Kazakhstan: 8 Shows, 6 Cities - Shola Adisa Farrar

Named the “California Princess of Jazz” I just returned home from a 6 city, 8 concert music tour through Kazakhstan (Central Asia). Kazakhs love jazz music and I performed with two orchestras, traveled by plane and minibus to the North, South, East and West regions of the country – which is quite a lot, as Kazakhstan is the ninth largest country in the World. I loved it ! And, I learned my name is шола адиза фарраp in Russian.

I have to be honest, I had a lot of trepidation when it came to traveling to Russia, for the first time and then on to Kazakhstan. Not only had I not heard much about this region, but the things that I did hear where not positive – most significantly the overt racism towards people of African decent. However, my experience was nothing but positive and in fact I now say that the Kazakhs are the most kind and nurturing people I’ve ever met throughout all of my travels. People were so affectionate; often giving me hugs and cheek kisses after a show; they were generous: I always received flowers or chocolates, and very accommodating; they fed me well and made sure I had whatever I needed to be comfortable.

I didn’t have much time to explore each of the six cities I performed in, but I did eat the food and met a multigenerational audience of music appreciators who came out to my concerts each night. I performed in some of the most decorative music venues (in Uralsk & Atyrau), the most uncommon (Karaganda Circus) and in cafes that felt like they could be in Paris (MuzCafe, Almaty). I performed with four different groups of musicians: two quartets, organized by Russian pianist Alex Cheremizov, and two orchestras and I must say, I rocked it out. This was an incredible experience musically and culturally , and I would go back to Kazakhstan whenever next I receive an invite.

Now to my trip in concert photos. (click to enlarge)