Sergey Zhilin: biography, photo, personal life. Sergei Zhilin: biography, personal life Sergei Sergeevich Zhilin personal life wife

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Biography, life story of Sergei Sergeevich Zhilin

Sergei Sergeevich Zhilin is a Russian pianist and conductor, known as the founder of the Phonograph jazz band.

early years

The future star of the music world appeared in Moscow on October 23, 1966. The grandmother, so beloved by the boy, played the piano and violin professionally. Therefore, it is not surprising that her abilities were transferred to little Sergei. The family hoped that the baby would eventually turn into an academic performer, and they made every effort to achieve this. Seryozha spent several hours a day playing instruments, gradually but confidently developing musical skills. Famous romantic composers were close to him in spirit, and Sergei enthusiastically reproduced their immortal creations.

Unexpectedly for his loved ones, Seryozha discovered a completely different form of art, namely jazz. The grandmother's disappointment knew no bounds, because she mentally imagined her grandson in the image of a serious musician. Jazz, in her opinion, had nothing in common with classical culture.

Youth hobbies

However, the boy continued to surprise his family by becoming interested in cycling, football and even aircraft modeling. Sergei’s mother believed that these classes were suitable for her son, so she insisted on entering the military music school. The admissions committee assessed the young man’s level of preparation and recommended him for admission. But Sergei did not want to become either a military musician or a conductor, and at the very last moment he refused. I realized that studying at such an institution would make me forget about my hobbies.

After leaving the school, Zhilin happily began assembling aircraft models and achieved some success in this matter. He began to take part in competitions, received a sports rank and won the capital championship.

CONTINUED BELOW

But such a hobby had a negative impact on his performance at music school. It got to the point that the administration of the institution turned to the teenager’s parents with a request to transfer him to a regular school. Under the pretext that his low grades spoil all indicators. His mother and father did just that, but Zhilin did not stay long in a simple secondary school. As a result, he went to a vocational school, and then to the army, where he served in a song and dance ensemble.

Carier start

1982 turned out to be a fateful year for Sergei Zhilin. Then he began training in a musical improvisation studio. Very soon a piano duet was born. My partner was Mikhail Stefanyuk, with whom Sergei Zhilin founded Phonograph. Young talented musicians quickly won public recognition.

Moreover, their creative activity was to the taste of the artistic director of the Russian Presidential Orchestra, Pavel Ovsyannikov, with whose approval the guys began touring with his band.

Real success

A significant meeting took place in 1992, and a couple of years later Sergei Zhilin spoke with Bill Clinton himself. The former US President played his favorite saxophone, and a Russian musician accompanied him on the piano.

Sergei Zhilin managed to create several groups, as well as a recording studio popular among Russian performers. In addition, Sergei Sergeevich found himself on television, where he participated in the projects “Two Stars” and “Dancing with the Stars” as a conductor. In 2012, the musical show “The Voice” appeared on Channel One, which was accompanied live by an orchestra conducted by Sergei Zhilin.

Personal

Very little is known about Sergei Zhilin’s life outside the stage. They say he married twice and has a son.

Filming of one of the programs of the musical project “The Voice” was about to begin. In a few minutes, the musicians of the Phonograph-Sympho-Jazz orchestra will take their places, and I decided to look at the final layout of the program. I hurried to the editor, who was standing on the main stage. He took a step and... flew into the void.

He fell from a height of two and a half meters into the space between the stage and the platform for the orchestra; it was not lit. Dima Nagiyev was the first to run up to me: “What’s wrong with you?!” Alive?!" I got up - my face was broken, my leg hurt. And now filming.

The head of the program approached and carefully asked: “Can you work?” Where to go? I didn't want to let anyone down. The abrasions were covered up, I sat at the piano for several hours, and by the end of the shooting my leg was swollen and very painful. I had to go to the emergency room. The radiologist “delighted”: “You have a fracture!”

The next day I hobbled into the studio on crutches. On the floor near the piano were sheets of paper with the inscription: “Seryoga, repeat it again!” Our musicians love to joke.

Dima also teased me for several days afterwards. He always balances on the edge, but never crosses it. His jokes help the contestants cope with defeat. And then they also successfully defused the situation. Many of my friends note that together with Nagiyev we look very decent, it’s a pity that in “The Voice” we have practically no time for mutual pickings.

By the way, “The Voice” is the highest-rated program on our television; only the President’s speech has a higher rating. Over five seasons, so many new names have been revealed! Some people are helped not only by talent, but also by... technology. In the studio where the shooting takes place, the lighting fixtures hang quite low. With my height of two meters, I somehow hit my head on one of them, but not too much. And Zhenya Kungurov, entering the stage and not seeing anything from excitement, entered with all his might! Fortunately, this did not affect Zhenya’s vocals; he performed the song even better than at the rehearsal. They joked later: you don’t have to make any effort to perform successfully, just get a precise blow to the head. But this is too radical a method.

- Did you start playing music professionally, following in your parents’ footsteps?

Grandmothers. Tamara Viktorovna is from Georgia. She was a violinist, a violin and piano teacher, and directed a violin ensemble. By and large, it was my grandmother who raised me to respect the art of music and people who are able to extract enchanting sounds from instruments.

My parents' story is dramatic. My father came into my life when I was old enough. I bear my mother's last name. Lidia Vasilyevna Zhilina was born in Rostov-on-Don, graduated from college there, then moved to Krasnodar, where she worked at a petrochemical plant. Mom started out as a simple laboratory assistant (in this sense, I repeated her fate, since the first entry in the work book is as a laboratory assistant in the technology department of the Palace of Pioneers), then she was promoted to head of the laboratory. They met my father through work, but the meeting turned out to be fateful. Sergei Nikolaevich Yatrov was a prominent scientist, Doctor of Technical Sciences, and during his life he led three research institutes.

