Vadim Neselovskyi

”More than just a strong pianist, Neselovskyi is a composer who blends form and freedom in new ways. His two compositions resemble mini-suites... taut arrangements that nevertheless provide a challenging foundation for improvisation. He also has a keen ear for reharmonization; his lightly swinging arrangement of “My Romance” is completely fresh. The changes beneath the familiar melody retain the lyricism of the original but ultimately go in a completely different direction.”

John Kelman, AllAboutJazz

“Neselovskyi's a remarkable pianist: Ukrainian-born, raised partly in Germany, at home with blues, funk, and Latin, with an extra Middle European dimension. It's like John Lewis' classical one, but with Slavic and Romantic harmonic and rhythmic extension and the rest further extending the band's palette.”

Robert R. Calder, AllAboutJazz

“...his solos are passionate and brilliantly improvised. And through his background of classical training, he has developed exceptional composition skills. Beautifully constructed to showcase Burton’s talents, ‘Prelude for Vibes’ is a great opening track, whilst ‘Get Up and Go’ demonstrates the pianist’s harmonic knowledge.”

Robert Gibson, MusicWebInternational

“Pianist Vadim Neselovskyi is a player and composer and equally adept at both sides of the talent.”

Jazz Society of Oregon

“Pianist Vadim Neselovskyi eagerly embraced the grandiosity that Burton had so carefully avoided. He managed to suggest Chopin, Debussy, Schubert in “Early” and “Wheatland” while developing simple phrases into expansive solo forms with piano-pounding climaxes. “

John Litweiler, Chicago Sun-Times

b i o g r a p h y

Vadim Neselovskyi was born in Odessa, Ukraine in 1977. Having started to play the piano at the age of six, he began to study composition at the Odessa Music School when he was eight years old. As a child, Vadim performed in concert halls as well as on Ukrainian national TV, such as UT3 and Channel 7.

In 1992, at the age of fifteen, Vadim toured Germany, performing his original compositions on stages in Munich, Augsburg, Nuremberg and Regensburg. That same year, he became the youngest student ever to be accepted into the Odessa Conservatory. It was there that he first began performing in the Jazz idiom, gaining experience and attention in local Odessa clubs.

At the age of seventeen, Vadim moved to Germany and continued to pursue his studies in music at the Essen Folkwang Hochschule, studying under renowned classical pianist, Professor Bloch. Furthermore, he played Jazz in several different settings with other talented musicians. This led him to form the Vadim Neselovskyi Quartet in 1997.

In the period between 1996 and 2001, Vadim performed as a soloist and as the leader of the Vadim Neselovskyi Quartet throughout Europe. He could be heard in Germany, the Netherlands, Ukraine, and Spain. In 1997, he won First Prize in the “Young Jazz NRW” competition and Second Prize in the Leipzig Improvisation Contest. In addition to that, he was featured as a guest on a variety of German radio stations, such as Deutschland Radio Berlin, WDR (Germany’s largest public broadcasting company), and NDR. In August 1998, Vadim appeared in a piano duet with the famed Cuban piano virtuoso Gonzalo Rubalcaba, during the Elmau Jazz Festival in Bavaria, Germany.

In 2001 Vadim received a scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) to continue his musical studies at Berklee College of Music in Boston, USA, where he enrolled as a student in January 2002. Since the beginning of his studies there, he has earned recognition for his talent, and he was chosen as a performer during the annual Piano Week, which is held on one of Boston’s main stages, the Berklee Performance Center. The showcase featured the best piano students at Berklee. After this concert, Vadim was granted the prestigious Jazz Performance Award by the Chair of the Piano Department, Stephanie Tiernan.

During the first months of the year 2003, he toured Germany with his piano-trumpet duo project and performed piano solo at the “New Music Festival” in Boston. In April 2003, Vadim started his own project under the name “Vadim Neselovskyi Group”. Playing exclusively Vadim’s original compositions, the group features an unusual instrumentation (voice, trumpet, piano, bass and drums) and has played a number of concerts on Boston’s most prestigious stages, including the Berklee Performance Center and Ryles Jazz Club. During the same time, Vadim made an appearance with world-renowned drummer Terry Lynne Carrington at the Berklee Performance Center, and later with Japanese trumpet- legend Tiger Okoshi at The David Friend Hall in Boston. For his outstanding musical achievements, Vadim achieved the Technics Endowment Scholarship Award.

In December 2003, 5-time Grammy winner Gary Burton, after visiting one of Vadim’s shows, invited Vadim to be the pianist for a recording project that was to be produced by himself and guitarist Pat Metheny. Out of the eight selections on the recorded album, Vadim composed three.

After having graduated from Berklee in May 2004, Vadim joined Gary Burton’s new quintet, “Generations”. The band had live performances at the Blue Note Jazz Club in New York City, the Regattabar in Boston, Jazz Alley in Seattle, Folly Theater in Kansas, and the Jazz Showcase in Chicago. “Generations” then went on to record a CD for Concord Records in November 2004. The CD, which features two compositions and two arrangements by Vadim, was released worldwide in April 2005, and since then has repeatedly achieved #1 on several airplay charts in the US.

In Spring 2005, Vadim performed with “Generations” at The Blue Note in Milan, Italy (March), at The Jazz Festival in Bern, Switzerland (April), the Matosinhos Jazz Festival in Portugal (May), the Birdland in New York City, Scullers Jazz Club in Boston, Blues Alley in Washington, DC, Theater Norfolk in Virginia, Kuubwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz, and Yoshi’s in Oakland.

In the summer of 2005, Vadim continued to tour with Gary Burton’s “Generations” band.