A Highly Acclaimed Russian Jazz Musician
starts all over again in the middle of his life
IGOR SHIROKOV was born 1949 in Novosibirsk, West Siberia.
Ever since he played at that very first international USSR Jazz
Festival, in Tallinn 1967, he has been one of the most requested
big band soloists, and a frequent guest at all major festivals, in
the country.
At the age of twenty he was considered one of the best jazz
trumpet players in the former Soviet Union. But it was not until
in 1991 - six years after the Perestroika - that he finally was
allowed to leave the USSR, though he had already been
invited out several times before.
Since 1992 he is living in Germany creating new, different
formations and successfully making his western career.
This "newcomer" - to us in the West, that is - has, during a
career with 30 years of professional musicianship, created an
original and clear sound built on a very personal style of his
own, sometimes showing his great love of Miles Davis from
his sixties period. Other trumpet players as Clifford Brown,
Art Farmer and Freddie Hubbard also plays an important
part in Shirokov..s still very individual approach.
The russian jazz critic Alexander Bataschov once compared Igor Shirokov..s music with the
prose of the classical russian writer Ivan Bunin. He is a lyrical and expressive player and a
sovereign leader, one of the most interesting modernists of our time.His compositions and improvisations are written and played on the background of russian
folk- and classical music, vibrating with a profound energy that instantly lets you know that
this cat has got a lot to tell.
1949
Igor Anatolievich SHIROKOV was born in Novosibirsk.
1958-62
Training in trumpet play at Music School in Novosibirsk.
1963
When fourteen years of age, he listened to jazz on the low
quality radio transmissions from American stations: Miles
Davis, Thelonius Monk, John Coltrane and The Jazz
Messengers a. o.
1964
Working as a Caf.. Musician playing pop and entertainment,
but also more and more jazz.
1967
Begins with Fl..gelhorn. Played with an avant-garde septet from
Novosibirsk at the first international jazz festival of the Soviet
Union, in Tallinn. Other participants were Charles Lloyd Quartet
with Keith Jarrett and Jack DeJohnette, Jan Johansson and
Zbigniew Namyslowski a. o.
1967
Soloist in different big bands. In Tula with Anatolij Kroll Big Band.
1968
Juri Saolski Big Band.
1969-71
Living in Leningrad (S:t Petersburg). Soloist in Joseph Weinstein
Big Band. Tours from west to east in the Soviet Union.
1972
Living in Moscow. Steady gig at the Molodiojnoje Caf..
playing with visitors Gerry Mulligan and Charles Lloyd.
1974-77
Soloist in Oleg Lundstr..m Big Band. Concerts all over the
country: Riga, Vladivostok, Sotchi, Archangelsk a. o.
1978-80
Playing at Oktiabr Caf.. in Moscow with his own quintet.
1982-88
Soloist in Viecheslav Kadersky Big Band.
1987
Jazz festival in Archangelsk with jazz musicians from Europe.
1982-91
Quartet with Alexander Pischikov (ts).
1990
Tour to Sasopol in Bulgaria.
1991
Tours in the Netherlands and Germany.
1991
Playing with his quartet at the international Jazz festival in
Moscow with a. o. Sun Ra, and jamming together with
Freddie Hubbard, Benny Golson, Buster Williams
and Branford Marsalis a. o.
1992
Moved to Marburg in Germany. Did two long tours in Russia
and Central Asia with his wife to be, Claudia Helmers (as, fl)
and Farhad (b) and Tahir Ibragimov (dr).
1993
First record in Germany with Quadradd (BSC Music).
1993-96
Searching for musicians and composing a lot.
1996
Plays at the German Jazz Musicians Union (UDJ) festival
in Cologne with his trio: Martin Gjakonovski, cb and Alex
Simon, dr. Makes his first tour in Germany together with
Alexander Pischikov (ts) and Claudia Helmers (as, fl).
1997-99
Organizing a Russian-German jazz festival in Frankfurt with,
a. o., Oleg Lundstr..m Big Band.
2000
His project I remember Miles (A Russian Jazzmusicians
Tribute to Miles Davis), will be recorded.
1967
LP from the Tallinn Jazz Festival
1969
LP with Joseph Weinstein Big Band, Melodya Moscow
1976
LP with Oleg Lundstr..m Big Band, Melodya Moscow
1991
LP Alexander Pischikov/Igor Shirokov Quintet, Melodya Moscow
1993
CD with young Marburgian Quartet Quadradd, BSC Music,
Anderland/Sony Music Publishing
2000
His project I remember Miles (A Russian Jazzmusicians Tribute to
Miles Davis), will be recorded.
TELEVISION
Novosibirsk 1965 and 1966 with Oleg Lundstr..m 1976; Moscow Jazz festival 1986,
87, 90 and 91; Kazakstan 1992, Sotchi 1992 and Hessischer Rundfunk 1996Radio transmissions: Radio Jazz, Copenhagen 1996; BBC, London 1995