Mom decided to move to Moscow because she wanted to be closer to her father. She loved him very much. Even the fact that my father was married did not stop me and, despite the fact that I was born, he did not leave his family, which was his second. Probably, nothing would have worked out for my mother if my grandmother had not supported her. Tamara Viktorovna contacted her sister, who settled in Moscow, and she gave us shelter at first. My mother and grandmother had some savings; they hoped to invest them in a cooperative apartment. But denomination happened, and the money became worthless. The situation was terrifying; we had to start everything from scratch. However, my mother did not despair, she rented a room in a wooden house near the Voykovskaya metro station - we even had earthen floors. She found a job at a research institute in the capital: she started as a junior researcher and eventually became the head of a department. I remember how my grandmother cut me off and demanded that I speak in a whisper: my mother was writing her Ph.D. dissertation. Life gradually got better.

I was too small, so I didn’t remember the earthen floors. I began to realize myself when we moved to a modest apartment on the outskirts of Moscow. Our high-rise building stood right next to the forest, which is now called Troparevsky Park. Nearby there was a dairy farm, where cows grazed behind a fence, which, when strangers approached them, began to moo loudly. According to my grandmother, it scared me terribly. And in the mornings we woke up to the sound of tin cans in the backs of trucks delivering milk to stores.

Grandmother managed to transport an old piano to Moscow, she continued teaching, students came to our home. When one of the guys started playing “Kalinka,” I reacted violently, sang along and danced, standing behind the fence, which at that time marked the boundaries of my independent world. I hadn’t really learned to speak yet, but I was already demanding that “Kalinka” be repeated, as they say, for an encore. So my path to the swivel chair was predetermined. For the first time my grandmother sat me down at the piano when I turned three. She became my first teacher. As I grew up, my interests changed. Tamara Viktorovna advised:

Get busy now! Then you won't have enough time!

I didn't believe:

How can it not? I still don’t have it! We need to have time to play football and race down the street with the boys!

Grandma turned out to be right, as always.

Mom disappeared at work and was our main breadwinner. I don’t think my father helped financially; after all, he lived with another family. Looking ahead, I will say that my mother, a candidate of science, who worked all her life for the benefit of the state, after the geopolitical situation in the country changed, she began to receive a pension of eight thousand rubles. When we were left alone and I was already firmly on my feet to provide for her, she once said: “It’s good that I have you, otherwise I can’t imagine how I would live.”

One day a letter came from social security: “Dear Lidiya Vasilyevna, we inform you that we have recalculated your pension...” Well, I think they’ll add at least something. Mom was sleeping, and I decided to read everything to make her happy later. I read further: it turns out that in some year my mother was mistakenly charged an amount that, after indexation, is expressed in a hundred rubles. The letter said that this crazy money would be deducted from her next pension! My indignation knew no bounds. Great smart people conducted an audit, drafted a letter, spent money on ink, an envelope, and postal services in order to return the unfortunate hundred to the state income. I am sure that the costs of confiscating these hundred rubles resulted in a much larger sum! Not to mention the fact that they brought extremely unpleasant emotions to an elderly person. Well, how it's called then?! I then reassured my mother, convinced her: she had nothing to worry about - I would always be there.

- Did your father appear in your life?

We met when I turned fourteen. I must say that before this I had never pestered my mother with the question of why everyone had fathers and I didn’t. I was surrounded by such love, care, and attention that I never felt disadvantaged. Yes, some people had a mother and father, but I had a mother and grandmother. And I felt very good.

Six or seven years after the death of his second wife, my father and mother finally got married, my mother moved in with him, and my grandmother and I began to come to visit us. One day she brought Sergei Nikolaevich with her: “Meet, this is your dad!” I sat with everyone at the laid table and didn’t say an extra word the whole evening - the guy was modest. I didn't experience any shock. We started dating, the three of us went out of town to the dacha. I can’t say that my father and I somehow became particularly close and had intimate conversations. I did not claim his increased attention, he did not interfere in my life. He expressed dissatisfaction with me only once. After serving in the army, I entered Gnesinka. He came to the exams, sat down at the piano and played so well that the commission gave a solid “A” to one of the nine applicants. But it was not there! I got cut off on my essay. So in the end I went back to work at Phonograph, which was already four years old at the time. And I returned to the idea of ​​getting a higher education only twenty years later. My career developed without a diploma. My father believed that I simply had to get it: how can this be, the son of a scientist - and without crusts?! But I disappointed him.

My father died when I turned thirty. I, along with the children from his two previous marriages, laid claim to the inheritance. They expressed doubt: is Zhilin Yatrova’s son? I had to deal with an unpleasant matter, to prove through the court that Sergei Nikolaevich is my dad. I myself did not participate in the meetings; my mother went to the courts. In the end, I received my share of the inheritance. Many years passed before we began to communicate with our older brother, Vladimir Sergeevich. And a couple of years ago, after another meeting, he said: “There is no doubt that Sergei is the son of our father, they are so similar - not only in appearance, but also in their determination and creativity.” Today Vladimir lives and works in Poland with his wife. We met recently.

- It's nice to have a famous person as a brother. Tell us how you took your first steps towards fame.

At the age of seven, my mother and grandmother sent me to the Central Music School. In the afternoon we studied special subjects - music, solfeggio, choir, and in the mornings - general education subjects, in which I studied secondary. Like any boy, I loved football more than playing the instrument. Once he even ran into the yard, covering his grandmother! She sat me down at the piano and went into the kitchen. I played, played sketches, then stopped for a minute - pulled on a T-shirt, played some more, stopped again - put on sneakers, and then instantly jumped out the door with a ball and the only key, locked my grandmother in the apartment and ran away to play football. She called from the balcony - but where could she go? So I kicked the ball from ten in the morning until the evening, until my mother returned from work. Oh, and she gave it to me!

