WASHINGTON, August 12 (RIA Novosti) – Ex-Soviet Uzbekistan is not often associated with bluegrass finger pickin’ music. But that may soon change after a Russian-Korean musician from the Central Asian republic was chosen to appear in the first US “Banjo Babes” calendar, according to the project’s website.
Janna Kim, a 28-year-old banjo player from Tashkent will be the featured “banjo babe” for April 2014 in the calendar, which otherwise features American women. In an interview with BanjoCrazy.com, she claimed to be the “…only one who plays banjo in Uzbekistan.”
“America was always my favorite country in the world. When I play banjo and when I hear its sound, I feel like I have come into the Old Wild West, where I can see cowboys, horses and saloons,” Kim told the website.
In her personal blog, Kim said that she has been playing banjo since 2007 and describes her skill as “intermediate.”
Originally trained in violin, Kim taught herself to play banjo using the Internet. The calendar will be released later this year, and the publisher is currently accepting pre-orders. A CD will also be released featuring Kim’s finger-picking, along with that of the other “banjo babes.”
