Kondakov Andrey

St Petersburg pianist and composer Andrey Kondakov graduated from the State Leningrad Conservatory in 1987. Since 1981 Kondakov has been playing with his own bands, touring nationwide and performing at jazz festivals all over the former USSR. Now Andrei Kondakov is a bandleader and sideman of different projects such as duo with American guitarist Paul Bollenbeck (their CD “Alone and together” was recognized as “The Album of the year” in Russia in 2002), quartet with tenor sax player Igor Butman, drummer Lenny White and bassist Eddie Gomez (each of the two their albums - “4x4” and “Blues for Four” drew praise from jazz critics all over the world), avanguard jazz trio Gaivoronski-Kondakov-Volkov (their extensive touring story includes performances at the Festival of Russian Culture in Los Angeles and New York, at North Sea Jazz Festival in Hague, Lithuanian Filharmonic Hall in Vilnius), Brazil All Stars Band with NY-based bassist Sergio Brandao and percussionist Cafe da Silva. Brazil All Stars toured Russia and Ukraine, and gave a series of concerts in New York and Hong Kong. David Sanchez, Leo Handelman, Paulo Levi, Erivelton Silva are among the musicians that joined the band from time to time.

In May 2004 Andrei Kondakov performed in duo with Bobby McFerrin in Moscow and St.Petersburg. Among Andrey’s musical partners are vocalists JD Walter, Denise Perrier, Napua Davoy, harmonica player Olivier Ker-Ourio. He performed in many well-known club and festival stages: Birdland (NY), Zinc bar (NY), Smoke (NY), Porgy and Bess (Wien), Fashing (Stockholm), Sunset (Paris), Yoshi’s(CA), Jazz and Blues Festival (Stockholm), Pori Jazz (Finland), Burlington Festival (USA), Nurnberg Festival.

«Songs for My Father» is the latest record of Andrey and the second album of Brazil All Stars, a latin jazz project led by Mr Kondakov.