Koktebel Jazz Party kicks off

Founder of the Koktebel Jazz Party, Rossiya Segodnya Director General Dmitry Kiselev, has launched the festival in Koktebel.

"I'm happy to see you here, at the 13th jazz season in Koktebel. As it is the thirteenth, we were unable to avoid a few wrinkles — manmade ones. The band De-Phazz was strongly recommended to sit back and skip the festival. And you know, we posted a letter on VKontakte by an American trumpeter of Cuban origin, Arturo Sandoval, in which he said he was threatened with fines and penalties for attending the festival," Dmitry Kiselev said at the opening ceremony.

The festival's founder drew the visitors' attention to a moon-glade. "This is a good sign. So let's get the festival started. It is held with the support of the Russian Ministry of Culture. The Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency and the National State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company joined their efforts to organize the festival. The company Red Square built all of these beautiful sets. I think we can look forward to three days of joy," Kiselev said.