Ivan Farmakovsky

Ivan Farmakovsky is a Russian jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and teacher. He was born on February 1, 1973, in Moscow. He grew up in a family of a pianist and an actress, and at the age of five he was sent to study at the music school of the Moskvorechye House of Culture, which at that time was one of the very few institutions in the country where jazz music, alongside classical music, formed the basis of the curriculum.

In 1988 he entered the pop and jazz department of the Gnessin State Musical College, where he studied in the class of Professor I. M. Bril. After graduating from the college, he continued his education in 1992 at the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music. During his student years he took part in the second international jazz competition for young performers in Rostov-on-Don in 1994, where he received first prize.

In 1997, together with his ensemble, which included A. Nikolaev, A. Revnyuk, and D. Sevastyanov, Farmakovsky became a prize-winner at the well-known international Europe Jazz Contest in Belgium. The group performed music composed mainly by Farmakovsky himself, confirming his reputation not only as a pianist but also as an original jazz author.

Wider recognition came to Farmakovsky after a concert with Benny Golson at the Hall of the House of Composers in 1998. After that performance, Igor Butman invited him to join his quartet and later his big band. From then on, Farmakovsky became a highly sought-after figure in the Moscow jazz scene and a regular participant in annual festivals such as Triumph of Jazz, Usadba Jazz, Jazz in the Hermitage Garden, and Jazz at the Old Fortress.

Over the course of his performing career, he has appeared on the same stage with prominent jazz musicians including Benny Golson, Curtis Fuller, Wynton Marsalis, and Randy Brecker, among many others. These collaborations strengthened his standing in contemporary Russian jazz and connected him with an international circle of performers.

In 2009 Farmakovsky released his debut album as a bandleader and composer. The recording was made at the well-known New York studio Sear Sound by an international quintet that included Igor Butman on saxophone, Ryan Kisor on trumpet, Ugonna Okegwo on double bass, and Gene Jackson on drums. The album was presented on April 21, 2009, at the Moscow International House of Music. A review in JazzTimes by Susan Frances compared his creative approach to the artistic method of Wassily Kandinsky and described the album "Next To The Shadow" as cinematic in its flow of sound and imagery.

In 2010 his second studio album, "The Way Home," was released on the Butman Music label. On September 18, 2014, after the premiere of the musical performance "Pola Negri," Farmakovsky was attacked and taken to hospital with an open craniocerebral injury, multiple skull fractures, and cerebral edema.

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