Childhood and family of Igor Butman
After graduating from classical music school, Butman continued his studies at the St. Petersburg Music College. M. P. Mussorgsky. During his studies, he began to study jazz, being confident that it was jazz that could give him creative freedom, true aesthetic pleasure, allow him to experiment, improvise, improve arrangements and best express his individuality and himself.
Igor Butman has dual citizenship
He also graduated from Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, qualifying as a composer and saxophonist.
Childhood and youth
Igor Mikhailovich is the first child in the family of Mikhail Solomonovich and Mariula Nikolaevna Butman. Born on October 27, 1961 in Leningrad. After 5 years, a younger brother appeared, Oleg, who also subsequently connected his life with music.
Musician Igor Butman
My father worked as a civil engineer, but loved creativity: he participated in amateur performances, sang, played the piano and drums. Charming Mikhail was even invited to the Variety Theater named after. Arkady Raikin, but did not dare to change his working profession. My father played at home, visiting friends, and performed at weddings.
The parents of Igor’s mother, Mariula, are directly connected with art. My grandfather was in the orchestra of the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, played the violin, and his wife sang in the choir. By nationality, Butman is half Jewish (on his father’s side), half Russian. He told about the origin in an interview:
“I am proud of my origin: not a Jew according to Halacha, I am a Jew according to my own laws. I am not indifferent to the life and fate of my fellow tribesmen.”
And in 2005 he received the “Person of the Year” award from the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia.
Igor Butman in childhood
The boy loved sports, especially football and hockey, went to the sports section, but did not achieve great success. Music captivated the young man from childhood. Almost all the facts in the biography of the artist’s early years are connected specifically with her. At the age of 11 he entered a music school, where he began playing the clarinet.
Upon graduation, he began studying at the music school named after. M. P. Mussorgsky, where Dmitry Shostakovich and Gavriil Popov once taught, and Georgy Sviridov and Ivan Dzerzhinsky studied. At the school I entered the saxophone class with the great teacher Gennady Lvovich Golshtein. In addition to Butman, member of the Aquarium group Igor Timofeev, leader of the Soviet rock group Children Roman Kaporin, and member of the A-Studio group Batyrkhan Shukenov studied under his patronage.
Igor Butman in his youth
At the age of 17, Igor received an invitation from jazz multi-instrumentalist David Goloshchekin to play in his ensemble. In the same year, he organized the first jazz quartet from his colleagues at the music school. The big band made a splash at a concert in the Leningrad club "Kvadrat", then located in the building of the Palace of Culture named after. Kirov.
In 1981, several significant events occurred at once. The saxophonist joined the quintet of the already famous Sergei Kuryokhin and performed at the “Spring Concerts of New Jazz”. In the same year he graduated from college, and also received a laudatory review and favorable reviews from critics in the newspaper “Soviet Youth”, where Bu, which, given the 300 million population of the USSR, is honorable, especially at the age of 20.
The first groups of Igor Butman
As a student, Igor worked in the St. Petersburg jazz club “Kvadrat”, in the Goloshchekin Ensemble, Oleg Lundstrem’s jazz orchestra, and in the Moscow ensemble Allegro created by Nikolai Levinovsky.
In the 1980s he collaborated with rock and jazz musician Sergei Kuryokhin, Aquarium and Kino. In those years, jazz was not welcomed by Russian officials. Once, after a brilliant performance, the American actress Pearl Bailey kissed him in delight, Butman was invited “on the carpet” to the KGB, as a person who had lost his Komsomol honor. But, according to the unspoken assessment of music critics, already in 1985 Butman was considered the best musician in Russia in the jazz mainstream.
He performed as a guest soloist in orchestras, organized tours, invited leading American performers to Russia - New York vibraphonist Joe Locke, pianist and successful solo artist Joe Calderazzo, incomparable bassist Eddie Gomez (the result was the CD Jazz 4× 4 with Butman and Andrey Kondakov, Falling Out together with Butman).
Igor Butman and Mikhail Kazakov
In 1993 he began releasing his albums. In 1997-1998 organized independent jazz festivals in the capital. Prepared and performed “Duet for voice and saxophone. Joseph Brodsky" with Mikhail Kozakov. In 1998 he created the Four Brothers group, which included his brother Oleg and brothers Mikhail and Andrey Ivanov, and in 1999 - his own Big Band.
You can't fool your genes
Mariula Nikolaevna's parents were famous musicians. My grandfather played in the Mariinsky Theater orchestra, my grandmother sang in the choir. Igor's future was predetermined, but the boy tried to develop not only musical talent. He attended the sports section for football and hockey. In 1972, Butman entered a music school in the clarinet class.
