There's one catch to this group, however no one in this global cover band has ever seen Chicago perform live. The group's growing popularity here stems from several factors beyond mere novelty. As a guitarist of over 45 years myself, I greatly admire Sergey's musical talents! Despite decades on the road, the American act never toured Russia and Leonid & Friends didnt land in the U.S. until just a few years ago. It was nothing extravagant or fancy. All total the videos have received more than 50 million views. Vasily has won several international music competitions. It was a whole slew of Russians and Ukrainians, playing in a high-end studio in Moscow. Recognized as one of the best drummers in Russia, Igor has vast experience in live [4][5] [6][7]. Konstantin joined Leonid & Friends in 2021 as the lead guitarist. Meanwhile, theres a preview here. Olga Grigoryants is a multimedia reporter focusing on urban development, business and culture. They have three sold-out shows in Los Angeles, at Village Studios, Jan. 11-13, followed by three dates in you guessed it metro Chicago on Jan. 15-19. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Vlad has worked with Russian and foreign performers, including jazz musicians from But now Im here, its a magic, thank you my God, and I very glad to be part of Leonid & Friends. The audio recording and subsequent video of the song Brand New Love Affair were not supposed to be anything more than a birthday gift to his friend but the rest of the world didnt see it that way. Thats a trend thats happening worldwide in pop music, said Kashirin when I asked. They started as a YouTube band and now also tours. ((Photo courtesy of Leonid & Friends)). Communication with the rest of the band in Russia is severely limited and cautious. . But first, some time off. In the decades since, this astonishing trumpeter, pianist and composer has inspired audiences in every corner of the world and awakened a new generation of great performers. (Photo courtesy of Leonid & Friends). America's favorite tribute band has just released an original composition entitle The Speck of Dust featuring the vocal talents of Ksenia. Now a resident of Moscow, Ksenia began singing as a child in various school events and competitions. Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is? In Kyiv, Tiagnyriadno takes care of his elderly parents, helps his Ukrainian neighbors as a volunteer and shares the horrific details of the war on social media. Serge Tiagniryadno was born and lives in Kiev, the capital city of Ukraine where he runs the popular recording studio Crystal Sound of which he founded. ", Valery Martynov trumpet on "So Very Hard to Go" (also touring substitute 2022present), Dmitry Gorevoy baritone saxophone on "So Very Hard to Go", This page was last edited on 16 April 2023, at 01:58. Sadly, Sergey Kashirin, their amazing Guitarist has chosen to leave the band to concentrate on Songwriting and his young children. Valery Martynov was born in the city of Tolyatti in 1994. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (updated 4/4/2023), Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (updated 1/26/2023). Leonid & Friends: Make Me Smile. Jazz news: Leonid & Friends: Chicago He has also served as Leonid & Friends brought the universal language of music to the USA. posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its I spotted a pro photographer at our gig yesterday, and made "guitar faces" every time I saw him. Dear Friends, We are very sad to - Leonid & Friends - Facebook (20142017, guest on "You Are on My Mind" and "Beginnings"), "BACK IN THE USSA: Leonid and Friends Arrive in America", "Leonid Vorobyev takes the music of Chicago and Earth Wind & Fire to Russian audiences", "Russia's top Chicago tribute band, Leonid & Friends, back in the USA", "How a group of guys from Moscow became an internationally renowned Chicago tribute band", "Leonid & Friends Chicagovich - To 50th Anniversary Of The Band Chicago (2017, CD)", "Leonid & Friends Chicagovich II (2018, CD)", "Leonid & Friends Chicagovich III (2021, CD)", "Song of the Day: Leonid & Friends, "The Speck Of Dust", "Serge Tiagnyriadno Singer, musician, songwriter", "Serge Tiagniryadno Ukrainian Singer Of Leonid & Friends Defends against Putin | 2911 Enterprises, Inc", "Sergey Kashirin Russian lead guitar of Leonid and Friends on 25 or 6 to 4", "Aleksey Batychenko music @ All About Jazz", The Very Best of Chicago: Only the Beginning, The Best of Chicago: 40th Anniversary Edition. Also in 2018, current U.S. ambassador to Russia (and former 2016 GOP presidential candidate) Jon Huntsman sat in on keyboards with Leonid & Friends at the 1,000-capacity Yota Arena in Moscow. So when Valery first entered music school, he planned