Simon Nabatov began his musical education at age 3. His father, a musician himself, was the first to teach. Next came the Moscow Conservatory and Central School of Music. Nabatov’s family immigrated to New York in 1979. He continued his education at the Juilliard School of Music. His interest in jazz and improvised music had grown strong enough that he made them his main activity. He has recorded and performed with many great musicians, including Paul Motian and Tony Scott, Sonny Fortune and Louis Sclavis. Ray Anderson Quartet and Perry Robinson Quartet, NDR Big Band Hamburg, Germany, Steve Lacy – Simon Nabatov Duo. Nils Wogram Quartet and Nils Wogram, Simon Nabatov Duo. Matthias Schubert Quartet. Klaus Konig Orchestra. Since three decades, hundreds upon hundreds of solo recitals were his own projects. Nabatov formed a trio with Tom Rainey and Mark Helias in the early 1990s. He also founded “Nature Morte”, a quartet featuring the British singer Phil Minton, the multireed-player Frank Gratkowski, and Nils Wogram, the trombonist (both from Germany). His quintet included his trio and Mark Feldman as well as the trumpet player Herb Robertson. Another trio was created in 2003 with Ernst Reijseger, the cellist and the drummers Michael Vatcher (and then Michael Sarin). Nabatov, as co-leader, recorded and played in duos with American tenor sax player Matthias Schubert and the Dutch drummer Han Bennink. He was also joined by Nils Wogram, the German trombonist, German drummer Tom Rainey, and the Dutch cellist Ernst Reijseger. Also, with Gareth Lubbe, a South-African viola player, and Misha Mengelberg, the Dutch pianist. A large-scale radio production project, co-sponsored by WDR, Bayer AG, was undertaken in 1999-2000. It saw Nabatov record and compose over 6 hours music for solo piano, duo with American reed player Michael Moore, his trio, “Nature Morte”, and the quintet. The first recording was released by HatHut Records in 2000 – “Sneak Preview”, a trio album. Leo Records released the next three recordings, quartet “Nature Morte”, quintet “The Master and Margarita” and solo “Perpetuum Immobile”. This independent English label released two more CDs, ” Chat Room”, (duo with Han Bennink) and “Autumn Music”, (trio with Ernst Reijseger u0026 Michael Vatcher) WDR’s next production in 2004 was “A Few Incidents”, a 90-minute piece based on the Russian writer Daniil Charms. The octet consisted of Phil Minton and Frank Gratkowski as well as Nils Wogram and Ernst Reijseger. Cor Fuhler, Matt Penman (Matt Penman), Michael Sarin, Simon Nabatov, and Cor Fuhler. The recording of this composition was released by Leo Records in 2005. It completed the “Russian Trilogy” which consisted of three musical projects that were based on Russian literature. Sponsored by the Cologne culture institutions, Nabatov completed a 5-day project called “Roundup”, which involved M.Schubert and N.Wogram as well as E.Reijseger, E.Reijseger, and T.Rainey. The result was 3 CD’s on Leo Records: quintet?,Roundup”, a trio featuring E.Reijseger, M.Schubert and N.Wogram and T.Rainey –?Nawogram and T.Rainey a with T.Rainey Simon Nabatov began to take an interest in Brazil’s culture and music around 2000. He was able to learn the Portuguese language and travel extensively through Brazil, as well as a variety of musical genres. Some of the more structured activities in that field were a CD release ,,Around Brazil” on the ACT label (2006), and the two-months long Goethe-Institut ,,Artist-in-Residence” in Porto Alegre, which allowed Nabatov to learn more about the regional ,,musica gaucha”. He has been performing his solo program, often based on Brazilian music since 2007. Nabatov has also been exploring electronic music in recent years, and has learned MAX/MSP programming environments. In April 2013, he presented his solo program for piano, computer and keyboard, which he developed with hans W. Koch, a German composer and specialist in electronic music. Nabatov’s solo show dedicated to the music and compositions of Herbie Nichols, a jazz pianist and composer, was another musical adventure in recent years. The highly-acclaimed CD was released by Leo Records, while the DVD was produced by PanRec. Simon Nabatov recorded and performed many pieces of chamber music. Some of these were written especially for him by Kenny Werner (American pianist/composer), Ronan Guilfoyle (Irish bassist/composer), “Piano Concerto” (“Piano Concerto”), “Trumpet Sonata”, and “Cello Sonata” by Daniel Schnyder, a Swiss reed-player/composer. He also recorded and performed some of the most well-known “crossover” pieces, including “Rhapsody in Blue”, by George Gershwin (NDR Symphony Orchestra, Hannover,1998) and “Concerto for Jazz Ensemble, Orchestra” by Rolf Liebermann, (NDR Symphony Orchestra, Hamburg, 1996). Nabatov was a winner of the third “International Great Jazz Pianist Competition”, in Jacksonville, USA (second prize in 1985), and the “Martial Solal International Jazz Piano Competition”, in Paris, France (third prize in 1989). He was granted a grant by the National Endowment for the Arts in 1987. Simon Nabatov was a radio producer for many of Europe’s major broadcasting companies, including WDR, NDR and HR, BR. SFR, Radio France. Radio Zurich. Radio Ireland. Many international jazz festivals featured him, including Paris, Antibes and Helsinki, Zagreb. Nevers. Berlin, Dublin. Cork. Vilshofen. Bergamo. Groeningen. Vilnus. Karlsbad. Genua. North Sea. Brugge. Voss. Bergen. Riga. Vilnius. Ulrichsberg. Simon Nabatov performed in concerts and workshops across 60 countries. He appears on approximately. 70 recordings were made, and his music and projects are recorded on more than 25 CD’s and three DVD’s (all DVDs available on PanRec). He taught at the Folkwang Hochschule in Essen, Musichochschule Lucerne in Switzerland and at the International Jazz and Rock Academy in Remscheid. He was the substitute professor of jazz piano and ensemble at the Conservatory of Hanover, Germany from 2012 to 2014. He resides in Cologne, Germany since 1989, but has a small apartment in New York. From www.nabatov.com
