Famous
Georgian Jazz singer, Maya
Baratashvili gave her first solo concert in London , at Puskin House, directed by Julian
Gallant, on November 26. “This was my debut concert in London and I really felt a responsibility for delivering a positive message and high quality music to the audience” , announced
Baratashvili at a press conference on December 5th after coming back to Tbilisi.
As she explained, she and her group of musicians ( Gia Rakviashvili on piano and Giorgi Samsonadze on contrabass) were very impressed and were also very cordially welcomed .
The project was originally initiated and organized by the British Gerogain Society (Stephen Nash, chairman) and the British-Georgian Chamber of commerce(Lord Cromwell, founder , Mako Abashidze, Director). Bank
Republic(Societe Generale Group) and the British Midland Airlines(BMI) also supported the event. Baratashvili expressed special thanks to Gilbert Hie, Chief Executive Officer of the JSC Bank Republic/Societe Generale Group.
“ We decided to sponsor her because she is a high level performer and we like very much her performance as a jazz singer. We sponsored her because she is entering onto the international stage: she received an award at the Monte Carlo jazz festival last year, “ answered Hie, when asked why Bank Republic decided to sponsor Baratshvili.
He explained that it is the rule of the Bank Republic to sponsor music as part of Bank Republic’s corporate social responsibilities and added that this first step of their partnership was a success.
Baratshvili’s repertoire in London included pieces by contemporary American, British and Russian composers. The audience was pleasantly surprised when Maia performed a jazz arrangement of Cabaret songs by Benjamin Britten.
A review of the editors picks from the Guardian website reads: “ The Audience was enchanted by the spectacular performance. It was a special evening and memorable day for all those present. The programme was elegantly chosen; we heard real jazz classics in professional interpretation, not commonly known”.
Along with the native British audience, the concert was attended by the Russian and Georgian community who enjoyed Russian and Georgian ballads in her interpretation. “ We were also attended by Georgian and British musicians and this is very important to find out what the professionals reviews and comments are regarding what you are doing in professional way,” she admitted
According to her, they were very cordially welcomed by the Georgian and Russian comminutes there as well as from the British . “There were some Georgians who have never been to Georgia but they remember Georgia .They were born there but they don’t forget about their historical motherland. They speak in Georgian very badly but still love Georgia. It was very sentimental for me to speak with them,” commented Baratashvili.
A special appearancefor the concert was Egils Straume, a Latvian musician and organizer of Latvian International Jazz festival, who had arrived in London especially for this concert and invited Maia to Latvian and Lithuanian Jazz events several times in the past. As Baratashvili, says the solos that he performed on his tenor saxophone added special charm to the night.
Baratashvili will have a solo performance with her musicians in January at the state Conservatory Hall , where live music will be performed. At the same time, a new CD entitled “Mayaa Baratashvili live” will be released; this will be made possible with the support of Bank Republic.”
Maya is expected to participate in the London jazz festival next year. Moreover, Baratashvili is thinking to make her voice heard in other European countries too.
After receiving her degree from a leading performing arts college in Tbilisi, Baratashvili began working at David’s Jazz Soul Club in 1995.
She has since sung her powerful jazz ballads in the Tbilisi Municipal Jazz Orchestra, the Georgian State Symphony Orchestra, and at numerous jazz festivals with jazz greats like George Duke, and Mikhail Okunne. With her powerful voice and the strong emotion felt when she sings, Maya captivates audiences wherever she goes. She has performed throughout Europe, impressed crowds in Moscow with Igor Brill and his trio and at the International Jazz Event in the capital cities of Latvia and Lithuania with Jorn Skogheim, Norwegian composer and guitar player.