If for some reason a lesson was suddenly canceled at school, the boys and I would run to play Cossack Robbers. And why bother with trifles - they easily grabbed the next lesson, climbed onto the roofs of two-story houses using drainpipes, jumped from trees... No one thought about taking care of their fingers. They really liked to visit the house on Granovsky Street, where high-ranking military leaders lived, fortunately it’s just a stone’s throw from Nizhny Kislovsky Lane, where the Central Music School was located.

We confidently walked past the guards, climbed into the attic, went out onto the roof and sat there, admiring the bird's eye view of Moscow. One day they dragged a watermelon into the attic and ate it with pleasure. Naturally, our gop company caused dissatisfaction among teachers. One of the guys pretended to be a good boy: what are you talking about, I wasn’t in the attic! I always got caught. Mom was called to school, she went to the director as if she were going to work.

True, I still wasn’t a blockhead; I read quite a lot, although no one forced me to. I devoured all of Vitaly Bianchi, Jack London, respected books about the Great Patriotic War - read everything about Kozhedub, Maresyev and other great pilots. I was very interested in everything related to aviation. One day my mother noticed that I had been poring over a sheet of drawing paper for an hour, trying to draw the fuselage of an airplane, and she realized that this was a serious matter.

To begin with, she bought me a prefabricated aircraft model. He began to cut out parts with a jigsaw, but was so inept that he injured his fingers. Mom was horrified and took me to the Palace of Pioneers to an aircraft modeling club. Things took off there: he learned to work on lathes and milling machines, soon joined the Palace team, competed in competitions, and once took first place in Moscow. He constantly carried airplanes to school, so that from there, without wasting time, he could go to the Palace of Pioneers. Naturally, the teachers didn't like it.

After the eighth grade, the teachers' patience ran out and I was expelled. Looking back, I understand: an important role was played by the fact that after the fourth grade, my mother took me away from one respected teacher and transferred me to another - young and less authoritative.

The respected guy praised me and promised to prepare me for participation in the Tchaikovsky competition, but as soon as I ended up with another teacher, I turned from a promising one into an average one. A commission gave us grades in our specialty, and I immediately got grades of four and three. The authority of the young teacher Alexander Evgenievich Volkov was not enough to convince the commission to evaluate my efforts objectively. But I am still eternally grateful to him, he taught me to pay attention to details. One day I came to class, worked, as it seemed, decently, and he asked:

Now play only with your right hand.

I was able to do this, but with my left it didn’t work out so well.

So what? “It works out well for two,” I was perplexed.

You must play equally well with both hands, and only then combine them. Only then will you cope with the most difficult works.

Later I realized how correctly Alexander Evgenievich taught me. The brilliant beauty of a pianistic passage begins with the correct fingering (finger positioning). I prepared seriously for the annual exam in the eighth grade. I listened to recordings by Svyatoslav Richter. He played Prokofiev's play "Obsession" at a frantic pace in two and a half minutes. I was only “late” by about ten seconds. Prepared a concerto for piano and orchestra by Grieg.

As a result, I prepared a complex program - I also included Bach and Chopin in it. He played Prokofiev and Grieg flawlessly, but made a small mistake in Bach. Of course, I was shaking terribly from excitement before the exam. Nevertheless, the commission issued a verdict: “Zhilin did not learn Bach and Chopin, he played Prokofiev and Grieg rudely.” They gave me a C grade and said: “We don’t need such a student.”

As a rule, in the eighth grade of the Central Music School, pianists who performed poorly in their specialty were offered to transfer to the theoretical department. Those who had no prospects there were sent to the wind instruments department. They expelled only as a last resort. That time about ten people got C marks on the exam, but I was the only one kicked out.

By the way, of the guys with whom I studied, one Stasik Bunin went to Europe and made a career as a pianist there. Some classmates today work in orchestras. And many left the profession altogether. One owns a small factory, is engaged in sewing workwear, the other founded an investment company. Not a single one reached the level of workload and fame, for example, of Denis Matsuev. And I don’t put myself on the same level as Denis under any circumstances! Although, unlike my classmates, I manage my own team.

Probably, my mother tried to stand up for me - she didn’t go into details, but it didn’t work out for her. She may have been hit even harder than me. She was sure that there was no need to worry about her son’s future, but I disappointed her so much. Mom brought up all her connections and acquaintances and agreed that they would take me to the military music school - after that I could immediately go to the conducting department at the conservatory.

There was only one thing: military music, marches, and brass bands were not entirely close to me. I listened to “Time Machine”, “Resurrection”, jazz compositions that were masterfully performed by Raymond Pauls, Louis Armstrong. Nevertheless, I was taken from the pioneer camp where I was resting and assigned to the barracks. The couple of weeks I spent there were drilled as expected. But studying military music all my life was not part of my plans. And I couldn’t stand it - I packed up and left. I can imagine the shock my mother felt when she found out that I had escaped from there and returned to the pioneer camp to kick a ball.

The first of September was approaching, but my fate remained vague. And then my mother found a regular secondary school, where they recruited a group of children who, instead of practical training, studied music. This is how personnel were trained to enter the Lenin Pedagogical Institute to major in music teacher. Naturally, I had to audition. The exam was administered by institute teachers, and the applicants were mostly girls who played at the fourth grade level of the Central Music School. Despite the fact that I didn’t approach the instrument all summer, Chopin’s Scherzo No. 2 bounced off my fingers, and this piece is not easy to perform, there are many repetitions that need to be played differently each time. When I finished, the examiners looked at each other:

Why did you come here?

I don’t know, my mother brought the documents.

Naturally, I was accepted. Well, I think I’ll get around to getting my certificate somehow. But unfortunately, the school turned out to be exemplary, almost the best in the area. At the Central Music School, knowledge of geometry and mathematics was not particularly required. And then I suddenly found myself lagging behind. I only got a solid A in physical education. I got bad marks in other subjects. I only completed a quarter of schooling and was kicked out of that school. Even the physical education teacher faltered and gave him a B. When I asked why, I was struck by iron logic: “How can I give an A when all the rest of you have twos?”

