Jazz Articles about Sergey Kuryokhin

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Sergey Kuryokhin: Absolutely Great!

by Glenn Astarita
March 9, 2009

Sergey Kuryokhin Absolutely Great! Leo Records 2008

This seven-disc boxed set was recorded at performances by the late Russian composer and keyboard player Sergey Kuryokhin in San Francisco in 1988. Kuryokhin was a musical genius who challenged the Soviet era's denial and repression of Western culture. An in-depth booklet chronicles his sojourn in the USA and the events leading up to these performances (which were part of a longer US tour). It ...

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Sergey Kuryokhin: The Ways of Freedom

by AAJ Staff
April 1, 2001

In the darkest hour of the Cold War, pianist Sergey Kuryokhin sought every opportunity to uncover the contraband ideas of Western music and incorporate them into his own playing. His day job consisted of playing piano accompaniment twice weekly for a girls' gymnastic class. The rest of the time, Kuryokhin worked at the piano to define a very personal and idiosyncratic style of improvisation. His first record, smuggled out of the Soviet Union in 1981, saw its original release on ...