Three rivers - jazz connoisseurs recieved a taste of traditional jazz with an international flavor this weekend. Playing to a rapt audience under a blue canopy, the Leningrad Dixieland jazz band wowed the crowd to a standing ovation with "It's a Wonderland". A singer with Frank Sinatra's overtones and Bruce Springsteen's vocal gruffness crooned the ballad with a Soviet accent. Over 1,500 people were in Three Rivers Saturday for the 18th Annual Jazzaffair. The event started Friday evening and concluded Saturday afternoon. Ten jazz bands, including High Sierra Jazz Band of Three Rivers, participated. Cleaning his saxaphone in between sets, Soviet band leader, Oleg Kuvaitsev said it was the band's third trip to America. Their next stop is a jazz festival in Sacramento. American jazz is gaining a following in the Soviet Union, he said. "Everyone listens to the jazz hour on Voice of America", said Kuvaitsev, a former engineer. Asked if he has any favorites among American jazz artists he replied:"Louis Armstrong, of course". Deborah Yu Visalia Times-Delta Monday, April 15,1991 |