The teachers of the exemplary school intimidated: “If you don’t catch up, we’ll send you to a vocational school.” Those who were not up to the task at all, difficult teenagers, were assigned there. This prospect did not suit me. I called the head of VIA, in which I was playing at that moment. The ensemble was based in one of the vocational schools: creative teams were welcomed in this educational institution. For rehearsals, we were given a former toilet on the second floor, and the equipment was also placed there. I explained the situation, the manager went to the director and arranged for my appointment. It turns out that I got into vocational school through connections. It was considered elite, trained personnel for the “mailboxes” - the Salyut association, the Khrunichev plant. We did our internship there. Mom, of course, was not happy that her son was a student, but there was nothing to do.

Hazing flourished in vocational schools. We were paid a stipend of ten rubles. And on this day, senior students blocked all exits from the school and took away crumbs from the freshmen. Someone tried to put money in their socks - it didn't help. Those who resisted could be beaten. But in my VIA, a fourth-year “grandfather” played the bass guitar. He took me to some particularly rabid hooligans and ordered: “Don’t touch this! Anyone who doesn’t understand will have to deal with me!” So I brought my honestly earned ten rubles home. Three years passed like this.

In parallel with VIA, I also went to a jazz studio. I studied for a year and gathered my own team - called “Phonograph”. The debut took place in 1983 as part of Dixieland at a festival in the studio. In general, there were many concerts and festivals - they performed often. I remember how I once almost disrupted a performance at one of the concerts after an incident at the Palace of Pioneers. I worked on a drilling machine, and they were “killed”; many parts had to be held by hand. The master and I were in a hurry somewhere. He turned on the machine. At that moment I was supporting the pulley, which sank my finger and cut it almost to the bone.

Oh, what have you done?! - the master was alarmed.

Not me, but us!

So what should we do now?

At the emergency room, the finger was stitched up and a plaster cast was applied. And I should play two ragtimes at the concert in a duet with Misha Stefanyuk. Before we started introducing us to the public, the head of the studio, Yuri Pavlovich Kozyrev, came out: “Don’t pay attention that one of the pianists has a cast on his finger! By and large, what difference does it make to him how many fingers he uses?” I played with four and since then I have specially mastered this technique - just in case of emergency.

One day Yuri Sergeevich Saulsky came to the jazz studio, heard us and invited Phonograph to participate in the Moscow Jazz Festival. I looked at him like he was a god. Amazing musician! I understood that I had outgrown the studio, although I was grateful that Kozyrev gave me the opportunity to rehearse - we had not yet been able to rent the premises ourselves. However, the situation eventually escalated. Yuri Pavlovich was not happy that we were becoming more and more independent, giving concerts without his knowledge.

The studio had to be left. "Phonograph" went into free sailing. We held out for some time, and I turned to Yuri Saulsky with a request to help and get us into a professional organization. He wrote a letter, and my team was accepted into the regional philharmonic society. I was glad: finally we will be provided with a base, equipment, will be provided with performances, and we will be able to work without problems. But I was wrong - we gave concerts once, or at best twice a month. The team was dying, I realized that I needed to take everything into my own hands. From then on, he began to look for work, a rehearsal space, and resolve organizational issues.

To make ends meet, he worked as a pianist at the five-star Palace Hotel. I sat at the piano in the lobby for several hours in the evenings. Fans appeared, people came specifically to listen to me. Six months later, management offered the position of hotel music manager. My team and I played in the lobby, in the bar, and in the restaurant. Earnings have become stable. I was able to buy a normal TV, refrigerator, and vacuum cleaner. And I felt like a wealthy person five years later, when I stopped counting how much money I spent on gasoline.

At first, I wasn’t very good at introducing myself; more often than not, those who heard us shared their impressions with their friends, they passed on the information further down the chain. They didn’t give up anything, played at weddings at the National, the Cosmos Hotel, worked at the Vysotsky club on Taganka, then moved to the Kashtan cafe. If Saulsky wrote music for films, he often invited him to record it, although we had little experience in this matter. In 1990, they even got into the picture: they starred in the film “Women’s Day”. One of the characters was played by Vasya Mishchenko; according to the script, he was a member of a jazz band - a trumpeter. He was very successful in this role, although he had never picked up a trumpet before.

Yuri Sergeevich's advice was priceless. But not everyone liked the fact that the pop classic made the young team stand out so much. They tried to quarrel with us. Moreover, the conflict arose out of the blue. The leadership of the House of Composers invited me to perform. And I just lived to see my first anniversary. So he suggested calling the concert “Is 30 a lot or a little?” Saulsky saw the poster: “Seryozha, what are you allowing yourself to do?! How is this possible? It’s too early for you to celebrate your anniversary!” I’m sure someone really screwed him: he spent so much time reprimanding me on the phone. Although in some ways he was right. I listened, contacted the House of Composers, asked to remove the poster, they answered: “Don’t worry!” Everything was successful, fun, we released a record, some things can still be listened to today. But Saulsky did not come to the concert. Soon Yuri Sergeevich thawed out, and our creative friendship continued for a long time. And after his departure, together with Tatyana Nikolaevna Saulskaya, we held two concerts in memory of Yuri Sergeevich. There was nowhere for an apple to fall at the Variety Theater. It's a shame it wasn't shown on TV.

- Tell us how you accompanied President Bill Clinton.

He came to Moscow on a visit in 1994. According to tradition, during his first visit to the country, he always played the saxophone. And the head of the Presidential Orchestra, Pavel Borisovich Ovsyannikov, invited me to accompany Clinton on the piano. Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin received a guest at his country residence in Gorki. They brought me there and made me wait. The head of Yeltsin’s security drew attention to my broad-shouldered figure and asked Ovsyannikov:

Did you bring a new security guard?

