On April 22, Peter Vostokov’s Big Jazz Orchestra presented a spring concert dedicated to the music of Isaac Dunayevsky. For this program, the orchestra selected the part of the Soviet composer’s legacy directly connected with his passion for jazz orchestras in the 1930s, as well as songs written for such films as Jolly Fellows (1934), Circus (1936), Volga-Volga (1938), My Love (1940), and others.
The program featured musical arrangements from the scores of the orchestras led by Leonid Utyosov, Yakov Skomorovsky, and Alexey Semyonov, who recorded the soundtracks for these legendary films, as well as original arrangements later created for modern big bands by such prominent Soviet jazz musicians as Oleg Lundstrem, Georgy Garanyan, Vitaly Dolgov, Nikolai Levinovsky, Vladimir FeierTag, and others. In addition, Peter Vostokov’s Big Jazz Orchestra prepared its own versions of Isaac Dunayevsky’s beloved music especially for this concert.
Peter Vostokov is one of the most talented musicians of his generation, who has rapidly risen to prominence in the music world. He became interested in jazz at the age of 16, joining Vladimir Segal’s youth big band at the Central House of Culture of Railway Workers. In 2009, he graduated from the pop and jazz department of the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music, where he studied ensemble performance under Alexander Osseichuk and orchestra performance under Anatoly Kroll. In 2006, he graduated from the Open World Russian-American educational program, as part of which he performed at the Lionel Hampton International Jazz Festival in the United States.
In 2010, together with singer Darya Antonova, he founded the Big Jazz Orchestra, which he continues to lead as its musical director. Together with the orchestra, he regularly participates in major Russian and international festivals, including Jazz in the Hermitage Garden, Triumph of Jazz, Koktebel Jazz Party, and many others. The orchestra performs at leading philharmonic and concert venues across Russia, is a resident ensemble at Esse Jazz Club and Alexey Kozlov Club, and actively tours throughout the country.
The Big Jazz Orchestra’s debut album was recorded in 2017 at the famous Studio One at Mosfilm. In recent years, the orchestra has participated in several major television and online projects, including The Big Musical, The Big Jazz, and LAB with Anton Belyaev, as well as recording music for popular films and television series such as House Arrest and Odessa Steamboat.
In 2020, Peter Vostokov was named Musician of the Year by Radio Jazz 89.1 and received the All Colors of Jazz Award.
