Podcast 965: A Conversation with Giorgi Mikadze

Giorgi Mikadze (pronounced “Gih-ohr-gih Mih-kahd-zeh”) is a pianist who values his heritage and roots, having been born and raised in Georgia, at the foot of the Caucasus mountains. While his training and early carer arch may have seemed typical for an aspiring jazz musician – classical training, Berklee and Manhattan School of Music studies, time on the road with his elders – his choice of music is not.

Rather than concentrate on the Great American Songbook or record only his own compositions, Giorgi has adapted Georgia music, from folk songs to movie scores. This process comes to a new high with the release of Face to Face: The Georgian Songbook Vol. 1 on the French label PeeWee!.  The album features pieces by seven of the Caucasus country’s most revered composers, most of them originally penned for film, animation and theatrical soundtracks from the Sixties through the Nineties. Mikadze adds three of his own compositions to the mix, suggesting that much like the American model, this new Songbook is one that invites a continual expansion and evolution.

Face To Face also marks Mikadze’s first venture on record into the traditional piano, bass and drums jazz trio. He’s joined by the stellar French rhythm section of bassist François Moutin and drummer Raphaël Pannier, the latter of whom was a Berklee classmate of Giorgi’s. The results are a wonderful mix of Georgian melodies with a jazz sensibility.

Podcast 965 is my conversation with Giorgi as he discusses the microtonal roots of Georgian music, how his jazz playing brought him back to his native music, and where he plans to take it in the future. Musical selections include the rousing “Satchidao,” and the moving “Not Easy to Repeat.”

Giorgi Mikadze performs on the Main Space at (Le) Poisson Rouge in New York City for a CD Release Party on Saturday February 3, 2024 at 8 pm. For more information, click here,