankivsk, where he studied cello, and Mr. Melnyk, bass-guitarist, is a founding-member of the group.

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Ms. Vynnytsky was born in Kyiv and graduated from the Kyiv Conservatory with a degree in singing and choir conducting. She now lives in New York and performs as a singer.

Among Ms. Vynnytsky's past performances are appearances as soloist with the Kyiv Burlesque and the Kyiv Music Hall ensembles, which included tours of Ukraine, the Baltic states and Poland with the latter. While in Ukraine, she also recorded song tracks for the Dovzhenko Film Studio in Kyiv.

Ms. Vynnytsky's debut performance in the United States was at the Ukrainian Institute of America in New York in a concert of songs of Ukrainian and American composers, featuring the jazz compositions of Myroslav Skoryk, with Maestro Skoryk and pianist Volodymyr Vynnytsky (1995), which was followed in 1996 by a concert tour and the release of the CD titled "Lviv Jazz."

Subsequent select appearances have included participation in the 20th anniversary celebration of The Ukrainian Museum (New York, 1996); the Yara Arts Group production - "Hot House: An Evening of Poetry on Heart and Home" (New York, 1997); the "Jewett Jubilee" concert, held as part of the Music and Art Center of Greene County "Music at the Grazhda" summer concert series (2001); "Ukraine: Focus on the Future," The Washington Group's Leadership Conference" (Washington, 2001); and the 50th anniversary celebration of the Ukrainian National Association (Kerhonkson, N.Y., 2002).

Apart from concert engagements, Ms. Vynnytsky does voice-overs for Western Union.

In this concert, Ms. Vynnytsky joins Braty Blyuzu in presenting songs to which she has written both the music and the lyrics. From some 20 songs compiled over a two-year period, the songs selected for this concert have been inspired, both in terms of theme and timbre-hues, by thoughts and feelings as well as associations brought on by the fall season.

Tickets for the Braty Blyuzu concert, at $20, will be available at the door. For additional information call (718) 748-8193 or (718) 894-4818.

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