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Valery Ponomarev has a flair for the dramatic; Mirage is no exception. It opens with a bold horn line with no rhythm section accompaniment, which becomes a "broken time" section to start each solo chorus. Valery contrasts this theme with a mysterious B section that features long, soft lines. The juxtaposition of these themes is striking! For solos, the B section is straight ahead swing. Our audio excerpt begins on the top of the melody and continues through the head, fading out on the repeat of the head.
"Means Of Identification" was Valery Ponomarev's first album as a leader. He recorded six originals on the album. Two of them are available as printed publications from Second Floor Music: Envoy and Dialog. The other four are available on jazzleadsheets.com. Check out (Fifteenth Round, Means Of Identification, and Take Care. Valery recorded twice more as a leader in the 1980s: "Ululation," (1987,) and April "Trip To Moscow" (April 1988).
One of the first Russians to make a big name in the American jazz scene, Valery Ponomarev is a trumpet virtuoso whose hard bop style is enjoyed worldwide. Valery was first introduced to jazz during his youth while watching the television program "Voice of America." He was particularly entranced by trumpeter Clifford Brown and dedicated years of his life transcribing and studying great jazz trumpet solos. His hard work paid off: not only was he able to record regularly in the USSR under the Melodiya label, but after he left the country in 1973, it didn't take long for him to be offered a spot in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. During his four years with the Messengers, Valery appeared on eleven albums and toured worldwide. Read more...
