Award-winning pianist Ivan Lins, Paula Morelenbaum quartet on roster for Djansug Kakhidze Music Festival

Award-winning Brazilian pianist, singer and songwriter Ivan Lins and the quartet of Brazilian singer Paula Morelenbaum are set to perform at the Djansug Kakhidze International Music Festival that drew its curtains in Tbilisi on Sunday.

Celebrating the opening of the seventh edition of the festival named after the famed late Georgian conductor and composer, popular Georgian singers took to the stage at the Tbilisi Music Centre - also named after Kakhidze - to perform songs from Georgian films from across decades, including the pieces by the late music director.

Conducted by Vakhtang Kakhidze, the son of the late maestro, the National Symphony Orchestra was on stage to bring to life the works of famed composers of the Georgian cinema score scene, from Revaz Lagidze to Sulkhan Tsintsadze and Giya Kancheli.

The event marked the start of the programme of the 2022 festival, in which the Centre will host both Georgian and visiting artists. The two upcoming shows will host Morelenbaum and her band on May 14, and Lins on May 22.

Vakhtang Kakhidze (left) will lead the Tbilisi Symphony Orchestra in their collaboration with the visiting artists and their bands in the two headlining shows. Photo via Djansug Kakhidze International Music Festival

In the former performance, Morelenbaum, who has featured in collaborations with artists including Japan's celebrated experimental producer Ryuichi Sakamoto, and her quartet will join the Tbilisi Symphony Orchestra under Kakhidze's baton.

The artists will bring music by Brazilian composer, songwriter, pianist and guitarist Antônio Carlos Jobim, whose band involved Morelenbaum and her husband on tours between 1984-1994, to listeners of the evening, with Phillipe Powel on piano, Caio Marcio on guitar, Mathias Allamane on bass and Ney Veras on drums.

A week later, the Latin Grammy-winning Lins will offer his own music to the audience at the Tbilisi venue, bringing to the stage his band and the fruits of his three decades in jazz that earned the artist four Latin Grammy Awards and a further five nominations between 2000-2015.

The Brazilian performer was part of the roster of the 2016 edition of the festival, and the show featuring Lins - and conducted by Kakhidze - will close this year's edition.

Founded in 2015 to mark the 80th anniversary of the birth of Djansug Kakhidze, the festival was launched to offer musical celebration to listeners of various genres, and involves collaborations of the Tbilisi Symphony Orchestra with popular international artists. The roster of visiting performers across the years has included The Manhattan Transfer, Bob James, Patti Austin and Dee Dee Bridgewater.