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Leopolis Jazz Fest brings international music stars to Lviv (PHOTOS, VIDEO)

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People listen to the performance of U.S. jazz singer Bria Blessing and Ukrainian band Shockolad at the Pototskykh Palace stage of Leopolis Jazz Fest in Lviv on June 28.

Over the five days of Leopolis Jazz Fest, 25 bands gave live performances on the festival’s stages.

The annual music event was held in Lviv on June 27 – July 1.

Thousands of Leopolis visitors had a pleasure to listen to the outstanding performances by the internationally acclaimed jazz musicians.

The star lineup included the U.S. supergroup R+R=Now, who mixed modern jazz with beatbox and electronic sounds and received a warm reaction from the audience.

See also: The founder and pianist of the R+R=Now jazz band Robert Glasper talks the band’s philosophy.

The festival also featured Swedish musician Lars Danielsson and his Group Liberetto III, who gave a spectacular performance with the Inso-Lviv orchestra.

The living legend of jazz, 87-year old pianist and composer Ahmad Jamal gave a classy show along with his fellow band musicians. Jamal also received the Leopolis Jazz Music Award, the annual prize presented for the contribution to the development of jazz music.

Svyatoslav Vakarchuk, the lead singer of Ukrainian pop-rock band Okean Elzy and the regular of Leopolis, says he is very glad that the festival is getting better every year.

“I am very glad that the lineup of the festival becomes more and more diverse. I can see the beautiful crossovers of different styles and it’s a very great idea,” Vakarchuk told the Kyiv Post.

Despite the rainy weather during the festival, all the stages were crowded by the jazz fans, who were very motivated and supportive.

The Israeli band Shalosh Trio was pleasantly surprised by the listener’s reaction during their performance at the Rynok Square stage on June 29.

The pianist of the band Gadi Stern said that they were very excited to come to Ukraine and the reality met the expectations.

“I think it’s one of the best audiences I’ve met. Really incredible people. I wish we could stay longer,” Stern told the Kyiv Post.