— How did you start playing music?
— It all began when I was seven. We had a piano at home. My grandfather started teaching me. I liked it. Every Sunday he played in church. He was the musician in our family. There were many musicians down his line.
— Why did you choose jazz? There are so many music styles. Have you ever wanted to play something else?
— My grandfather gave me a classical education. I played quite complicated classical music that really helped me to develop my skills. When I was 12, I first heard the records by Oscar Peterson and started listening to jazz and pop music. I had very intense training with different teachers. I really wanted to play in a band. So one thing led to another, and I grew to like jazz.
— Jazz is American music. It spread all over the world and became popular in some places more than others. What about Holland?
— Holland is very small, about the size of Moscow plus a few parks. (Laughs) Actually, there is a good school of jazz and pop music here. Many famous musicians come here from across the globe. There are many jazz festivals in Holland every summer.
— Maybe you've heard some Russian music?
— I know Igor Butman. Once we played at the Russian embassy in the Netherlands together.
I remember one more interesting event. Right after the fall of the Berlin Wall, we took part in a local festival in Poland. There were three Russian musicians who looked exactly how you would imagine a Russian to look. Big strong guys. They were wearing heavy coats, perhaps made of bearskin. But they played jazz (it was a guitar trio), and they were quite professional.