to learn to play guitar like his Father, but when he saw the trumpet for the first time, he quickly forgot everything about his guitar plans and decided to study the trumpet instead. TDPRI, short for Telecaster Discussion Page Reissue, is the leading online community and marketplace for Telecaster guitars. Since his graduation he has remained in rock music and travelled extensively performing in numerous festivals within Russia as well as many places in Europe. Summary: Leonid and Friends is a Chicago tribute band based in Moscow. Mere months ago, the band for which he provides vocals was enjoying acclaim won online and solidified in person. Following his musical dreams throughout his school years, he was accepted into the Tiraspol Rubinstein Musical College from which he graduated. Many Russian bands and singers have passed through his hands and ears. It all began four years ago when Vorobyev was turning 60, the age at which people in his native Russia are generally expected to retire. Tiagniryadno has been to New York before, but, like all of the rest of the 11-member group and their handful of technical staff, hed never been here as part of Leonid & Friends. 1957 in Moscow, Russia). Another 11-song covers album, "Chicagovich II," came out last year. They are perfectionists. Yeah, whens the last time you listened to them? Many people took notice of his talents and in 2012, he began composing music for the film and television industries. The Moscow-based choral director and composer concluded that rather than garden or fish full time, he wanted to make more music. In grade school I started on trumpet, so always liked Chicago, and they were the first big rock concert I attended (in '71 I think). In fact, Leonid & Friends's video cover of Chicago's " 25 or 6 to 4 " has more YouTube views than Chicago's own most recent live version of its own song . Sergey Kashirin was born in 1982 in Tiraspol, Transnistria, in Eastern Europe. 1957 in Moscow, Russia). Moreover, there is little demand in Russia for bands of any kind who sing exclusively in English. The difference? We are monitoring the situation closely but as of now, the tour is moving ahead as scheduled, said Gil Jacobs, the bands agent, in a statement. In addition to scoring and arranging, Vorobyev oversees mixing and mastering of each song. And it wasnt just a cover. In the initial days of the bombardments, the store shelves in the city swiftly emptied, long lines stretched outside of supermarkets and a caravan of cars formed, packed with people grappling to leave the city. But in recent weeks, the Ukrainian native sent his wife and children scrambling across the Ukrainian border to neighboring Poland. Passion. Their work was recognized by the Young Artist Awards, which honors the excellence of young performers in film, television, theatre, and music. By chance, an instructor handed him a CD of Chicago half his life ago when he was just 18. We will miss you. Alternative name. The performances were so sharp, so distinctive that their online following multiplied. Terrys telecaster 1, 2019 Watch on Terrys telecaster 2. He later became the first trumpet of many Big Bands in Moscow and the first trumpet and accompanist of some of the best jazz orchestras. See all your opportunities to see them live below! "Blood, Sweat & Tears and Tower of Power were great, but they only had one (lead) vocalist," he replied. Update April 24, 2021: A sad day for Fans of Leonid and Friends as their guitar vocalist Sergey Kashirin who demonstrates all the attributes of Terry, is moving on with his career. In Russia, musicians have grown to a higher level because weve always looked to Americas best bands as the gods whose level we want to strive towards. Dear Friends, We are very sad to inform you that Sergey Kashirin has stepped away from performing with Leonid and Friends. Same here, in the Phoenix area. Leonid & Friends is a Russian tribute act for the band Chicago. He was fascinated, eventually learned many of the songs and was ready to play them when friend Vorobyev had his impetuous idea. [1] Vorobyev made his first Chicago video recording in 2014 of the song "Brand New Love Affair." document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. He is a 10 time Grammy Award Winner, Emmy Award Recipient, 6 Time Billboard Award Winner, the 2015 Hispanic Heritage Award Recipient, the 2016 Honorary Doctorate recipient in Fine Arts from The University of Notre Dame, and the recipient of the United States of America, Presidential Medal of Freedom. Those musicians almost always were drunk and quite often tried to play with us our rock songs. It happens to be that I am no longer a member of the Leonid and Friends band.I want to. Although he sings reasonably well in English, Vorobyev, 64, felt more comfortable conversing in Russian for this interview. It was a nightmare, and I hated them all!" No charts or scores of the song existed so Vorobyev transcribed the tune by ear. The video of the song went viral online, prompting the band to record more Chicago tunes. