SUBLIME YOU
KOOL & KLEAN(KONSTANTIN KLASHTORNI)
SONGWRITER: KONSTANTIN KLASHTORNI
COUNTRY: GERMANY/UKRAIN
ALBUM:VOLUME VIII (*THE SMOOTHJAZZ LOFT*)
LABEL: KVK MUSIC
GENRE: JAZZ
YEAR: 2019
A crossover jazz and electronica project, Kool & Klean is the studio creation of Ukrainian-born/Germany-based saxophonist Konstantin Klashtorni.
Since he debuted the project in 2010, Klashtorni has
issued a steady stream of Kool & Klean albums including 2011's Volume II, 2014's Volume V, and
2017's Volume VII.
Born in 1971 in Korosten in northern Ukraine,
Klashtorni grew up
with three older siblings, the son of an engineer father and music teacher
mother. At
age nine, his mother enrolled him in the local music school, where he started on
clarinet. By his early teens, he had switched to saxophone and eventually
enrolled at the R. Glier Kiev Institute of Music. It was there that he first
discovered jazz. After graduating, he traveled Venezuela,
where he developed a love for Latin traditions, playing with performers like Soledad Bravo, Andres Briceno, Gilberto Santa Rosa,
and more. Returning
to Europe, he furthered his studies at the Rotterdam Conservatory and
eventually earned his Masters of Music Arts from the Royal Conservatory of the
Hague. From there he moved to Germany, where -- influenced by
artists like David Sanborn, Gerald Albright, and Kenny Garrett-- he
made his solo debut with 2003's Downtown. The similarly inclined crossover álbum
Led by You followed in
2006.
After building his home studio, Klashtorni began
looking for ways to diversify his recorded output and create more avenues by
which to explore different sounds. He launched his own YouTube channel, Smooth Jazz Loft,
and realized the potential for issuing albums under different names. In
2010, he released his first album under the Kool & Klean moniker, Volume I, drawing
upon the influence of artists like Paul Hardcastle, Brian Culbertson, Dave Koz, and
others. More well-received volumes followed including 2012's Volume III, 2014's Volume V, and
2017's Volume VII. Along
with Kool & Klean, Klashtorni has
issued albums under his own name in the Smooth Jazz series, and under the
Groove Jazz N Chill title series. In 2019, he returned to the Kool & Klean series with Volume VIII.