No, he's a musician.

I was very worried: what if Clinton chose some work that was unfamiliar to me? The meeting of heads of state dragged on. Just when I thought that everything was cancelled, Clinton literally flew into the hall. He grabbed the saxophone that he had prepared in advance and threw it at me: “Summertime, key of A.” I played this melody in six keys, but as luck would have it, not in this one! My hands were shaking, but there was nowhere to retreat, I pulled myself together and played without mistakes. “My Funny Valentine,” Clinton continued. Here everything turned out to be in order with the tonality. At the end, the US President shook my hand.

A duet is a special form that is not available to every musician. This requires the ability not only to play professionally, but also to hear your partner and find common ground. We had a complete creative understanding with Clinton, and he turned out to be an excellent partner. Addressing Yeltsin, Clinton said that he was pleased with our duet. Boris Nikolaevich signed his book for me, which included a photograph of us together from that visit.

I started laughing!

Are you serious?

Absolutely! When will you give an answer?

Let me at least sleep with this thought.

The next day he agreed. It turns out that Angelica herself insisted on my candidacy, although she could sing together with Yuri Bashmet and even with Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev. And the work began for wear and tear, because no one canceled the remaining pairs. I had to rehearse not only my act, but all their performances. Moreover, for some participants, in order to prepare for recording, it was enough to sing the song a couple of times, but there were also those who had to play twenty times. The creative itch began: let's try this, let's try that! You'll go crazy! A creative message is wonderful when it really does good. And when you just can’t sing the melody as it should, be so kind as to practice alone first. We are not a karaoke orchestra, after all. We must have respect for musicians!

When we performed “Maestro” by Pauls with Angelica, I was very worried: after all, it was our first song. I played everything correctly on the piano, but when I went out to sing, my right hand suddenly began to shake. I intercepted the microphone with my left hand - it didn’t help. Angelica’s pupils have dilated: she looks at me, but she can’t help... She whispers the words so that she doesn’t forget, but I remember the text, it’s just shaking. In the end, they sang normally and didn’t miss a beat anywhere. In the final we took third place.

- After such success, it’s clear why you were invited to the country’s main vocal project. How long do you have to rehearse with the participants of “The Voice”?

Everything is deeply individual. The contestants first rehearse the song with their mentors, then sing with us. All the guys from Gradsky’s team, as a rule, came prepared. We played once or twice and that was enough. And one colleague of Alexander Borisovich once set a record: his charge had to accompany him fourteen times. The soloist showed up to the rehearsal completely unprepared.

Who doesn’t know Sergei Sergeich from “The Voice”? After all, work on the project and success fell on him for a reason. Sergei Zhilin is a pianist, conductor and head of the Phonograph group of companies, which includes an entire orchestra, a recording studio and even a school. For many years, he and his musicians have been accompanying the artists of Channel One shows (“Two Stars”, “PROPERTY OF THE REPUBLIC”).

Before starting the conversation, Sergei Sergeevich turns off the computer and the music in his office, which is filled with music discs, hung with Phonograph diplomas and portraits of famous musicians. Above the maestro’s chair are several photographs that are particularly important to him, including two with former US President Bill Clinton, Boris Yeltsin and a portrait of the legendary Canadian pianist Oscar Peterson.

“I’m not Zhilin, but Kirkorov”

- Sergey Sergeevich, is it true that “Golos” is no longer the same?

I don't get that impression. The finals are ahead, and together we can evaluate the level of the participants, and it is quite high.

- Is it easy for you to work with new mentors?

We got along quickly with Vasya (Basta) - he is a straightforward and honest person. In addition, rap is a derivative of funk and jazz rock. We have known Grisha Leps for a long time, and we have also worked with Polina more than once. My position is this: discuss less and achieve goals faster. The only thing is, if during a rehearsal I hear some inconsistencies, I ask for the floor and slightly protest. (Laughs.)

- And even with Alexander Gradsky? At rehearsals it happened that he even explained to your musicians how to work.

Alexander Borisovich has a certain authority, we all treat him with great respect. His worldview and view of music have developed over a long professional career. He completely switches off, immerses himself in his work and sometimes doesn’t even notice what’s happening around him. If something bothers him, he categorically cuts it off. In some cases, when the result is primary, it is better not to argue. This way we save time and effort. But! If we have time, and the situation goes beyond the boundaries, I enter into negotiations.

Nothing like this! Play like I said

- How does this happen?

I come up and say: “Alexander Borisovich, you need to play like this, I think.” He replies: “Nothing like that! Play as I said." Me: “Well, let’s try to do this, this and that.” He: “Okay, come on, show me.” And either he accepts my option, or asks me to leave it as he wants.

Were you not offended by the fact that he, like Maxim Fadeev on the children’s “Voice,” invited the Gradsky Hall musicians to accompany his charges?

The situation is simple: Gradsky wanted his team’s performances to have stringed instruments, but our budget at that time did not include string players. Therefore, he invited his musicians from the Gradsky Hall to broadcast, which is understandable. However, it was unexpected for me when Alexander Borisovich introduced the orchestra as “Gradsky Hall”. Apparently this was done out of emotion, because after a while he realized that he had not mentioned “Phonograph” and corrected himself. But it didn’t make it on air.

If necessary, he can carry the child out of the studio in his arms. In the photo is a participant in the children's “Voice” Andrei Kluban, who lost consciousness on stage. Photo: Dmitry Tkachenko

- Have you been asked to take photos more often on the street lately?

I can't say that the crowds don't give me a pass. But they find out, it happens. And they even get confused. Boris Nemtsov often came to Igor Butman’s club. And when he saw the Phonograph poster with five of my faces from different angles, he said: “Wow! Was I cloned?" In general, I try to avoid taking photographs - I don’t like this business. And if they find out, I say that I am Philip Kirkorov. (Smiles.) Recently I ran into the store to buy a gift for a friend, and then a girl intercepted me: “Are you Sergei Sergeich Zhilin? May I take a picture with you?" I answer: “No, I’m not Zhilin.” “Well... - continues. “Are you Zhilin?!” And I: “No, sorry, you were mistaken.”

