Igor Boiko, a jazz fusion guitarist and composer, was born in Sumi in Ukraine in 1961. His professional career started in 1980 when he was a guitarist with the Sumi Philharmonic Orchestra. He was attracted to jazz and improvisational music at this time. Igor cites Joe Pass, Wes Montgomery and George Benson as early influences. 1981-1985 Army service, followed by work with the army song-and-dance ensemble in Budapest. This ensemble toured Hungary and Austria. 1984 – My first steps as a solo guitar player, performing in Budapest jazz clubs. 1985-1989 – Studied guitar at the Glier Musical College in Kiev. Igor studied jazz improvisation under the guidance of Vladimir Molotkov (a well-known jazz guitarist). 1990-1992 – Igor worked with the Moscow Concert Orchestra, Anatoly Kroll. Establishing a musical partnership and collaboration with Sergei Manukian, a jazz composer/vocalist. 1992-1993 – Living and working in Amsterdam. Participation in jazz festivals across Europe and collaboration with European and American musicians helped to enhance artistic development. 1993-present – Living and woBoiko II.rking in Moscow. Regular concerts with Sergei Manukian. Participation in jazz festivals in Tallinn and Nizhny Novgorod. Ufa and Odessa. Moscow (2nd and #3 International Jazz Festivals). Concerts in Kiev, Tomsk and Novosibirsk. Rostov-on–Don. Yerevan. 1995 – Igor was a performer at the “Washburn Days” guitar show in Moscow, organized by the company MUSICBOX. 1997 – Igor’s debut solo album, Bob’s Your Uncle (released on Prestige Records) was recorded at Soyuz Studio. Album was released as part of the instrumental series Best Guitarists. 1997 Igor accepts an invite to join Valery Siutkin and Co. Records, two albums that feature several of Igor’s original compositions. 1998 – Igor performs a new solo program at “Baltica 98”, an international festival of jazz guitar held in St. Petersburg. 1999 – Participated in Alexei Kozlov’s group Arsenal. 1999 – Released the second solo album Time of Inspiration on S
