Non Cadenza, despite their name, are an excellent Russian jazz/soul ensemble from St Petersburg. Formed in 2005, they’re fronted by vocalist and composer Aleksandra Almazova (above), a woman of direct Cossack descent who stands firmly at the band’s helm. She easily combines management of Non Cadenza with photo sessions for glossy magazines. That’s how she became the heroine of a recent issue of L’Officiel, not to mention Cosmopolitan.Either for musical or purely visual reasons, the band is able to claim jam-packed venues without recourse to advertising. Likewise, with other recession-defying skills, they say that the group has existed since its inception without any outside investment or pushy sponsors, allowing them, for example, to release their first single with contributions collected from fans alone.