Boris Kozlov

Two-time Grammy Award winning acoustic and electric bassist, composer and arranger, Boris Kozlov has been on New York and international jazz scene for the past 20 years. Currently serving as a Bassist, Arranger and Musical Director for Mingus Big Band, Mingus Dynasty and The Orchestra, as well as leading his own projects, he has also been a first-call bassist for such important jazz acts as Michael Brecker, John Blake, Ray Barretto's New World Spirit, Lew Tabackin, David Kikoski, Alex Sipiagin, Jean-Michel Pilc and many others.

Boris Kozlov was born in Moscow ,USSR on December 5, 1967 . Having a chance to go to Children's Music School to study piano for 7 years, he fell in love with the bass and won Gnesin Music Academy competition to enter college at the age of 15 on electric bass guitar. While being influenced by rock and classical music, he took interest in jazz at 17 and went on to study acoustic bass with a notable bassist Anatoly Sobolev. Upon graduation in 1987 with Diploma of Honor at the age of 19, he served mandatory 2 years in the Soviet Army, where he had to play tuba and other brass instruments besides basses in the military band.

Once out of the Army, he was hired by the State owned 'Melodia' Studio Ensemble in 1989 and proceeded to record more than 40 albums with them as well as many other Soviet jazz artists. At the same time he continued his studies at The State Academy of Music. At the First USSR Competition of Jazz Soloists in 1990 he won The Grand Prix as well as a special prize for his original composition. After winning the first spot in Young Musician category in USSR Jazz Journal in 1991 he moved to New York.

The self-study continued in a specific NY jazz environment ,where he was eventually hired by Hassan Williams and Terry Gibbs/Buddy De Franco Band and later by saxophonists Bobby Watson, Bob Berg , Benny Golson, James Moody, Ronnie Cuber, John Stubblefield, Ravi Coltrane, Seamus Blake, Donny McCaslin; trumpeters Dizzy Reese, Phillip Harper, Brian Lynch ( Grammy 2007), Alex Sipiagin,Ray Vega pianists Eddie Palmieri, Walter Bishop Jr., Michel Petrucciani, Arturo O'Farrill, Michel Legrand, Stanley Cowell, Jon Ballantyne, George Colligan, Orrin Evans, Edward Simon, Helen Sung, Joey Calderazzo; vibraphonists Joe Locke, Bill Ware; guitarists Mark Whitfield, David Gilmore, Adam Rogers, Jack Wilkins, Ximo Tebar drummers Tommy Campbell, Victor Jones, Marlon Simon, Victor Lewis, Jonathan Blake, Jeff 'Tain' Watts, Ali Jackson, Antonio Sanches; vocalists Jay Mc Govern, Urszula Dudziak, Monday Michiru; trombonists Conrad Herwig, Robin Eubanks, Andy Hunter; trombonist/vocalist Frank Lacy’s Experience and the funk-jazz band NewHypeJazz .

Willie Morris: Attentive Listening

Read "Attentive Listening" reviewed by David A. Orthmann

by David A. Orthmann
March 9, 2024

Attentive Listening, Willie Morris 's second Posi-Tone release in as many years, documents the continuing evolution of a jazz master in the making. Like last year's Conversation Starter, the tenor saxophonist/composer thrives in the stimulating company of alto saxophonist/alto flutist Patrick Cornelius and pianist Jon Davis. Bassist Boris Kozlov and drummer Rudy Royston round out a rhythm section that fuels the record's impressive reach. Early on, Morris' “Water Fountain Of Youth" and “The Imitation Game" are up-tempo ...

Album Review

Blue Moods: Swing & Soul

Read "Swing & Soul" reviewed by David A. Orthmann

by David A. Orthmann
February 3, 2024

Swing & Soul is the second in a series of recordings by Blue Moods, one of the projects initiated by Posi-Tone Records producer Marc Free to attract new listeners to jazz. The release showcases a collection of compositions by pianist Duke Pearson, an underrecognized figure who worked for Blue Note as an A&R man, arranger, and sideman, in addition to leading several dates that remain in high regard by many aficionados. Five of Posi-Tone's leading lights, tenor ...