Having received his matriculation certificate, Igor entered the prestigious school named after. M. P. Mussorgsky. The talented student was enrolled in a saxophone class, where Gennady Golshtein became his creative mentor. Previously, Igor Timofeev, leader of the group “Aquarium”, musician of the “A-studio” project Batyrkhan Shukenov, frontman of the popular Soviet team “Children” Roman Kaporin studied at this university.
At the age of seventeen, the still unknown musician received a unique offer of cooperation from the eminent multi-instrumentalist David Gloshchekov . Soon, Igor, together with his classmates, organized a jazz quartet, which performed brilliantly at the Kvadrat jazz club. The debut turned out to be successful, the audience spared no ovation and warm words addressed to the young artists.
In 1981, Butman graduated from college and joined the famous quintet of Sergei Kuryokhin. Igor received a positive review from critics, which was published in the publication “Soviet Youth”. In this article, he was named “Discovery of the Year,” which became a significant and pleasant event for the 20-year-old guy.
World fame of jazzman - Butman
He performed jazz in the famous concert hall “Carnegie Hall”, the largest cultural “Lincoln Center”, the Birdland club, which Larisa Dolina calls the jazz Mecca of New York.
On Taganka he founded Le Club, then the Igor Butman Club. In collaboration with Larisa Dolina, he created the project “Jazz Carnival”. He gave triumphant concerts with him in Israel, the Russian Federation, Ukraine and the USA. For him and the annual forum “Triumph of Jazz” the musician received the title of Laureate of the State Prize of the Russian Federation. Hosted television programs Good Morning America, Jazzophrenia, The Today Show. He has repeatedly received the annual professional award from the association of journalists of the capital “Jazz'Ukho”. In 2000 he played for Russian leaders Vladimir Putin and US leaders Bill Clinton, and in 2002 for Chinese President Jiang Zemin. He wrote and performed a musical composition with Big Ben for the play “Playing Strindberg Blues.”
In 2003, as recognition from the American public, Butman's band was invited and performed with a jazz orchestra led by Marsalis, receiving high praise in the press. In 2005, he was awarded the title “Person of the Year – 5765” by the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia.
In 2006, at the invitation of Ilya Averbukh, he participated in the television project “Stars on Ice” together with Maria Petrova. In 2009 - in “Ice Age” with the Bulgarian figure skater Albena Denkova. Since 2012, Igor Butman has headed the Moscow Jazz Orchestra. He also leads the quartet, which is the rhythm section of the Big Band. The members of the quartet are pianist, jazzman and composer Nikolai Levinovsky, double bassist and one of the most sought-after accompanists Vitaly Solomonov, and versatile percussionist Edaurd Zizak.
Biography[ | ]
Born in 1961 on October 27 in Leningrad in the family of civil engineer Mikhail Solomonovich Butman (1937-2009) and Mariula Nikolaevna Livanova (born 1939). He graduated from music school and music college named after M. Mussorgsky. At school I became interested in the saxophone. His teacher was Gennady Golshtein. In 1978, Igor was invited to join his ensemble by the outstanding jazzman David Goloshchekin.
At the end of 1978, he assembled his first quartet from college students (Volkov, Rakhilson, Glonti), which created a sensation with its first performance at the Kvadrat club in February 1979. Later they played at the opening of the season at Kvadrat (October 1979). Over the next year, Butman performed both solo and with the school’s big band and sometimes jammed in “Kvadrat”. In April 1981, with the Sergei Kuryokhin Quintet, Butman took part in the “Spring Concerts of New Jazz” of the Contemporary Music Club of Efim Barban and Alik Kan[11].
In 1981, after graduating from college, Igor took the post of alto saxophonist in the jazz ensemble of David Goloshchekin, and a year later received an invitation from Moscow, becoming the first alto in Oleg Lundstrem's orchestra[11].
After working with Lundstrem for two years, Igor Butman returned to Leningrad and assembled his quartet, which included Alexander Berenson (ex-Lesnoy Prospekt), trumpet; Dmitry Kolesnik, double bass, and Evgeny Guberman (ex-“Mania”, “Flock”, “Aquarium”, “Zarok”, etc.), drums. At the next “Spring Concerts”, guitarist Alexander Pumpyan (ex-Fram) performed with them, and after pianist Evgeniy Maslov joined his ranks, the quartet turned into a quintet[11].
