Spitfire, the Russian ska-punk band, started a new project called St. Petersburg Ska-Jazz Review with Markscheider Kunst, a St. Petersburg-based, afro-Caribbean group. In April 2001, the original idea was to create a program that included mostly jazz standards like Sidewinder and Corcovado as well as four original ska tunes (St. Thomas and Man in the Street). This was to be performed at the Sergey Kuryokhin Inter Festival (SKIF). .. This band featured Markscheider Kunst’s baritone-saxophone and percussion players, as well as Spitfire members. The show was a huge success and the band played live gigs in Russia. SPb Ska Jazz Review’s debut album, recorded at Dobrolet studio St. Petersburg in March 2002, was released in Russia on Zvezda Records in spring 2002. .. The band’s second album Too Good to Be True was recorded in April 2004. Jennifer Davis, an American singer, joined the group shortly after the album’s release. The album contains a lot of original material. It was released in Russia by Shnur’OK and in Europe and the United States by Megalith Records. In January 2005, the first SPb Ska Jazz Review album was reissued by Grover Records in Germany. This was followed by a lengthy tour through Germany and Switzerland. In December 2006, the band recorded a CD/DVD of a live concert entitled “Live At Red Club”. They are currently working on material to record a studio album. SPb Ska Jazz Review is a band that transcends genre boundaries. It fuses the dynamic contrasts between sweet harmonies with hard-driving polyrhythms. They also use improvisation and tight orchestra playing. This band is as energetic as it is skanks. From discogs