When I go to the store in the evening for a bottle of wine, it’s better to do without spectators

- So they will say that Zhilin has become a star.

Understand, the point is different. When tickets for my concerts sell out within a month, hundreds of people come - these are our spectators, I am glad to see them all. And when I go to the store in the evening to buy wine for dinner, it’s better to do without spectators. (Laughs.) Sometimes I also have a desire to take a photo with someone, but I think first of all about this person, and not about myself. Not long ago we gave a concert for the first person of the state. And after the performance, many people ran to take pictures. It would be a great honor for me, but only if it were not burdensome for Vladimir Vladimirovich. And I didn’t go, although I was nearby. We limited ourselves to a handshake.

“Two mugs, two VIA, and we also need to go to football!”

- Where did your love for music come from?

They say that diseases are transmitted by genes, right? (Smiles.) I was put on the instrument at the age of three - my grandmother taught me the skills of playing the piano. Thanks to this, I entered the Central Music School (Moscow Central Music School at the Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory - Author) at the age of six. At the end of the fourth and eighth grades, the school held exams. The direction of training was adjusted: pianists who had no prospects were offered to switch to the wind department. This is logical - it is precisely at this time that the embouchure apparatus is formed (the work of the tongue, the muscles of the ribs, the diaphragm, the strength and mobility of the lips. - Author). After fourth grade, I transferred to a new teacher. Alexander Evgenievich Volkov taught me to work on every item very carefully, without missing a single detail. But when the time came for the eighth grade exam, problems began.

Sergei began learning to play the piano as a child. Photo: personal archive

- Why?

In addition to school, I attended the Young Muscovite Theater, played in two vocal and instrumental ensembles, and was involved in aircraft modeling. I was an aviation fan. I read books about Pokryshkin, Maresyev and Kozhedub. I tried to draw, as it seemed to me, airplane drawings myself. Almost everyone from our group in the circle dropped out within two years, leaving only two or three fans. I was among them - I was involved in aerial combat and racing models. We made airplanes from scratch - we cut parts out of wood. I knew how to work on all machines: milling, lathe, drilling, sharpening. They were childish, but still. In addition, I played football almost every day. Of course, I tried to do well everywhere, but I was expelled during the exams. The verdict was this: he didn’t even learn Bach’s etudes, Prokofiev’s “Obsession” and Grieg’s concerto were played roughly. It was a blow. School was everything to me! I grew up there. A year ago, the director of the Central Music School, Vladimir Ovchinnikov, called me...

- The same?

No, of course, the director is different. So, he called and asked to conduct a master class for schoolchildren: “We are watching your work, come!” I say: “You see, television projects and shows are not my main job. I study jazz, and at one time I was expelled from the Central Music School.” “Yes,” he says. - We all know. Come!" I was warmly welcomed, they even dug up our school magazine with my grades, and after the master class I was invited to take part in a concert dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the Central Music School. It is curious that in the program for the evening it was written: “Sergei Zhilin, graduate of 1980,” that is, I was “released” ahead of schedule - 8 years, and not 11 years, like everyone else. (Laughs.) By the way, our cooperation continues: soon the “Phonograph-Jazz Band” will play a concert with the conservatory orchestra.

As a vocalist, Zhilin made his debut in the show “Two Stars” and, together with Angelica Varum, took third place. Photo: Anatoly Zhdanov

Jazz in Soviet times was not the most popular genre of music. Everyone remembers: “Today he plays jazz, and tomorrow he will sell his homeland.”

Why? He was popular, but in narrow circles. Once they gave me a record of a Louis Armstrong concert in Warsaw, then a record of Raymond Pauls - “Big Concert at the Variety Theater”. It was a shock for me! After 27 years, we met Pauls, and I confessed my love for this record to him. He said that this was the first provoking moment for me to take up jazz. He joked: “I guess I did something bad?” We became friends. And now we will play at a concert in honor of the 80th birthday of Raymond Pauls - February 28 at Crocus City Hall.

- So you learned to play jazz yourself?

For some time, of course, I was in euphoria - my fingers flew over the keys, and I thought that this was a real improvisation, I played ragtime. Then he entered the jazz studio at the Moskvorechye cultural center and created Phonograph. Back then we played as part of Dixieland, without the complex basics of jazz vocabulary. Our first performance took place at the Moscow Autumn festival, after which we were called to the radio, where we presented our first program. And then came adult life, work, acquaintances and communication with senior colleagues - Yuri Saulsky, Igor Bril, Yuri Markin.

“New security guard? What a pianist he is!”

- There are two framed photographs hanging above you - and in both of them you are next to former US President Bill Clinton.

He was president then. And we were friends with the artistic director of the Presidential Orchestra of the Russian Federation, Pavel Ovsyannikov - I made arrangements for his orchestra, we collaborated closely. And when Bill Clinton came to Moscow, Pavel Borisovich invited me to play in his presence. We arrived at the country residence of Russian President Boris Yeltsin. The head of security approached us: “Have you brought us a new employee?” Ovsyannikov says: “This is a pianist.” - “What kind of pianist is he? Look at him!"

Sergei Sergeevich played in the presence of Boris Yeltsin at a meeting with Bill Clinton (center). Photo: personal archive

Your hands, as they said in “The meeting place cannot be changed,” are clearly not pianist hands. Yes, and complexion too. This topic has already been discussed on “Evening Urgant”...

