Vadim Neselovskyi: The Beauty Of Music And The Scourge Of War

Ukrainian-born, Brooklyn-based pianist and composer Vadim Neselovskyi's art emerged from a fairly traditional path. He was classically trained at conservatories in his native Odessa and Germany, then received a scholarship to Berklee School of Music where he developed a distinct, sophisticated style that bridges jazz and classical music. His compositions have been performed by Randy Brecker, Antonio Sanchez, Julian Lage, and Gary Burton, classical saxophonist Daniel Gauthier, and symphony orchestras in the United States and Europe.

His world was turned upside down, however, by Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014 and its brutal full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022. In this interview, Neselovskyi relates how the trauma of war has affected him and his music. Perseverantia is a 72-minute suite for piano and strings, recorded with the Ysaÿe String Trio. It will be released February 24 on John Zorn's Tzadik  record label and will be available for streaming everywhere (except Spotify).

There will be a record release concert at 8:00PM on March 5 at Roulette, 509 Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn. At 11:00AM EST on March 19, Neselovskyi will be my guest at Media Room Live! Click here to watch. 

Neselovskyi and I spoke January 23, 2026. This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

All About Jazz: Vadim, thank you for speaking with me today.

Vadim Neselovskyi: It is my pleasure.

Gary Burton And Berklee

AAJ: Tell me about your musical education at Berklee in Boston.

VN: Coming to study at Berklee was a dream come true for me. I had been deeply interested in jazz since my teenage years, and Berklee was definitely my dream destination. Besides that, I knew Berklee's Vice President was the amazing vibraphonist Gary Burton, whose music I loved. Luckily, Germany gave me a scholarship and I came to Berklee as a student in 2002. I met Gary Burton pretty quickly, showed him my music, and he seemed to like it. He told me to put a band together and start playing in Boston. 

Two years later, Gary showed up at one of my concerts with my band and invited me to collaborate. The first result was with a student band featuring Esperanza Spalding on bass, Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah on trumpet, James Williams on drums, Mike Tucker on saxophone, and me on piano. Pat Metheny then came to Berklee and produced a record with us. It was an unbelievable chance for me to meet Pat and talk to him about composition. Some of the things Pat shared with me back then have stuck with me forever, and I still use his advice today. 

The day after I graduated from Berklee, I received an email from Gary Burton asking if I was available to play with him at the San Francisco Jazz Festival. I think that was the most exciting day of my life. I remember walking around Boston, trying to make sense of what had just happened. My life was forever changed. I collaborated with Gary until he retired, writing for him, playing with him, and recording with him. He was the most important mentor and friend, and he opened the door for me to the professional music world.

Ralph Towner

AAJ: You mentioned that you watched my interview with Steve Tibbetts about the late Ralph Towner. How did Towner influence your music?

VN: Ralph Towner's music changed my life. I clearly remember when a friend gave me a copy of Oregon Beyond Words (Chesky Records, 1995). Hearing Ralph's "Green And Golden" for the first time brought me to tears. Stylistically, I couldn't even begin to comprehend this music—it was a sound world that seemed both centuries old and cutting edge. It was the beautiful discovery of a unique, highly personal language that organically brought together Renaissance music, Beyond Words inspired voice leading, and folkloric elements from different cultures. Simplicity and complexity were brought together in the most organic way. 

I became obsessed with Ralph Towner's writing. I had every Oregon album, every ECM Records solo record, and every duo record with Gary Burton, John Abercrombie and Jan Garbarek. I also had the chance to meet Ralph and ask him questions about composition. I remember him talking about his approach: the melody always comes from the voice. It should be singable and natural. The harmony underneath the melody is all about individual voice leading. I took his advice to heart, and he has had a huge influence on my music.

Perseverantia

AAJ: Tell me about Perseverantia.

VN: Stylistically, Perseverantia brings together many aspects of my musical background. The first is my background in post- classical composition. I've been taking composition lessons since I was eight, and I knew the music of Schnittke, Gubaidulina, Denisov, John Cage, and George Crumb before I knew the music of Chopin and Scriabin. That early background in formal composition has had a huge influence on my musical thinking. 

Second, I am also a jazz musician who has played with people like Gary Burton, Lee Konitz, and many others. I attended the Monk Institute (Editor's Note: now the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz), where I got to hang out with Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Benny Golson, and so on. Jazz is also a huge part of who I am as a musician. 