In 1983-1985, Butman's quintet performed at festivals in Moscow, Riga and at three "Autumn Rhythms" in Leningrad. In those same years, Igor Butman took part in the recording of the Aquarium albums “ Taboo
"(1982) and "
Radio Africa
" (1983), and also played a solo in the song "
Trolleybus
" on the Kino album "
Chief of Kamchatka
" (1984). Since the spring of 1984, he regularly participated in concerts of the Pop Mechanics group[11].
In December 1984, Butman again left for Moscow: he and Evgeny Guberman were invited to his “Allegro” by the famous Moscow pianist Nikolai Levinovsky. It was then that Igor changed his alto to tenor saxophone[11].
Igor Butman and the head of VIA “PLAMYA” Yulia Arinicheva
In 1987, the musician left Allegro and went to improve his education in the USA. He attended the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston and graduated two years later with a diploma as a concert pianist and composer. In those same years, Igor Butman met American saxophonist Grover Washington. In addition to Washington, Igor performed on stage with Pat Metheny, Eddie Gomez, Archie Shepp, Monty Alexander and others. In 1989, Butman moved from Boston to New York, began playing with his ensemble in local clubs, and also made a European tour as part of Lionel Hampton Orchestra[11].
Butman’s first performance in Russia during his emigration took place in 1992 in Moscow at the international jazz festival. Butman's solo album was released in 1993, featuring pianist Lyle Mays, double bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Marvin "Smitty" Smith. In May 1995, Igor Butman spoke in the Kremlin in front of American President Bill Clinton. A year later, the musician left the USA and settled in Moscow[11].
In December 1996, in New York, Igor Butman produced the album “Blues for Four” by pianist Andrei Kondakov. In addition to them, double bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Lenny White took part in the recording. In April of the following year, the quartet went on a tour of Russian cities. In 1997-1998, independent jazz festivals were held in Moscow on Butman’s initiative. Russian and American jazzmen took part in them. Igor Butman also opened a jazz club at the Taganka Theater and organized tours in Russia for such performers as Randy Brecker, Billy Cobham, Paul Bollenbeck, etc.[11].
In 1997, Butman released the album “Nostalgia”, a year later he appeared on the “Wolves Trio” album “ Much Better”
", and in March 1998 he assembled his own big band[11]. The big band has repeatedly performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the legendary jazz club Birdland and other equally prestigious concert venues around the world. Simultaneously with the big band, the Igor Butman Quartet also emerged in 1999, consisting of: Igor Butman (saxophone), Anton Baronin (piano), Vitaly Solomonov (double bass), Eduard Zizak (drums), which was immediately called the “trademark” of Russian jazz . In June 2000, the ensemble performed in the Kremlin in front of the leaders of two countries - US President Bill Clinton and Russian President Vladimir Putin. In June 2002 - before the Chairman of the People's Republic of China Jiang Zemin.
In February 2002, on the stage of the Rossiya concert hall in Moscow, Igor Butman presented a large-scale gala concert “The Triumph of Jazz”, at which both his big band and the performers he invited performed (Randy Brecker, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Gary Burton, Alvin Jones, Toots Tillmans, etc.). That same spring, Butman and Larisa Dolina created a joint program “Jazz Carnival”, with which they traveled around Russia, near and far abroad[11].
Igor Butman in 2011
A sensation for the entire jazz world was the joint performance in September 2003 of the Igor Butman Big Band and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra conducted by Wynton Marsalis at the opening of the jazz season at Lincoln Center in New York. In the same year, the first Big Band album, “Eternal Triangle,” was created with the participation of the famous American trumpeter Randy Brecker.
Winner of the “Person of the Year” award from the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia (2005). In 2006, he was awarded the honorary title “Honored Artist of Ingushetia.”[12]
From 1998 to 2005, he hosted his own program “Jazophrenia” on the “Culture” TV channel[13]. In 2006, he participated in the First Channel project “Stars on Ice” together with figure skater Maria Petrova. In 2009, he took part in the First Channel project “Ice Age” together with Albena Denkova.
In 2009, he created his own record label “Butman Music”, the presentation of which took place at the Moscow House of Music. The album of the Igor Boo Big Band was presented at the concert.
Since 2014, together with composer Arkady Ukupnik, he has been the organizer of the annual jazz festival “World Jazz Festival” in Riga[14].
On August 31, 2020, he was elected president of the Authors' Council of the Russian Authors' Society[15].
In 2020, he starred in the series “Real Boys” as a cameo, where he played a melody from the series on the saxophone.
