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Jazz may be an American invention, but plenty of Russian musicians can stand up even to the harshest critics. Here are some of the best local jazzmen, and where to see them play.
Bril’s career has been on the rise since the 1960s, when he debuted at 21 at a Moscow youth jazz band contest. His twin sons, sax players Dmitry and Alexander, are superb musicians too, and the three sometimes play together. Bril plays at various venues around town.
Butman is one of Russia’s leading sax players. A graduate of the Berklee College of Music in the United States, he has played with some of the world’s biggest names in jazz. In 1995, he even played for fellow sax player Bill Clinton. In 1999, he set up his own Igor Butman Big Band that you can hear at Le Club, where Butman plays every Monday night.
It’s unusual for an accordion player to play jazz, but Danilin is a master of it. He started playing at dance parties in the 1960s but switched to piano in the 1970s. As he gained popularity, he joined the Oleg Lundstrem orchestra, in which he played for many years. In the 1990s, he returned to his original instrument, and he has since formed his own quartet. He plays at leading Moscow jazz clubs.
These brothers play together. They moved to Europe in the early ’90s, but returned to Moscow in ’97 to continue their mission of promoting Russian jazz here and abroad. With several records to their name, they now play every Thursday at Marika.
Kireyev’s name has been known in the local jazz scene since 1984. With his band Orlan, he traveled across the Soviet Union and made many trips abroad to participate in international jazz festivals. Even though he is skilled in practically all jazz genres, today Kireyev plays mostly traditional jazz. Hear him jam in Cool Train at B2.
An outstanding sax player, Kozlov has been active on the local jazz scene since the 1950s. In addition to setting up some of Moscow’s earliest jazz clubs, he created his Arsenal ensemble in 1973, which led the way in domestic jazz rock. He and his band play regularly at Forte.
Well-known since the 1960s, this guitar player’s latest and best-known project is his “Supertrio,” where he plays with accordion player Vladimir Danilin and bass guitar player Alex Rostotsky. They play at various jazz venues.
Russia’s Ray Charles from Grozny. He has performed with such jazz stars as Art Farmer, Dizzy Gillespie, Carlos Santana, Herbie Hancock and Quincy Jones. He is a regular at Sinyaya Ptitsa, Le Club and Marika.
One of the few electric guitar players in jazz, Rostotsky, whose music career spans over almost 30 years, is still at the top. He frequently partners up with guitarist Alexei Kuznetsov and accordionist Vladimir Danilin for gigs in various Moscow jazz clubs.
B2 8 Bolshaya Sadovaya Ul. (M. Mayakovskaya) 209-9909, noon-6am
Forte
Le Club
Marika
Sinyaya Ptitsa
Cool Train
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