Melody, blues and swing – acoustic jazz with a warm sound and an exquisite dialogue between piano and guitar.
On 22 October at In The Mood Jazz Club, the special quartet led by Stilian Penev and Vilizar Gichev will celebrate the music of two of the brightest artists on the international jazz scene with Penev & Gichev Special Quartet: Benny Green & Russell Malone Tribute.
The evening centres on These Are Soulful Days (Blue Note, 1999), recorded by Benny Green with Russell Malone and Christian McBride. The album revisits the golden era of Blue Note, presenting music deeply rooted in the traditions of hard bop, blues and swing. It features compositions by Horace Silver, Elmo Hope, Bobby Hutcherson, Joe Henderson, Dexter Gordon, Lee Morgan and Calvin Massey.
“We find this music particularly inspiring for its naturalness, melodic beauty and strong sense of swing. This is jazz in which the acoustic sound, the interplay between musicians and the beauty of the melody are at the heart of the performance,” say Penev and Gichev.
Benny Green is one of the outstanding exponents of the piano tradition shaped by Art Tatum and Oscar Peterson, a musician who makes swing and blues the foundation of an exceptionally rich and personal musical language. Oscar Peterson selected Green as the first recipient of the Glenn Gould International Protégé Prize, and the two later recorded the album Oscar & Benny together.
For Stilian Penev, the connection to this music also has a personal dimension. During his time in Siena, he had the opportunity to meet Benny Green in person. The encounter left a lasting impression on him, and during their conversation, Green shared that he would be delighted to hear Stilian perform on major stages one day.
Russell Malone is one of the most significant contemporary heirs to the jazz guitar tradition. Strongly influenced by Wes Montgomery, he combines virtuoso technique, a deep sense of swing and exceptional melodic sensitivity in his own musical expression. Throughout his career, he worked with Jimmy Smith, Harry Connick Jr., Diana Krall, Sonny Rollins and Benny Green, and recorded the Grammy-winning album When I Look in Your Eyes with Krall.
The quartet was formed in 2026, founded on the friendship and shared musical tastes of Vilizar Gichev and Stilian Penev. The two met while studying in Trieste. After Stilian returned to Bulgaria, they decided to form an ensemble dedicated to music whose aesthetic and expressive qualities they both embrace.
They are joined by Petar Terziev and Teodor Toshkov – also longtime friends and musical collaborators of Penev and Gichev. Vilizar works with Petar Terziev on joint projects and original music, including the album “ВИЖ”, while with Teodor Toshkov he performs in Postcard, a Hammond organ trio with Pietro Caroleo, and the Just Jazz Jam initiative. The quartet thus brings together four musicians with shared experience, friendship and an established musical rapport.
One of the quartet’s first projects pays tribute to Benny Green and Russell Malone – musicians for whom the ensemble’s members have deep respect and whose musical language resonates closely with their own.