Igor Butman and the Moscow Jazz Orchestra completed the Latin American tourThe concerts were held with great success in Cuba, Nicaragua, and Brazil from 31 January to 6 February

“People in Nicaragua, Cuba, and Brazil understand jazz and truly love this music. We were warmly welcomed in all the countries we visited. Latin American audiences have a very high cultural level, and they are deeply knowledgeable about classical and contemporary art. Therefore, it was absolutely necessary to present our jazz here. We are ready to be cultural ambassadors as often and as widely as possible. I believe this is very important. We bring our own vision of jazz, and this erases boundaries and stereotypes about Russia. We have talented young soloists and musicians – they are the future of Russian culture, the future of music and jazz. I am confident that we will definitely return to all these countries, especially since we have already established cooperation. We also attended concerts of local jazz musicians and were very much impressed! So we will definitely invite musicians from Latin America to our festivals in Russia – this is exactly the kind of cultural exchange the world needs right now”

– noted People’s Artist of Russia Igor Butman.

The tour was launched in Cuba: the Moscow Jazz Orchestra performed two concerts at the Havana Jazz Plaza Festival. For the Cuban audience, the musicians prepared a special program that included Russian jazz compositions and works by Cuban composers. Among the pieces performed were the popular folk songs “Guantanamera” and “El Bodeguero.” The Moscow Jazz Orchestra’s success on the first day was so overwhelming that the organizers canceled the following concert of another band, and managed to leave the venue at the disposal of the Russian jazzmen.

Nicaragua was the next country of the tour, where the band performed on 2 February at the Rubén Darío National Theater. The concert program included masterpieces of world jazz classics and unique arrangements of Russian and Soviet musical works. In addition, the musicians performed a popular Nicaraguan song, which evoked a lively response from the audience. Welcoming the Russian performers to the country, Special Representative of the Co-Presidents of Nicaragua Laureano Facundo Ortega Murillo expressed gratitude to the people and leadership of Russia for developing cooperation, including in the cultural sphere. Mikhail Ledenev, Head of the Russian Diplomatic Mission in Nicaragua, was one of the guests at the concert.  He expressed confidence that the concert of Igor Butman’s Orchestra would play an important role in strengthening cultural cooperation and friendship between Russia and Nicaragua.

The tour culminated in Brazil, a country the orchestra fell in love with during its 2024 tour that celebrated the Moscow Jazz Orchestra’s anniversary and became the closing event of the

project in Brazil. The concert in São Paulo was sold out, followed by a first-ever performance in Florianópolis. The Moscow Jazz Orchestra presented a special program premiered in 2024. The program featured works by Brazilian composers, including the works by the legendary Antonio Carlos Jobim, as well as renowned Russian jazz standards.

The events were supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and the Federal State Budgetary Cultural Institution ROSCONCERT