Andrey Ryabov is a famous Soviet and Russian jazz guitarist. Behind him is a solid discography of several records, popular around the world, as well as numerous performances at international music festivals.
Early biography
Andrei Ryabov was born in 1962 in Leningrad. From the age of 11 he studied guitar. At first he was fond of rock music, but gradually switched to jazz, admiring the work of Joe Pass and George Benson. Since 1978, Andrei studied at the V. Mussorsky in his favorite direction - jazz guitar, and in 1983 he successfully completed his education.
During his college years, Ryabov made friends with various famous musicians of Leningrad, including Eduard Mazur and Mikhail Kostyushkin, and even performed with them in local jazz clubs. In addition, Andrei continued to get acquainted with the work of world jazz classics and discovered new idols - Jim Hall and Bill Evans, whose music found a great response in the works of the Leningrad guitarist himself.
Carier start
Already in 1982, Andrei Ryabov began performing in the Leningrad Jazz Music Ensemble under the direction of David Goloshchekin. For more than six years the collective toured Russia and abroad, and also released several rather popular albums: "Stardust", "15 Years Later", "Collage-2" and others. Critics and listeners in their responses noted Ryabov's virtuoso guitar parts, which create the right atmosphere.
In 1983, the newspaper "Soviet Youth" called Ryabov "the discovery of the year." Representatives of the foreign scene also became interested in the musician's work. Since 1986, Andrei began to collaborate with the Estonian jazz guitarist Tiit Pauls, having recorded the album "Jazz Tete-a-Tete" two years later. This was followed by Ryabov's tour of Europe with performances at jazz festivals in Hungary, Estonia and other countries. At the same time, the guitarist constantly got deafening ovations from the audience.
Further creative life
The next stage in Andrei Ryabov's career was the creation of a quartet with pianist Andrei Kondakov, which turned out to be very successful and prolific in creativity. The musicians constantly performed at various European venues, and also recorded albums. In 1989, the quartet performed at several Russian festivals with US saxophonist Richie Cole, after which critics unambiguously agreed that Andrei Ryabov was the best jazz guitarist in the country, and his quartet with Kondakov was the best jazz group in the USSR.
In 1992, Andrei Ryabov decided to move to the United States, which turned out to be the right decision. Life in America fully revealed the full musical potential of the guitarist, and he even became a real jazz icon in New York, collaborating with the most famous jazzmen and bands of the city and country. Since then, Ryabov continues to live "in two countries": he is registered in St. Petersburg, but often flies out on tour in the United States. At the same time, the musician is quite modest and does not give interviews about his personal life.
