Ilya Serov - Just Friends (2021)

This album is dedicated to one of America’s most iconic jazz trumpet players and singers, Chet Baker. I titled the album “Just Friends” after the 1931 jazz standard of the same name which Chet included in his own repertoire years later. His rendition of this song (and other songs from this album) is what inspired me by his genius when I was a young musician and pushed me to start finding my own voice in the world of jazz. As my composition and playing styles matured over the years, I began to wonder what Chet would sound like playing these tunes, if he was a contemporary jazz artist today.

Thus, the idea behind my album was born. On it I have tried to show the connection between several generations of jazz, reimagining Chet’s most recognizable songs from the Great American Songbook with my renditions and including a few contemporary works of my own which were each created from that inspiration. To add another note of originality and evolution, this album is a debut for my new custom-built, one-of-a-kind instrument I called "Jazzohorn". I hope you appreciate its smooth tone and unique look! I’m convinced that the world of jazz is alive and well, and ever evolving.