 They are insights into the soul, small windows that reveal – each by itself – something about the conceptual world of an extremely exciting, versatile artist. Ganna provides intimate insights, consciously showing off her vulnerable side, which turns out to be a great strength in the context of this colorful album. However, there are still some linguistic hurdles to overcome. “Dykyi Lys”, the title of the debut CD by Ganna Gryniva, for example, can only be deciphered immediately by those who understand Ukrainian. It means “Wild Fox”. Ganna comes from a small village of 375 inhabitants near the capital Kiev, surrounded by nature as far as the eye and thoughts can go. It was a shock when she arrived Berlin in 2013. Or, as she puts it, “a challenge for someone like me who likes silence. I gradually found quiet, undisturbed places in Berlin, and now I see the city quite differently. I've adapted. The foxes, who roam the streets of Berlin time and again, have done the same. They manage to live here. Yet they are wild animals and will always remain such.” Wild, adaptable and able to survive, doing what she wants to do and what she can do best, sympathetically stubborn, determined and intelligent – this is Ganna Gryniva, who as the 84th protagonist of the now internationally appreciated talent launch pad of the Jazz thing Next Generation has a kind of special status. Because the singer, composer, pianist, bandleader, side-woman, interdisciplinary performance and free improvisation artist with a focus on life and creation in the German capital does not exclusively seek her own voice with a toolbox of music. She cleverly combines different sensory worlds from jazz and Ukrainian folk to classical and experimental music and dance. And she improvises, preferably with drummer Joe Smith in the duo JOGA, or, as her teacher and mentor Michael Schiefel advised her, with loop station and effects. Eventually Ganna even began to exchange ideas with dancers, such as Linda Berberich at the SURfF Festival in Berlin. And she loves composing. “Turning soaring feelings and thoughts into tangible tones and sounds is what I call magic. For me, improvisation is like real-time composition!”
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