The 4th Prague Jazz Festival (1967)
Crescendo (RT) Quintet, Zoubov, Bacholdin, Frumkin, Satanovsky, Goretkin
Excerpt from a Czech newspaper review:
"The RT Quintet's best number is Zoubov's arrangement of the traditional theme "The Old Novgorod Song" with extraordinary solos by Bacholdin (trombone) and Zoubov (tenor sax) in an esctatic climax, after which both musicians with surprising exactness find their way together to a joint ending..."

Old Novgorod Song

Поэзия и музыка - две доминанты, две стихии, придающие смысл моему существованию. В сумме этих слагаемых рождается песня.

I was born in 1936 in Moscow, Russia into the family of scientists and was supposed to become a scientist too. Following the family tradition I graduated from Moscow University with master’s degree in Physics and was offered a prestigious and exciting job other aspiring physicists would kill for.

But… insidious serpent of jazz had been seducing me since the early 50-ties. Stalin was still alive when I started to spend nights trying to tune to jazz programs of the Voice of America, BBC and other similar stations. In my sophomore year at the University I surrendered to the urge to play jazz and started first on clarinet and then saxophone and joined the early wave of jazz rebirth in the Soviet Union. It is worth mentioning that at this time playing jazz in the Soviet Union was considered not far from committing treason!

So, instead of working in physics, I went on the road with the Oleg Lundstrem big band, then by far the best in Russia. Then followed a 7 year engagement with Vadim Ludvikovsky Radio and Television big band and then until my departure to USA I worked as a studio musician recording and composing music for Studio Melodia and films.

In the late 50’s, 60’s and 70’s jazz music became accepted (or tolerated) in the USSR. In the 60’s Moscow had several jazz clubs, yearly jazz festivals and even started to send jazz musicians to jazz festivals in other countries.

I led and participated in many jazz groups, most famous being my Crescendo quartet, duo with keyboardist Igor Saulski, Barometer quintet, etc.

In 1984 I finally settled in Los Angeles where I live and continue composing and playing. During my 50+ years in music I had the honor and pleasure to share the stage and record with many jazz greats like Gary Burton, Chic Corea, Pete Cristlieb, Paul Gonsalves, Charlie Haden, “Tootie” Heath, Dick Hyman, Keith Jarrett, Milcho Leviev and no less important Russian musicians like Konstantin Bakholdin, Gennady Golshtein, German Lukyanov, Konstantin Nosov, Boris Rychkov and many, many others I can’t list for the lack of space.

Old Novgorod Song

alexei-zoubov