How did it all begin, and what landmark moments has the band had through the years? Petar Jurkov-Jurkata, pianist, composer, one of the founders, still member of the group:

“We started out as a combo – trumpet, tenor and baritone saxophone, guitar, lady lead singer etc. To begin with, we played light pop, but Vesselin Nikolov, our leader changed all this. After the second year we moved to Plovdiv, and our repertoire was 100 percent jazz. Vesselin also chose our name. We started out as White, Green AND Red – an analogy with one of Duke Ellington’s pieces Black, Brown and Beige. Then we dropped the “and”, and the name came to represent the colours of the Bulgarian flag. Of course, we each had our own idols. For example, I myself have learnt the trade from Oscar Peterson and other renowned pianists of the day.. I tried to play like them, though our style is different, and I think that is a good thing. Culture was treated differently back then, we had lots of sponsors, lots of support, people enjoyed the music we made. We had programmes with guest soloists, poets, actors… I have many memories, but perhaps the most memorable of all was our participation in the Newport Jazz Festival, USA in 1979, and our tour of India in 1980, when we played in Mumbai, Delhi, Calcutta.”

Through the years various musicians have been members of the White, Green, Red. For a time they included Ognyan Videv (guitar), Theodosii Spassov (kaval), jazz singer Yildiz Ibrahimova. The band has played on dozens of prestigious stages in Poland, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Germany, Morocco, Russia, Ukraine, Hungary Greece… The musicians have earned a host of awards for their work, the latest – the lifetime achievement award at Plovdiv Jazz Fest, 2018. The prize for overall contribution to the development of jazz was awarded to the current members of White, Green, Red, with leader, since 1991, guitarist Veselin Koychev. The festival programme also included a benefit concert – a wonderful gift to the group from their students and fans of their music – pianists Milen Kukosharov and Miroslav Turiiski, saxophone players Dimitar Liolev (alto) and Venelin Georgiev (tenor), Martin Tashev (trumpet), Nikolay Karageorgiev (guitar), Alexander Lekov (bass guitar), Nacho Gospodinov (drums).

“I really enjoyed hearing our pieces arranged and performed by these young musicians,” says Petar Jurkov. “Genius! I am happy to say that the two pianists who did the arrangements are students of mine. As a matter of fact all of them have been around us. We lit the spark, they continued the legacy.”

Renowned pianist and band leader Milen Kukosharov:

“I am very grateful for everything the musicians from White, Green, Red have done for us, in those troubled times, times of economic and spiritual crisis in the country. Those were formative years for all of us who played at the benefit concert. White, Green, Red used to organize “Jazz Studios” where we would get together to play, meet new musicians, watch recordings of concerts. For us, they were an island while the country was shaking to its foundations, though we didn’t know the reason why – we were so very young. We didn’t even realize the import of what we had been given. I am so glad to see their legacy has been taken up – a missing link in the history of our society in those days. And it all happened here, in Plovdiv.”

English version: Milena Daynova