The Jazz Spa Festival will close on Friday with American guitarist Russ Spiegel

Russ Spiegel is a guitarist, composer, arranger and actor. His musical career began with undergraduate studies at the famed Berklee College of Music in Boston and continued with graduate studies at City College of New York, where he studied with local royalty. He is best known for his several years in the band of legendary hammond player Barbara Dennerlein. In Mariánské Lázně, he will present songs from his new album Caribbean Blue.

Allison Wheeler, a modern jazz singer and composer from Monterey, California, will perform as a guest with the Russo Trio. She has been active on the European scene for several years now, not only as a versatile singer with a haunting vocal style, but also as a teacher. She has also performed in Czech clubs and festivals under the name of the Allison Wheeler Band, of which another of the performers, pianist Daniel Bulatkin, was a member.

The connection with Daniel Bulatkin is more than happy, his playing and Allison's vocals understand each other in terms of timing and emotion. Daniel is rightly named among the greatest contemporary young piano talents on the Prague scene. At the age of fifteen he came to attention thanks to his 3rd place in the Pianist of the Year competition organized by Petrof. As part of Jazz Spa he will perform as a Hammond organ player. On drums they will be accompanied by American drummer Jesse Simpson, who graduated from the Manhattan School of Music in New York and has performed alongside some of the world's leading jazz musicians. Jesse moved to the Czech Republic in 2022 and continues to perform throughout Europe and the United States.

The band will perform with:

• RUSS SPIEGEL (USA) - guitar & composition
• DANIEL BULATKIN (CZ/NL) - hammond
• JESSE SIMPSON (USA) - drums
• & j.h. ALLISON WHEELER (USA) - vocals

FULL FESTIVAL PROGRAMME HERE