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. This band has all the Chicago tunes I played in the 70s live for breakfast and spits out the bones 25 or 6 to 4 - Chicago (Leonid & Friends over) Jun 4, 2019 #2 brookdalebill Tele Axpert Ad Free Member Joined Nov 15, 2009 Posts 136,323 Age 65 Hendrix once said he thought Kath was better than him. There is no faking it in this group, no Auto-Tune, no simplistic workarounds of melody and harmony and rhythm. Ksenia didnt stop there. After the recent tour, Tiagnyriadno returned to Ukraine in December to spend time with the family in Kyiv. Long As I Can See The Light Cover by Sergey Kashirin Read below. We hope to see you there! But their little project, constructed on a lark five years ago by elder bass player Leonid Vorobyev, took off on social media so that they played a US tour last year and now are on their second. In 2019, the band finally went on its first tour in the U.S., hosting three sold-out shows in Los Angeles where original Chicago drummer Seraphine performed with them and founding member Robert Lamm visited with them during a soundcheck. Leonid decided to make a sort of present to himself on his 60th birthday. Trumpet students, both in Russia and abroad, strive to take Valerys classes and learn the secrets of pitch from him. These retailers will take them, Kings eliminated from playoffs after Game 6 loss to Oilers, Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. Sergey Kashirin - guitar, vocal; Andrey Zyl - trumpet, flugelhorn; Maxim Likhachev - trombone; Alexandr . Theres a feeling of freedom here.. I watched this with my audio engineer/producer son a couple of days ago. You must log in or register to reply here. Composer: Jack & Blue. I cant find proper words to express how touching it was feeling your love and kindness and seeing your happy faces from one concert to another. Theyre taking their act from coast to coast, literally. Russias top bands. Because it has 11 members as opposed to the seven musicians who comprised Chicago in the Illinois-bred ensemble's creative heyday in the1960s and '70s Leonid & Friends has an even fuller sound than the group it pays homage to nightly on stage. FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson. Since then, Sergey has worked and performed with many top musical acts and together with his wife, an excellent singer in her own right, have organized concerts.In 2020, Sergey, his wife, their three sons, and Lucky, their dog, received an early Christmas present. Leonid & Friends is currently touring across 1 country and has 37 upcoming concerts. Every song was better than the last. Please don't forget to LIKE our page on Facebook and our videos on YouTube. He is now focusing on new ventures with TV and movie scores, along with other projects that will also allow him to stay close to the family (as you know he has 2 little boys). At 16 years old, Valery became a student at the School of Music. He is now focusing on new ventures with TV and movie scores, along with other projects that will also allow him to stay close to the family (as you know he has 2 little boys). This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. The band leader and founder See Details 8.CANCELED - Leonid & Friends | South Orange Performing Arts Center Author: CANCELED Post date: 20 yesterday Rating: 5 (1712 reviews) Highest rating: 3 Low rated: 3 We'd love to see you there! It may sound confusing at first, but, in short, its the story of how the worlds most famous band that covers hit songs by the legendary rock/jazz/pop group Chicago chose to come to the U.S. for the first time, and to launch their tour in New York City. When he broke a string as a teenage electric bassist, the scarcity of musical equipment in Siberia meant he had to continue playing for more than a year with just three strings. They also recorded the performance on video, which was the first step in Leonid & Friends becoming a social media sensation. Posted on 05/03/2021 11:56:21 AM PDT by cyclotic. Culture. Can Kashirin believe all that has occurred, especially the spontaneous bonding of American and Russian music lovers? The Russian-Ukrainian band Leonid & Friends, was started by Leonid Vorobyev. Please check below for our 2023 tour schedule. At the end of 2014, Leonid decided to give himself a gift to celebrate his retirement by recording a cover version of Chicagos song Brand New Love Affair. They are by far, the best cover band I have