Valery Ponomarev

Valery Ponomarev emerged as the earliest significant Russian jazz figure to register an impact stateside. An appealing tone, rhythmic drive, and deep commitment to sustaining Clifford Brown’s hard bop lineage have marked his playing from the outset. Before leaving the Soviet Union in 1973, he seized every chance to perform there, cutting sides for Melodiya and appearing at jazz festivals.

He entered Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers in 1977, an ideal setting for his approach that lasted through 1980 and yielded nine albums issued on Roulette, Timeless, and Concord. Since that period Ponomarev has operated independently, most often directing his own quintets while maintaining a steady recording presence on Reservoir.