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The six men of the MAN SOUND.

The six men who make up the Ukrainian group MAN SOUND arrived in Moscow two hours before their Wednesday night performance. They were weary but raring to go. When they hit the stage for the second half of the Pepsi International Jazz Concert, jet lag from their 30-hour trip disappeared as they launched into several gospel numbers with soul, Kiev-style. A piece titled "Who Is Going to Tell the Child About Jesus" brought the house down. No one was more enthusiastic than jazz festival namesake Lionel Hampton, who was sitting backstage urging them on. After they finished their set, the men gathered around Hampton for a group photo. MAN SOUND was invited to the University of Idaho Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival by Hampton and Festival Director Lynn Skinner. The sextet came to Skinner's attention during the summer of 1998 when he and wife, Elvon, traveled to see what jazz was all about in the country where that brand of music was banned until just a few years ago. Skinner participated in a jazz tour of southwestern Russia and Moscow. "I heard them every night for 10 nights," Skinner recalled. "They are an amazing group in the way they go about tone production and their ability to reach an audience." When he returned home, Skinner sent a copy of MAN SOUND'S self-titled compact disc to Hampton. "Hamp called me at home and said, 'I'm listening to these guys and they really sing,' " Skinner said. "He insisted we bring them here." The group includes Vladimir Mikhnovetsky (tenor), Vladimir Sukhin (tenor), Vladimir Trach (tenor), Constantin Ponah (tenor), Vyacheslaw Rubel (baritone) and Ruben Tbimatchev (bass). "We're the three Vladimir tenors," Sukhin said, laughing when the men were introduced backstage. The group came together five years ago in Kiev. MAN SOUND has three compact discs under their belts and have toured extensively in Europe. In their early years, MAN SOUND worked in the United States, giving dozens of gospel concerts in six states on the West Coast. Why gospel? "It was through the faith," Tolmatchev said. "In our country, it had been a long time since we had been able to do such music." The repertoire of the also includes famous jazz compositions and Ukraine folk songs as well as a wide range of traditional and modern spiritual music. "They (MAN SOUND) quite popular in Russia, and are probably the best local choral group singing in the Ukraine," said Cyril Moshkow, a Russian jazz journalist who served as interpreter. As they bounced backstage the men were beaming. "It was very warm audience," said Ponah, who wore a '40s-style fedora. The group will be in t until Sunday and are scheduled for clinics at noon both Friday and Saturday at the UI Hampton School of Music Hall.

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