Dmitry Ilugdin

Dmitry Ilugdin is a Russian pianist and composer, born on November 12, 1977, in Moscow. He is a graduate of the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music, where he studied in the class of People's Artist of Russia, pianist and professor Igor Bril. Ilugdin began studying music at the age of four. During his years in a traditional academic music school, his artistic formation was shaped not only by works of Bach, Mozart, and Tchaikovsky, but also by the music of Oscar Peterson, Duke Ellington, Bill Evans, and Charlie Parker.

One of his first teachers of jazz improvisation was the Israeli saxophonist Boris Gamer, whom he met in Jerusalem in 1992. Ilugdin made his debut in 1994 while studying at the Gnessin Music College. Yuri Saulsky, one of his teachers in arranging and composition, suggested the idea of creating an instrumental trio, and in that ensemble Ilugdin gave his first concert at the Central House of the Russian Army. This was followed by numerous jazz festivals and performances in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and other cities.

From 1997, alongside his performing career, Ilugdin began composing music for film and television. He wrote music for many television programs and serial television films, including Empress Catherine the Great, Euphrosyne's Album, and Reprise, as well as for the feature films Lift (2007) and Chemist (2010). His preferred styles were modern forms of jazz such as fusion, jazz-rock, funk, and soul, although under the influence of his teacher Igor Bril, traditional jazz also remained part of his repertoire.

In 1998, while still a student at the Gnessin Academy, Ilugdin was recommended to Alexey Kozlov, who was then assembling a new line-up of the ensemble Arsenal. His collaboration with the legendary saxophonist lasted for more than ten years. As a member of Arsenal, Ilugdin became a prize-winner at Russian and international jazz festivals, performed on prestigious world stages, and took part in recording the ensemble's albums. He also continued to collaborate with musicians from the academic tradition, participating in recordings with the State Chamber Orchestra of Russia under Konstantin Orbelian.

In 2008 and 2009, together with his Arsenal colleague, bass guitarist and sound producer Evgeny Sharikov, Ilugdin released two albums in the Vision Of Sound project. Recordings of their original compositions and arrangements featured internationally known performers including Gary Meek, Brandon Fields, Frank Gambale, Jeff Richman, Kim Nazarian, and J.D. Walter. The albums were recorded in various studios in Europe and America with the support of the Swiss company Tormax. At the end of 2009, Vision Of Sound became an independent ensemble joined by young musicians such as Pyotr Ivshin, Nikolai Vintskevich, and Anna Koroleva. In February 2010, the second Vision Of Sound album was released, and the group began an active concert life.

Beginning in 2011, Ilugdin's stylistic interests shifted strongly toward a more камерная, acoustic, piano-centered aesthetic. In April 2011 he first presented to the public a full concert program of new original material in a unified style. The project was named Nikitsky Boulevard after one of the compositions, and after receiving very positive responses, the album of the same name was released in spring 2012 on the ArtBeat Music label. According to many music experts, the project could be classified as contemporary European jazz. Its concert version consisted of Ilugdin's original compositions, performed by a trio with bassist Alexey Zavolokin and drummer Pyotr Ivshin. From that point, the Dmitry Ilugdin Trio became an independent performing ensemble.

Several of Ilugdin's compositions were included in Yuri Chugunov's sheet music collection Melodies of Jazz Moscow. As a composer, he continued to work for television and cinema. From 2011 to 2018 he served as artistic director of the Moscow jazz club Union of Composers. In 2015 he began collaborating and performing with the musical group of Varvara Vizbor, and from the same year Viktor Shestak became the double bassist of Ilugdin Trio. Ilugdin also became a regular resident of Alexey Kozlov Club in Moscow, where he performed frequently.

In 2017 Ilugdin recorded and released the trio album Reflection, which received very high praise in professional jazz circles and among listeners. In 2017 and 2018 the trio became his main musical project and appeared at major Russian festivals including Usadba Jazz, Jazz Province, Jazz in the Kremlin in Kazan, and JazzMay in Penza. In January 2018, Reflection entered the Europe Jazz Media Chart. In April 2018 the trio performed in Alexander Garden in St. Petersburg as part of the International Jazz Day celebrations. In May 2018 Ilugdin officially represented Russia as a featured artist at the international exhibition Jazzahead in Bremen.

From 2018 onward Ilugdin expanded his collaborations. He worked closely with singer, songwriter, and journalist Tatyana Balakirskaya, releasing her album Alive to Give Thanks together with Ilugdin Trio, as well as several singles. In 2018 the trio also released the single August with sound producer Lev Trofimov. In 2019 the Norwegian label Losen Records issued its release of the trio's album Reflection, and the ensemble performed at internationally known festivals including Amersfoort Jazz Festival in the Netherlands, Ubud Village Jazz Festival in Indonesia, and Belgrade Jazz Festival in Serbia. From 2020 he began active collaboration with trumpeter and television presenter Vadim Eilenkrig, and in the same year started performing regularly with Arkady Shilkloper.

In 2021 Ilugdin Trio released its third album, My Story, the first in the catalog of the new Jazzist label. In 2021 and 2022 the trio toured extensively with solo concert tours across Russian cities including Rostov-on-Don, Krasnodar, Stavropol, Pyatigorsk, Yessentuki, Sochi, Samara, Ufa, Chelyabinsk, Yekaterinburg, Omsk, Novosibirsk, and Novokuznetsk. In June 2022 the ensemble appeared at the Moscow Jazz Festival, performing as a headliner at the Novopushkinsky Square venue in Moscow.

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