Album Review

Art Hirahara: Echo Canyon

Read "Echo Canyon" reviewed by Neil Duggan

by Neil Duggan
December 21, 2023

The planned happenstance theory states that unplanned events can create new opportunities. So it was that Art Hirahara was in the right place at the right time, taking last-minute advantage of studio time at Brooklyn's Acoustic Recording studio following a cancellation by another artist. Along with his long time collaborators, bassist Boris Kozlov and drummer Rudy Royston, the session produced the album, Echo Canyon. This is his ninth album for the Posi-Tone Records label and follows on from Verdant Valley ...

Album Review

Josh Lawrence: And That Too

Read "And That Too" reviewed by David A. Orthmann

by David A. Orthmann
April 26, 2023

Less than ten seconds into “Grit," the opening track of Josh Lawrence's latest chapter as a leader for Posi-Tone Records, the trumpeter uncorks a jaw-dropping solo. Set in a brisk, no-nonsense tempo, it does not so much eclipse the music that follows as it sets the tone for the record by declaring that And That Too is playful and deadly serious. Lawrence's rich, full-bodied tone is the entryway to over two minutes of unadulterated invention. Every note ...

Album Review

Diego Rivera: Love & Peace

Read "Love & Peace" reviewed by David A. Orthmann

by David A. Orthmann
March 31, 2023

While some of its roots lie in jazz practices of the mid-to-late twentieth century, Diego Rivera's Love & Peace brushes aside the expectations and comparisons which often accompany newly-recorded records that bear a resemblance to sounds from the past. The tenor and soprano saxophonist assembled a cast of players who frequently appear on Posi-Tone releases. Pianist Art Hirahara, bassist Boris Kozlov, and drummer Rudy Royston have met the challenges of loads of jazz and improvised music projects, ...

Album Review

Something Blue: Personal Preference

Read "Personal Preference" reviewed by David A. Orthmann

by David A. Orthmann
February 26, 2023

Marc Free produced the second edition of Something Blue to encourage “a wider audience of new listeners" to jazz by presenting “a focused program of concise performances to provide maximum enjoyment." These goals are congruent with Free's trust in his artists. The eleven tracks of Personal Preference do not smack of compromise or a nebulous artistic focus. Free has assembled a band of players with ties to the label who boldly stride through the bop/hard bop/post-bop continuum, utilizing elements from ...

Album Review

Joe McCarthy's New York Afro Bop Alliance Big Band: The Pan American Nutcracker Suite

Read "The Pan American Nutcracker Suite" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
February 5, 2023

Yes, Peter Tchaikovsky's timeless Nutcracker Suite is basically holiday music; and, yes, the 2022 holiday season is squarely in everyone's rear-view mirror. Even so, there is always room for a fresh approach to the annual festive staple, which is what drummer Joe McCarthy's New York Afro Bop Alliance Big Band brings to The Pan American Nutcracker Suite. The Nutcracker has been rhythmically amended before, but never quite like this, as McCarthy and the band use the strong ...

Recording

Pianist-Composer Randy Klein Releases Second Two Duos Project "What's Next?" Featuring Bassist Boris Kozlov and Guitarist Alex Skolnick.

Source: Two for the Show Media
October 3, 2012

For the second in his series of Two Duos recordings, pianist-composer, Randy Klein engages in musical conversation on What's Next?, featuring electric bass guitarist virtuoso Boris Kozlov and guitarist Alex Skolnick. What's Next?, is the followup to his 2010 acclaimed CD, Sunday Morning, which showcased Klein in duets with trombonist, Chris Washburne and Russian saxophonist, Oleg Kireyev. This outing summons up the delicate interaction of pianist Bill Evans and guitarist Jim Hall on their classic 1962 encounter, Undercurrent, and the ...
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148

Performance / Tour

Hans Glawischnig (Mon) George Cables (Tue) Samba Jazz (Wed) E.J Strickland (Thu) Boris Kozlov (Fri-Sat) This Week at Cachaa

Source: Jim Eigo, Jazz Promo Services
August 28, 2007

Cachaa 35 West 8th St (bet. 5th & 6th Aves.) NYC * tel 212-388-9099 sets at 9,11 & 1am * $10 cover, $15 min. Menus from selected restaurants available New York City's Newest Jazz Hang In The Heart of Greenwich Village This Week At Cachaca Tue. 28 George Cables Solo Piano Produced by Jill Newman Sets at 11pm & 1am There will ...
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133

Performance / Tour