LIVE XS JUNE 2000

YURI NAUMOV 
Para Breda, May 7th 2000

'Dis is anozzer sickedelic bluese composition'.

At most concerts, artists announcing songs in such poor English will be, openly or secretly, laughed at. No-one dared to break the silence at Yuri Naumov's performance, however. With good reason. During the first song already, I was gasping for air from sheer amazement and admiration.

Russian blues guitarist? Not really. World musician? Definitely! In the literal as well as the figurative sense of the word. Yuri originates from Russia but lives in New York, and to classify his work as blues would be to insult him. Moreover, three out of four songs (of which 90% in Russian), he sang in a way that would ban the late Jeff Buckley into oblivion and with the conviction that granted Jacques Brel with immortality. If Yuri Naumov ever reaches the status of a legend, it will be because of the magnificent way he plays his (9-string) guitar.

With blues being merely the stepping stone for his compositions, he takes his audience on an adventurous voyage around the world. Elements from Slavic and Asian folk, jazz, country and even flamenco music are fit into a seamless, unique and inimitable style. In two sets of more than two hours, Yuri Nau-mov created a serene, almost oppressive atmosphere in a sober but tastefully decorated Para. A revelation.

Yuri Naumov is the highlight of The Night of the Blues 
November 7th 2000

One month before the release of his CD in the Chasse Theatre on December 3, Yuri Naumov did a showcase during The Night of the Blues, on November 4, in the main hall of this same theatre. The headlines stated "Local acts are the Blues Night's main treats" and the newspaper BN/De Stem wrote on November 6 about Yuri Naumov's performance: "The eight-hundred visitors rewarded the challenging and experimental blues of the Russian artist Yuri Naumov with a round of applause and a lot of cheering. The artist, introduced by the record label Baron Samedi Records from Breda and referred to as "The Russian Dyzack" has his roots in the American Blues, but turns it into a specific Naumov thing, with exciting and virtuous guitar play.'