Yes, Dima Nagiyev jokes on “The Voice”: “Sergey Sergeich, sit down. I don’t like it when you stand.” So, at that meeting there were the presidents of the United States and Russia - Bill Clinton and Boris Yeltsin. And also ministers and diplomats - about 20 people. They put a piano in the welcome zone and sat me down. There was a saxophone on a stand nearby - everyone knew that Clinton loved jazz, knew how to play, but did not abuse it. And he plays only once, when he first comes to the country. This was exactly the case. We sit for an hour, an hour and a half. You can't leave. And suddenly Clinton comes in, takes the saxophone and says to me: “Summertime”! Key A." I understood about the song Summertime by Gershwin. But what is key A? It turns out that this is the key - it was necessary to play in A. Clinton played the theme, then the solo, and gave me the chance to do the solo. I played. And then he suggested something else - My Funny Valentine by Richard Rodgers. We played. I was so worried that only after that I thought: “What if he named a topic that I don’t know?!” The US Secretary of State thanked me for the game, and Boris Nikolaevich stood pleased, after which he signed the book for me.

Clinton shook my hand and I turned away out of embarrassment

- In the photo at the piano you look quite calm and cheerful.

This is in the first photo. He hid his excitement well. (Laughs.) On the second - another meeting, in Washington after the big concert we gave. Clinton shook my hand and I turned away out of embarrassment.

The host of “The Voice” Dmitry Nagiyev often jokes about Zhilin, but the maestro is not offended and is always ready to lend a reliable back. Photo: Ruslan Roshchupkin

- Next to the photographs above you is a framed diploma. How much can you see in karate?

Yes, I did it for a while. Received 7 kyu, yellow belt. But then I gave it up because I didn’t have enough time. I haven’t taken part in competitions, but I do sparring regularly (clenches huge fists).

- By the way, about your hands: do they hurt a lot? Is professional deformation severe for pianists?

The same as for athletes. They hurt. Only smaller muscles, fine motor skills. About ten years ago I began to change the position of my fingers - I had a more tense playing style. This required extra effort. Of course, I go to the gym and do the right exercises. I relax my back. You have to be in good physical shape to play big concerts.

You keep your personal life strictly confidential, but readers will not forgive you if they don’t ask you about it. Is it true that you have been married twice and have a son?

I try not to dwell on this topic, sorry.

Text: Egor Arefiev, teleprogramma.pro, December 24, 2015

Private bussiness

Sergey Zhilin was born on October 23, 1966 in Moscow. He studied at the Central Music School at the Moscow Conservatory, from where he was expelled. He graduated from a vocational school with a degree in electrical installation for aircraft equipment. In 1984 he was drafted into the army and served in the Song and Dance Ensemble of military construction units. The first public performance of Phonograph, founded by Sergei Zhilin, took place in the spring of 1983 at a jazz festival in the studio at the Moskvorechye cultural center. Together with the Phonograph musicians, he toured Europe, the USA and India, and performed at major jazz festivals. He actively tours Russia with various Phonograph lineups: Phonograph-Dixie-Band, Phonograph-Jazz-Band, Phonograph-Sympho-Jazz. Accompanies famous artists at solo and group concerts. Provided musical accompaniment for the shows “Khazanov vs. NTV” and “Dancing with the Stars.” Continues to work on the projects “PROPERTY OF THE REPUBLIC”, “Voice”, “Voice. Children" and "Two Stars", in the fourth season of which, as a participant, he took third place in a duet with Angelika Varum. Honored Artist of Russia.

Zhilin Sergey Sergeevich (October 23, 1966, Moscow, RSFSR, USSR) - pianist, composer, arranger and conductor. The leader of the groups united by the common name PHONOGRAPH: “Phonograph-Jazz-Trio”, “Phonograph-Jazz-Quartet”, “Phonograph-Jazz-Quintet”, “Phonograph-Jazz-Sextet”, “Phonograph-Dixie-Band”, “Phonograph-Dixie-Band” Jazz Band", "Phonograph-Big Band", "Phonograph-Sympho-Jazz".

In 2005, Sergei Zhilin was awarded the title Honored Artist of the Russian Federation.

In May 2007, Sergei Zhilin was the musical director and chief conductor of the concert version of the rock opera “Perfume”, with the participation of the “Phonograph-Symphonic-Jazz” orchestra.

2008 was an anniversary year for the Phonograph-Jazz Band, in honor of which concerts were held at various concert venues with the participation of Russian pop stars.

Sergey Zhilin not only actively gives concerts and tours, but also records records - to date he has 18 releases on various media: CD, VHS, DVD. These are both concert recordings and studio works, where Sergei Zhilin realizes himself in various compositions: from solo improvisations and piano duets to dizzying jam sessions, with colleagues in jazz, blues and rock musicians.

In 1984, the Motherland demanded that it be given an “honorable debt” - Sergei Zhilin was drafted into the army.

After the course, the young fighter, which he took in the Uzbek Zarafshan, was sent to Moscow, to the Song and Dance Ensemble of military construction units. In addition to rehearsals and concerts, which consisted mainly of songs and marches, there were other typical soldier amusements in the form of washing walls and cleaning washbasins. But there were also dismissals. Therefore, rehearsals in the studio continued. The composition of the participants had changed by this time - the rhythm section had been transformed, new guys came to replace the departed bassist and trombonist, those with whom Zhilin served in the military ensemble. Vocals were added - Zhilin invited the best singer of the jazz studio, Alla Sidorova. During the day - service, in the evening - studio. At night Sergei did orchestrations. In addition to official dismissals, of course, there were also “AWOLs”.

They were already known as “Phonograph” when Yuri Saulsky came to the next spring studio festival. After the festival, an audition was held for the groups that Yuri Sergeevich noted. The best, including Phonograph, were invited to the Moscow Jazz Festival in 1986.

Performing on the same stage with such outstanding groups as the orchestras of Anatoly Kroll and Oleg Lundstrem was, of course, an event for newcomers, however, the impression was slightly spoiled by the reaction of the audience - no, they were well received, but not at all like in the studio - there the audience always greeted “Phonograph” while standing! After this concert there was another performance at the “Moscow Autumn”, annually organized by the Union of Composers. And they seemed to play well, and the listeners responded well. But an article appeared in the press, the tone of which was not so much negative, but somehow condescending - isn’t it too early for Phonograph to enter the “adult” scene? We were terribly upset. But got to thinking...

