Description
Moreover, Papuna’s talent has also shone brightly at various esteemed music festivals, including the Saulkrasti Jazz Festival in 2012, the Umbria Jazz Festival in 2013, the Orvieto Jazz Festival in 2013, the Tbilisi Jazz Festival in 2017, and the Klaipeda Jazz Festival in 2021. These remarkable performances have allowed him to share the stage with internationally acclaimed artists, including Eddie Gomez, Terence Blanchard, Lenny White, Danilo Perez, Marshall Gilkes, John Benitez, Ralph Peterson, Hal Crook, Tia Fuller, and many others.
Khondzi is a NYC-based saxophone player and composer originally from Tbilisi, Georgia. His music is a fusion of jazz, funk, Georgian folk, and ancient trance dance music, often traveling between and beyond genres as he invents original styles like “Perkuli” and “Funkh.” His formal musical education began at the Tbilisi State Conservatoire and continued at the Berklee College of Music and the School of Jazz and Contemporary Music at The New School. He has performed at renowned venues and festivals worldwide, including NYC Winter Jazzfest, Birdland, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Nublu, Drom, Black Sea Jazz Festival, and Klaipėda Castle Jazz Festival. In addition to his own projects, Khondzi has collaborated with a wide range of musicians and toured internationally with leading Georgian artists, including Nino Katamadze and Stephane.
Khondzi is prolific in his creative output and views his art as a means of joy and adventure. Approaching music as a game, he infuses his projects with wonder and spontaneity, crafting imaginative musical narratives with a magnetic quality that draws listeners in. Some of his compositions are considered “Georgian standards” in Tbilisi’s jazz scene. In 2021, he released his debut EP Caucasus, featuring three original compositions with Papuna Sharikadze (piano), Tal MASHIACH (bass), Juan Vidaurre (guitar), and Eviatar Slivnik (drums). More recently, he recorded a duo album with pianist Papuna Sharikadze that is set to be released later this year.
Saba Chachanidze is a Georgian-American jazz vocalist, producer, and bandleader known for his smooth tone, improvisational style, and dynamic blend of American jazz and Georgian musical heritage. With over a decade of professional experience, he has performed on acclaimed stages including Carnegie Hall, ARTERIA Jazz Club in Tbilisi, the Harmony Sweepstakes in New York, and Vocal Total in Graz, where he earned top honors.
Now based in New York, Saba leads multiple creative projects—including his “All or Nothing at All” collaboration and the newly founded Tergi to Hudson Jazz Festival—showcasing original arrangements and elevating Georgian culture within the American jazz landscape.