ever heard. Ilya Prokudin is a graduate of the Moscow Music Institute of Gnesin. Serge recorded his first song with Leonid & Friends in the summer of 2015 from his own studio in Kiev but didnt personally meet the band members until the spring of 2016. Tiagnyriadno, 40, is abiding by the rules of martial law in his homeland all men between the ages of 18 and 60 are required to remain in the country so they are available to be drafted into the military if needed. And while he feels sorry about fellow Russians, he cant justify their lack of action in support of Ukraine. Ironically, Vorobyev wasnt always a fan of horn bands, and as a teenager gravitated to the hard-driving guitar-based sounds of the Beatles, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Deep Purple, and Grand Funk Railroad. But, Chicago. Leonid & Friends | Official Band Website His "friends" are a mix of talented musicians and singers who have collaborated with Leonid on his project. Sergey Kashirin - Facebook In 1990, he was accepted to The Alfred Schnittke Moscow State Institute of Music, where he majored in classical guitar and studied the lute, keyboards, and the ancient harp.After graduating in 1995, Konstantin began performing with popular Russian rock bands and notable musicians, including Leonid & Friends drummer Igor Javad-Zade. 2 talking about this. Chicago has never been in Russia, and none of us have attended their concerts," said Leonid Vorobyev, a multi-instrumentalist who is the bands leader. I am a musician, songwriter and composer of music for the TV Show. And, like his bandmates, boundless energy. In fact, Leonid & Friendss video cover of Chicagos 25 or 6 to 4 has more YouTube views than Chicagos own most recent live version of its own song . Leonid & Friends - Wikitia Started late, but a fine show once under way. The fans were so eager to see us that some traveled from as far as Hawaii and the Philippines not mentioning flying across the U.S .and driving for hours to attend our shows, Vorobyev said. Sergei Kashirin is known for Jack & Blue (2022), Kilimanjar (2018) and Some Like It Cold (2014). His work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the Denver Post, Orange County Register and various publications across the U.S. Musical director and founder of Leonid & Friends. The power horn section blasting away, a trumpet, sax and trombone. [2] Leonid & Friends have recorded three Chicago tribute albums, titled Chicagovich. You will be blown away. A GoFundMe page to support Tiagnyriadno and his family at https://sergeukrainefamily.org has been created and the band is helping to promote it. Everyone had fun. I enjoyed it a lot. Everyone quickly realized how well Oleg was progressing and the decision was made to further his studies.Oleg transferred to the college of music in Arkhangelsk and then on to the Academy of music in Moscow. After graduating from the Moscow Music Institute of Gnesin, he played with many of Russias top bands and felt right at home performing studio session work as well. They said theyve found that spirit even stronger in New York. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. All this despite the fact that the bandmates had never seen Chicago live. The video of that performance was subsequently posted online. Dear Friends, We are very sad to inform you that Sergey Kashirin has stepped away from performing with Leonid and Friends. acknowledged Vorobyev's son, Roman. The Russian group's version of "25 or 6 to 4" now has more than 2.5 million views by itself. January 2019 Watch on According to the bands manager, Vorobyevs son Roman, more than 1,000 patrons are expected at the picturesque mountaintop music hall, and ticket sales confirm it. He readily acknowledges just how improbable it is for any foreign Chicago tribute band to achieve even a modicum of success in the U.S., let alone one whose members sing in accented English and hail from Russia, Siberia and Ukraine. In Los Angeles, the band met its musical heroes, founding members of Chicago, keyboardist Robert Lamm, and drummer Danny Seraphine as well as Michelle Kath Sinclair, daughter of late, great Chicago guitarist Terry Kath. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Irina is a singer-songwriter in the project with Igor Javad-Zade "Smotri I.". He paraphrased: He said, We dont need any politicians to find a common language among ourselves. Leonid and Friends is better known for their spot on tributes of Chicago, Earth Wind and Fire, Blood Sweat and Tears and others. But then, thats the magic that can occur when people of even very different backgrounds congregate around music. Valery began playing with Leonid & Friends in April of 2022 and is happy to welcome listeners and lovers of this amazing music.