Igor Bril was a Russian born in Moscow in 1944. He was only 15 years old when he, along with two other jazzmen, Alexei Isplatovsky (double-bass player) and Vladimir Zhurvasky (drummer), made a spectacular performance at the 2nd Moscow Jazz Festival. Bril’s musical brilliance and rich improvisation fantasy, as well as his clever arrangements of jazz classics and original compositions, ranked him among Russia’s top jazz musicians. His partners included Alexei Kozlov, Alexei Kozlov, and Igor Butman as well as guitarist Alexei Kuznetsov and trumpeter German Lukyanov, all of whom were jazz legends. Alexander and Dmitry, Bril’s twins, are both saxophonists. Igor Bril is described as “a jazzmen and improvisator with academic trained, playing the grand piano according the “supreme rules” of pianistic arts, feeling the instrument’s soul …”,. The Russian Academy of Music’s Gnessins Musical Institute in Moscow was where he graduated. There, he studied with the well-known professor Teodor Guman, who “correctly diagnosed” his student’s jazzmania. I felt that “sting” throughout my entire life. I can’t imagine my life without academic music. Igor Bril has performed all over the world, from Europe to Asia to the United States to Indonesia. It is easier to list the countries in which he hasn’t performed. He performed with Joe Henderson and Michael Brecker as well as vibraphonist Bobbie Hartson and pianists Dave Brubeck, Thelonious Monk and other great jazzmen. Jazz is one of the most complex themes in modern music. Bril was a long-time player of an electric grand piano, but he eventually switched to an acoustic guitar. His jazz is European-style mainstream jazz with elements of “new era”, also known under the name “light jazz”. He believes that it is important to create your own jazz, rather than following the traditional jazz standards. He performs arrangements of “evergreen” mainstream songs. Igor Bril is the “godfather” of Russian professional jazz education. He has been teaching jazz improvisation for over three decades. He is a professor at the Russian Academy of Music and the author of “Practical Course of jazz Improvisation”, a popular textbook which has survived many editions. Bril is the longest-serving head juror for national jazz competitions. He has also supervised the Grand Piano in Jazz and DoJ-unior international contests held in Ukraine. Allaboutjazz