Finally, my music has always had an Eastern European, Ukrainian-Jewish influence, which is present in my writing. There is also an unexpected heavy metal influence because I grew up listening to my brother's records.

He was ten years older and a metal fan. He would play AC/DC, Iron Maiden, and other bands while I tried to practice my scales. For example, the fourth movement of Perseverantia, "I Don't Need a Ride," and the second movement of "Tanks Near Kyiv" have metal elements. I give the cello heavy metal riffs. 

There are many stylistic influences that went into this piece, and I hope they all converge into one cohesive artistic statement. As a jazz musician, I had to learn how to work within a chamber music context. I had to find ways to open up written string parts to allow for improvisation and prevent stiffness. This allows the music to breathe and brings out the true human expressiveness of the players. 

Ysaye String Trio

It took some time to find the right musicians, but I was fortunate to find the Ysaÿe String Trio. Emlyn Stam, Willem Stam, and Rada Ovcharova are three musicians who are also a family: Emlyn and Willem are brothers, and Emlyn and Rada are husband and wife.

They play together often and know each other well. And what's really special about them is that although they are these highly accomplished classical musicians, they're very knowledgeable about jazz and other kinds of music. They are and open and curious. I knew from our first rehearsal that they were the right people to bring my music to life. Our rehearsals were very fun. We had a chance to explore and experiment. We found ways to be creative and free with the written material. 

I improvise a lot throughout Perseverantia, and there are also many improvisational, aleatoric spots for string players to explore. As a result, this piece sounds different every night. I'm very happy about Perseverantia's flexible structure. What's also special for me this time is that I got to tour with this music before recording it. The studio environment was not just contrived, but also informed by live performances and interaction.

The War In Ukraine

AAJ: Please tell me about how the Russian invasion of Ukraine affected you and your music.

VN: I left Ukraine when I was 17, and now that I'm 48, my relationship with my home country has evolved over the years. Since 2005, I have visited Ukraine at least once or twice a year to work with orchestras and give workshops. When Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, it shattered my world. I'm not the same person anymore. I don't feel like I'm living the same life as before.

The war for Ukrainians began with the annexation of Crimea in 2014. Back then, I organized my first fundraiser, "A Concert for the Ukrainian People," featuring great Gary Burton at Berklee College. It was the first fundraising concert I had ever done. The funds collected went to UNHCR for their relief efforts in Ukraine. So, for the people of Ukraine, this is not something that started in 2022. But, of course, February 24th completely changed everything. For weeks after the full-scale invasion, I couldn't do anything. I was just on the phone with my Ukrainian friends trying to figure out how we I could help them.

My family lives in Germany and I have a strong connection to that country. I tried to support help by helping my friends in Ukraine, refugees who wanted to come to Germany but didn't speak the language. When I finally sat down at the piano after the first weeks this complete shock, tears ran down my face. The first brutal, repeating chords I played became the opening of the second movement of Perseverantia: "Tanks Near Kyiv."

I recorded my previous album, Odesa: A Musical Walk Through a Legendary City (Sunnyside Records, 2022), prior to the 2022 invasion and released it in June of that year. I conceived this music as a love letter to my hometown, Odesa, Ukraine. After February 24, 2022, when the reality changed, I wasn't sure if I could or should perform my Odesa suite. As it turned out, I absolutely had to perform this piece—it became my first artistic response to the war. To date, I have performed the Odesa suite over 200 times around the world.

While performing Odesa, I started working on a new project for piano and string trio. I was in that zone all the time and of course the music just started to come out. Composing was basically my way to not go crazy with all the news, with everything that was going on, with realizing that things just kept getting worse. 

I began to realize that I was writing another seed. The album was first called "Ukrainian Diary," but I realized the music was broader than that. I wanted this music to be about the most universal and precious human qualities: empathy and compassion. 

Perseverantia was an effort to express all these feelings, and "perseverantia" was the best word that I could find. It is a Latin word that combines resistance, willpower, outrage with empathy, compassion, and hope. This 72-minute concept album took four years to create, and I'm thrilled that it's finally ready for release. I'm so thankful to the great John Zorn for believing in this music and being willing to release it on his label, Tzadik.

AAJ: Vadim, I speak for myself and millions of my fellow Americans when I say that we support a free Ukraine and we stand with the brave people of that great nation. Our current leader does not speak for all of us.

VN: The people of Ukraine need a reminder that the whole United States doesn't think the way this administration thinks.

AAJ: Thanks again, and long live a free Ukraine!

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