UK 2003, "The Birmingham Post" , text by Martin Longley

Russian saxophonist Oleg Kireyev has become a regular visitor to Birmingham's jazz scene. Martin Longley previews his appearance at Andy Hamilton's new venue in Bearwood tonight Despite hailing from the obscure city of Ufa, in the central Russian Urals, tenor saxophonist Oleg Kii'eyev has a habit of turning up here in Birmingham when he's least expected. Since his first visit in 1997, Oleg has established a successful relationship with Sutton Cold field-based manager Jim Garrity. He played several gigs at that year's Birmingham Jazz Festival, guesting with American vibes player Ray Alexander and our own Andy Hamilton. Tonight, Kireyev's quartet will be playing at the Bearwood Corks Club. This is Andy Hamilton's new home, making a switch from his old Monday night at The Bear to a new Thursday night residency which looks set to become equally established.

Kireyev flies over to the UK once or twice a year, for a series of his own dates, but through Jim's connections he'll often be found sitting in with the likes of Andy Hamilton and Chris Bowden.
Only a few weeks ago, Oleg joined alto saxophonist, Peter King at one of the most crowded (and storming) sessions at the now-defunct Bonedangles.

Kireyev is a fiery player, with a vigorously aggressive delivery. "I started to play in Ufa, my native city," he says. "I finished school as a piano player, and then I went to college, playing jazz saxophone with my own band."

He'd started to absorb sounds by Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock, then delved further back in time to Lester Young, Dexter Gordon and Sonny Rollins. Keith Jarrett and Pat Metheny also made their impressions, although this isn't clearly evident from Oleg's own performances.
His first live experience was with a military band, but by 1984 he'd assembled the ambitious Orlan group, playing a mixture of fusion, jazz rock and national folk music. Orlan existed between 1986 and 1991, releasing their Bashkir Legends album on Melodiya, the Russian state label, in 1989.

"I started to have more interest in playing mainstream jazz," says Kireyev. "I lived in Poland for three years, in Krakow. Poland was good for jazz. It had big support from the government. Now, as capitalism comes to Poland, jazz has support, but not usually from the government. It was a good time for Polish musicians."

Most of the Russian jazz that's been heard in the UK comes from the more extreme side of the music. In the early 1980s, Leo Feigin's Leo Records was instrumental in exposing the works of Sergey Kuryokhin and the Ganelin Trio.

Kireyev admires and respects their efforts, but points out that there is a big Russian scene that's more concerned with the mainline jazz tradition.

Kireyev recorded Song For Sonny while he was in Poland, leading a trio of local players which included pianist Joachim Mencel. A few years later, he made A British Concert with the Keith Bill Trio. Then, Oleg visited the States where he studied with alto saxophonist Bud Shank, At this time, he also joined up with drummer Adam Nussbaum and pianist Hal Galper.
As well as interpreting standards, Oleg is an active composer.

"In Russia, I have my new Feng Shui Jazz Project," he says. "It's a very clean energy to the music, as you might expect."

This outfit has only been together for a year, and there are imminent plans to record an album.
A few days ago, Kireyev played at the Ponty-pool Jazz Festival, then continued with a trio of London dates, including the Bull's Head. He's also been gigging with trumpeter DickPearce, a long-serving Ronnie Scott sideman. Tonight's appearance comes close to the end of Oleg's visit, as he returns to Russia this weekend.