It was in 1992, after a pop competition in Yalta, which seemed to end so successfully for both “Phonograph” and its soloist Alla Sidorova, that Sergei realized: the work of a producer and administrator, as well as other such boring, but absolutely necessary organizational matters he needs to do it himself.

At the competition, Sergei met the artistic director and chief conductor of the Presidential Orchestra of the Russian Federation, Pavel Ovsyannikov. The young musician interested Ovsyannikov because of his high level of playing, his ability to work with any musical material, and his ability to quickly and efficiently make arrangements. Pavel Borisovich began to invite the pianist on tour with his orchestra. And once in 1994, he invited me to a “summit meeting” - a reception in honor of US President Bill Clinton’s visit to Russia. Knowing that Clinton was a good saxophonist, one could assume that he would want to play. And so it happened. Sergei Zhilin and Bill Clinton performed “Summertime” together, then “My Funny Valentine”. Sergei was very worried, but everything turned out great. Clinton thanked his musical partner, and US Secretary of State Warren Christopher asked “where the guy got his American sadness” - where did he learn to feel and play American music? Sergei replied that he simply loves jazz - and has been for a long time.

Sergei Zhilin really liked Clinton - charismatic and charming, with impeccable manners. Since then, the title of “pianist who played jazz with the American president” has been firmly attached to Sergei Zhilin. Then there was a performance at a reception hosted by the mayor of Moscow in honor of Liza Minnelli, an acquaintance with Tom Jones, and numerous performances with the brightest Russian stars. Ovsyannikov invited Zhilin to join him in the orchestra. The offer was certainly tempting - interesting work, stable salary. But then I would have to forget about my team, my business. And Sergei again chose “Phonograph”.

The largest and most prestigious European jazz festival has been taking place in the Swiss resort town of Montreux on the shores of Lake Geneva for more than forty years. Having begun as a purely jazz festival, the Montreux festival today covers almost all current genres in its programs - from rock and blues to hip-hop and ethnic music.

The Phonograph had four concerts in Montreux. After the first performance, the organizers, appreciating the level of play of the Russian musicians, changed the hall to a more spacious one. And they even started selling tickets for the third performance (although usually admission to the public is free for the “off” program concerts).

Montreux has a unique atmosphere during the festival. This is a huge music bazaar where jazzmen from all over the world gather. Therefore, despite their fatigue, the Phonograph musicians gladly took part in a night jam after their concerts.

Sergei Sergeevich Zhilin (born October 23, 1966) is an outstanding pianist, conductor and showman who today leads several jazz groups. His whole life is connected with musical activity. As a public person, he does not like to flaunt his personal life, but information leaked to the media that the famous jazzman was married twice. Sergei Zhilin's first wife discovered the joy of fatherhood for him and he now has an adult son.

Personal life of Sergei Zhilin

Unfortunately, Sergei divorced his first wife, but a new relationship awaited him. Not much is known about Sergei Zhilin’s second wife; according to rumors, she was a soloist in one of his ensembles. Also, judging by behind-the-scenes rumors, the musician is not in a relationship today. The personal life of Sergei Zhilin is closely connected with his work. He talks about his family with a smile and very little: “I have a good family. Perhaps this is the main thing that the public needs to know.” Today, Sergei Zhilin, as is sometimes said about people who devote themselves to creativity, is married to his work. And he has a lot of children, even if they are not his own, but they are so talented!

Everyone's favorite show “The Voice. Children" (2014), which opens the way to the modern stage for young talents, pleases no less than the adult project "The Voice" (Channel One. Russia.). The musical accompaniment of “Voices”, both for adults and for children, was entrusted to Sergei Zhilin and his orchestra “Phonograph-Jazz Band”. Such a creative community expands the very concept of “family”: everyone who works with this life-loving, unusually talented and charismatic person feels like family.

Today his family has become wonderful creative teams, to whom he gives all his talent and warmth. Sergei Zhilin's whole life is connected with his work. This includes teaching activities and the organization of orchestral accompaniment for television and music programs, such as “Two Stars” (2006), “Do Re” (2009-2014), “Voice”, “Voice. Children" and many others. For outstanding services, concert and studio projects in 2005, S. S. Zhilin was awarded the title of “Honored Artist of the Russian Federation.”

Brief biography of S. S. Zhilin

Sergei Zhilin was born and raised in a musical family and, thanks to the persistence of his grandmother, Tamara Viktorovna, became a musician. At the age of two and a half years, at the insistence of his beloved grandmother, her grandson began to play the piano. Possessing an absolute ear for music, Seryozha, in the unanimous opinion of his loved ones, was bound to become an outstanding musician.

After graduating from eight-year school, contrary to the hopes of his parents, Sergei decided to master a profession related to aircraft modeling. However, after receiving a specialty at a vocational school, he again began to seriously study music. Sergei was especially attracted to jazz. Starting in 1982, the young man regularly visited the Moscow improvisation studio, where he became friends with the gifted performer and musician Mikhail Stefanyuk.

The first group of young musicians with whom Sergei performed at the festival in 1981 was called “Moscow-Zamoskvorechye”. And already in 1983, a new musical group “Phonograph” was born. After meeting Yuri Saulsky, the Phonograph group performed wonderfully at the Moscow Music Festival, after which the entire musical Moscow learned about it.

It should be noted that today it is no longer just a jazz group, but a large organization that includes several Phonograph companies. This is a recording studio, a company for organizing events, and a rehearsal base, where the jazz group under the direction of S.S. Zhilin spends most of its time. Musicians have professional sets of modern lighting and sound recording equipment at their disposal.