The most spectacular Russian participant of the festival was singer Alina Rostotskaya. Together with her ensemble Jazzmobile she performed songs from her debut album "Flow". A combination of folklore motifs with regular jazz structures was a lucky find for the singer and her group. They are not the first to perform it. But they certainly have an unusual sound, conditioned by their set of instruments. Saxophone, electric guitar and Nord Stage keyboard combined with a grand piano and a traditional rhythm section create a very special space for the vocals bringing new vitality to the Russian and Sephardic motifs.

Russia was represented at the festival by a most talented vocalist Alina Rostotskaya, who together with Jazz Mobile band performed compositions from her debut album "Flow", released on Butman Music label. "Lullaby for Agafia" was performed by Alina with special enchantment.

An original singer with an unusual voice timbre, the author of music and texts of her compositions, a winner of prestigious international competitions and a very attractive, sophisticated and stylish young woman captivated the Tikhvin audience straight away. With the musicians of her new band Alina worked wonders of improvisation, combining classical jazz and ethnic sound skillfully. The singer performed compositions dedicated to her first-grader daughter with particular cordiality.

The second day of Sopot Jazz Festival was clearly dominated by the Alina Rostotskaya & Kuba Badach CONNECTED project. The vocalists were supported by extraordinary musicians: Dominik Wania, Daria Chernakova and Grzegorz Pałka. Even though created solely for the purpose of the festival, the team was perfectly harmonious and logically met musical challenges, leading to a balanced sound. Instrumentally, the lead belonged to Dominik Wania – a versatile pianist, who most of all honored the quality of the sound. In his playing, as well as jazz angle, you could hear the lightness of Ravel and Debussy, which allowed him to paint complete musical illustrations. The concert contained Alina's compositions (a gorgeous lullaby for her daughter –«Lullaby for Agafya», as well as a remarkable version of sephardic «Morenika»), songs by Kuba Badach, and powerful instrumental arrangements of Tomasz Stańko. An excellent mix of Eastern-European energy made the Alina Rostotskaya & Kuba Badach CONNECTED concert not only the most popular but also the best concert of the festival.

«The epic story with traditional accent by Alina Rostotskaya, who sang third, and the song of the finale- a lullaby for the child appealed to both the jury and the audience.»