Family and personal hobbies of Igor Butman
Igor Mikhailovich is married for the second time. His current wife Oksana is a designer. She recalls a funny thing that happened to her during Igor’s performance. She amused the audience and the musicians when, after Butman’s solo, she delightedly rushed onto the stage with a bouquet, not realizing in her excitement that the instrumental composition was not yet finished. Then he arranged for her, together with Irina Otieva and Andrei Makarevich’s rock band “Time Machine,” to travel to the jazz festival in New York. There he came to her hotel with flowers and proposed marriage. And, having received consent, he demanded that she immediately call her parents and inform them about the future wedding. The couple has a son, Daniel.
Igor Butman with his second wife
Butman's first wife, Eileen, is American. They also met at one of Igor’s concert performances in 1980. The girl at that time was a student and studied Russian in St. Petersburg. From this marriage Butman has a son, Mark.
Igor loves to play hockey with friends - this game comes second in his list of passions, of course, after jazz. At one time he was a member of the youth team of the SKA Leningrad hockey club. He also likes tennis and football. In interviews he has repeatedly admitted that he considers himself to be a true lover of Japanese, Thai and Chinese cuisine. He prefers to spend his holidays in Italy. At home he mostly does nothing - watches TV, sleeps and eats. And he is not interested in and is not keen on matters from the men’s category. He jokes that he doesn’t drive nails - he’s just sure that he’ll have to break them later.
Since 2008, the successful musician has been a member of the United Russia political party. He wants to benefit his native country. In 2012, he was a proxy approved by the Central Election Commission of Vladimir Putin as a candidate for the presidency of the Russian Federation. In 2014, he signed the Appeal of cultural figures of the Russian Federation in support of Vladimir Putin’s policies on Ukraine and Crimea. He is involved in charity work, organizes festivals, and is always open to cooperation and new ideas.
Igor Butman: Europe is afraid of competition from our jazzmen
At the same time, Russia’s permanent representative to UNESCO, Eleonora Mitrofanova, invited me to a meeting with the general director of this organization, Irina Bokova. And I began to tell him that we also have a lot of good musicians, a great interest in this music, and jazz has always been in a strange position: it was sometimes popular, sometimes prohibited, sometimes allowed... That in our musical life there are both dramas and comedies. And I say: “It would be great if such a Jazz Day were held in Russia.” Then, every time we met at Jazz Days, I always reminded that we were ready for it.
Irina Bokova felt my great interest and was also excited about this idea. By the way, she speaks excellent Russian and is a very subtle diplomat, so she understands that today it is very important for the world not to isolate our country, not to deprive it of cultural events, but to continue cooperation. Artists are the most peaceful international ambassadors! Even sports are not so peaceful, there is a competition, there you can say that you run faster...
In addition, St. Petersburg is a UNESCO city, a cultural heritage of the planet. And we can talk endlessly about its musical traditions: many of our composers worked here, and the concert venues and the Mariinsky Theater are known throughout the world.
— Was Moscow not considered at all as the capital of Jazz Day? After all, your jazz club is here.
— We decided that it was safer to declare St. Petersburg. We held consultations with the musicians, asked where they would like to come - Moscow or St. Petersburg? Often even their wives, who wanted to visit St. Petersburg, entered into the conversation. They often act as managers for their spouses.
— Jazz Day will actually last three days. How will it look like?
— First of all, this is a gala concert and a large educational program. If these wonderful musicians come, then, of course, they should give master classes and tell what jazz is striving for today. We must talk about our art with those who do not know jazz and want to know it from the best sides. It’s always a pleasure to talk with fans of our music, try to tell them something new, and exchange opinions.
We are preparing concerts in open areas, in local jazz clubs, and educational institutions. In general, the city will live with jazz for three days, and the gala concert “All-Star Global Concert” at the Mariinsky-2 will be the culmination of the holiday. Valery Abisalovich Gergiev (director of the Mariinsky Theater - TASS note) kindly provided us with a hall, even canceling the subscription concert.
— Is he such a fan of jazz?
— You know, Valery Gergiev is simply a very smart, responsible, forward-looking person. He appreciated the importance of this event. And of course, our good human relations also influenced. We are very grateful to him. This is a magnificent hall, amazing! It is modern, with all the necessary technical equipment.
— Which visiting superstars should you pay attention to?
Butman, Igor Mikhailovich
Born on October 27, 1961 in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) in the family of Mikhail Solomonovich Butman and Mariula Nikolaevna Livanova. Father (1937-2009) and mother (born 1939) were engineers. Younger brother Oleg (born 1966) is a musician.
