Viatcheslav Nazarov

Who was Viatcheslav Nazarov?

Viatcheslav Sergeyevich Nazarov was a world-class jazz trombonist, pianist, and vocalist, whose extraordinary performance was recognized by jazz musicians and critics in Russia and in the USA.

Nazarov graduated from the Military Music School and Musical College of Ufa. He started to play professionally in a variety of famous Soviet jazz bands when he was 16. He played in KADANS, a group led by German Lukianov, in 1977, by 1983 he was leading soloist in the Oleg Lundstrem Orchestra, he played in the jazz ensemble Allegro led by Nick Levinovsky in 1989, and in 1990 he worked for the ensemble Melodia. With those bands, he toured nationally and played at jazz festivals abroad. Along with Viatcheslav Preobrazhensky he assembled a quintet and recorded two disks. Soviet jazz critics recognized Viatcheslav Nazarov as the number one trombonist of the country for eight years.

In 1990 Nazarov immigrated to the United States. He tried to play in a variety of groups in New York, NY and in Denver, CO. He played with jazz stars such as Lew Tabackin, Benny Golson, Valery Ponomarev, Carl Fontana, Freddy Cole and more. In 1995, Nazarov and the new Allegro participated in the JVC jazz festival in Avery Fisher Hall in New York. He died in a car accident near Denver, CO, on January 2, 1996, returning home after Christmas and New Year eve gigs in Connecticut.