The Russian Jazz Quartet
Encyclopedia
The Russian Jazz Quartet was a modern jazz band founded in 1964 by saxophonist/clarinetist Boris Midney and bass player Igor Berukshtis, who made a break from their Soviet music hall orchestra on tour to defect to the United States via the American Embassy in Tokyo the same year.
The incident attracted much attention from the Soviet press at the time, they were amongst the first musical artists to defect from the USSR in the 1960s. After requesting political asylum the two were flown to Copenhagen and then transferred to West Germany before moving to New York to pursue their careers in jazz. There they teamed up with British born Roger Kellaway
on piano, George Ricci on cello/viola and African-American drummer Grady Tate
to record the groups one and only album “Happiness”, released on ABC's recently created jazz label Impulse!
in 1965.
The incident attracted much attention from the Soviet press at the time, they were amongst the first musical artists to defect from the USSR in the 1960s. After requesting political asylum the two were flown to Copenhagen and then transferred to West Germany before moving to New York to pursue their careers in jazz. There they teamed up with British born Roger Kellaway
Roger Kellaway
Roger Kellaway is an American composer, arranger, and pianist.Born in Waban, Massachusetts, he is an alumnus of the New England Conservatory...
on piano, George Ricci on cello/viola and African-American drummer Grady Tate
Grady Tate
Grady Tate, , is a hard bop and soul-jazz drummer and singer.He has played with Lional Hampton, Jimmy Smith, Grant Green, Lena Horne, Astrud Gilberto, Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, Blossom Dearie, Chris Connor, Sarah Vaughan, Ray Charles, Cal Tjader, Peggy Lee, Bill Evans, Duke Ellington, Count...
to record the groups one and only album “Happiness”, released on ABC's recently created jazz label Impulse!
Impulse! Records
Impulse! Records was an American jazz record label, originally established in 1960 by producer Creed Taylor as a subsidiary of ABC-Paramount Records, based in New York City...
in 1965.
External links
- Russian Jazz Quartet "Happiness" LP at discogs.com
- Zimin at mos-time.ru
- Article archive "This Is Who Will Play in Their Jazz Band" by Tatyana Tess
- Boris Midney at borismidney.com