Ponomarev, Valery
Ponomarev, Valery
Ponomarev, Valery , jazz trumpeter; b. Moscow, Russia, Jan. 20, 1943. His mother was a pianist; Ponomarev began on drums and then, at age 16, switched to trumpet. He was inspired to play jazz after picking up a shortwave broadcast featuring Clifford Brown. He performed around Moscow from 1965–69 and recorded for the state label; he defected to Rome, Italy in 1971, where he worked for two years. In 1973, Ponomarev decided to move to the U.S. to meet Art Blakey. He finagled an illegal exit visa and found himself in N.Y. at an impromptu audition for Blakey, who offered him a job, which he was only able to take two years later when Blakey’s then-trumpeter left the band. He spent five years with Blakey (1977–82). Since then, he has remained active in N.Y. Since 1980, he has led his own band called Universal Language. In 1992, he returned to his homeland to appear at the first Moscow International Jazz Festival.
Discography
Means of Identification (1985); Trip to Moscow (1988); Profile (1991); Live at Sweet Basil (1993); Live at Vartan’s (1996).
—Lewis Porter