In 1981 he graduated from the Faculty of Pop Art of the Leningrad Music College named after. M.P. Mussorgsky (now the St. Petersburg Music School named after M.P. Mussorgsky), where he studied saxophone with Gennady Holstein. In 1989 he graduated from Berklee College of Music (Boston, Massachusetts, USA), receiving a double major as a concert saxophonist and composer.
At the age of 11 he began playing the clarinet at a children's music school. At the same time, he was involved in the hockey section. He gained his first experience of performing on the saxophone in the student big band of the school and in the Leningrad jazz club “Kvadrat”. At the end of the 1970s. also played alto saxophone in David Goloshchekin's ensemble. In 1982 he moved to Moscow, where for one year he led a group of saxophones in Oleg Lundstrem's orchestra. In 1983 he returned to Leningrad, organized a musical quintet, with which he performed at a number of festivals. Subsequently, he collaborated with Sergei Kuryokhin’s group “Pop Mechanics” and participated in the recording of music albums of the rock groups “Kino” and “Aquarium”. In 1984-1987 played tenor saxophone in Nikolai Levinovsky’s Moscow ensemble “Allegro”, after which he moved to the USA. After graduating from college in Boston, he moved to New York, where he began performing with the orchestra of vibraphonist Lionel Hampton. Since 1992, he has been organizing performances of American jazz musicians at Russian festivals. In 1993, Butman's first solo album, Falling Out, was released in New York. Since 1996 he has lived in Moscow. In 1997 and 1998 held “Independent Jazz Festivals” in Moscow, in which Russian and American performers took part. In 1999, the musician created his own orchestra, Igor Butman Jazz Orchestra (Igor Butman Big Band, since 2011 - Moscow Jazz Orchestra), bringing together leading Russian jazzmen - saxophonists, trumpeters, trombonists, etc. In the same year, the Igor Butman Quartet was organized (its current composition includes pianist Anton Baronin, drummer Eduard Zizak, double bassist Vitaly Solomonov and Butman himself). In the 2000s. Igor Butman's big band collaborated with Yuri Bashmet, Larisa Dolina, as well as with foreign jazzmen. At the end of the 1990s. together with actor Mikhail Kozakov, he presented a performance-concert based on the poems of Joseph Brodsky “Duet for voice and saxophone.” Since 2001, Butman has been the artistic director of the annual festival “Triumph of Jazz” (until 2013 it was held in Moscow, since 2013 - in Moscow and St. Petersburg). In 2009, he created the company Igor Butman Music Group (“Igor BuKrasa Rossii” (2015, Moscow), an honorary member of the jury of the International Music Festival “Jazz on Baikal” (2016, Irkutsk). In 2001-2006 he was the host of the television program “Jazophrenia "("Russia Culture"). He took part in the First Channel projects "Stars on Ice" (2006, performed together with world champion Maria Petrova) and "Ice Age-3" (2009, performed together with two-time world champion Bulgarian Albena Denkova). He was a member of the jury of the television projects “Universal Artist” (2013, Channel One) and “Big Jazz” (2013, “Russia Culture”), the vocal competition “New Star” (2015, TV channel “Zvezda”). director of the Moscow jazz clubs "Igor's Jazz Club BuJazz Club Igor BuUnited Russia" (since 2008) and its Supreme Council (since 2009). Member of the Moscow city regional political council of the party. Member of the Public Chamber of the Moscow Region (part of two commissions: on culture and development of folk crafts, as well as on ecology, environmental management and forest conservation). Co-chairman of the board of the Russian Union of Authors (2016). Member of the supervisory board of the autonomous non-profit organization “Russian Quality System” (2017). Member of the Presidium of the Eurasian Confederation of Right Holder Societies (2018). Member of the Board of Trustees of the St. Petersburg State Institute of Film and Television. In 2012, he was a member of the Moscow electoral “People's Headquarters” of candidate for the post of President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin. He was the official ambassador of the XXII Winter Olympic Games 2014 in Sochi (Krasnodar Territory). In October 2020, he became the ambassador of Saransk as the host city of the 2020 FIFA World Cup. In 2020, he was a confidant of the candidate for the post of mayor of Moscow, Sergei Sobyanin.
People's Artist of the Russian Federation (2011). Laureate of the State Prize of the Russian Federation in the field of pop art for 2003.
Awarded the UNESCO Five Continents Medal (2015).
He was married to US citizen Eileen Callohan and Russian woman Oksana Butman. From his marriage to Oksana are sons Daniil (born 1996) and Mark (born 2008).
He is interested in hockey and plays in the Night Hockey League.
