Ilya Lushtak

**JazzIsGood** · 11-24-2022, 01:51 AM

Here's a great player you need to hear! I'm always surprised people don't know Ilya Lushtak. Can't think of any other current day players I'd rather listen to. He's got the groove of Grant Green or Wes but he also has a bunch of Barry Harris stuff in his playing. His solos are very surprising and interesting, you never know what he's gonna do next.

There will never be another you

Cherokee on a boat somewhere

Darn that Dream

**Doug B** · 11-24-2022, 02:37 AM

Originally Posted by JazzIsGood

Here's a great player you need to hear! I'm always surprised people don't know Ilya Lushtak. Can't think of any other current day players I'd rather listen to. He's got the groove of Grant Green or Wes but he also has a bunch of Barry Harris stuff in his playing. His solos are very surprising and interesting, you never know what he's gonna do next.

He's been on Smalls Live several times playing with different folks.

**rrbasic** · 11-24-2022, 10:47 AM

Good find!

**mr. beaumont** · 11-24-2022, 11:58 AM

Great player, great sound. This was my introduction to him, some years back:

**Jonah** · 11-24-2022, 01:09 PM

I saw him live quite many times while he was back in St.Petersburg, there he was kind of a star (the only other player who compete with him in that sense was Andrei Ryabov but he belongs to older generation and has indisputable reputation).

He is a master on the instrument and has huge vocabulary in trad jazz.

**JazzIsGood** · 11-27-2022, 01:35 AM

Yeah Ilya seems to be a legend in small circles, but for some reason mostly unknown on the internet.

**JazzIsGood** · 11-27-2022, 01:38 AM

Originally Posted by Doug B

He's been on Smalls Live several times playing with different folks.

The Smalls Live website has 60+ Ilya Lushtak performances and some of them are really mind blowing.
It costs $10 to join the site for a year, well worth it, and the money goes to a good cause.

There's not much on YouTube and he has no records out, so I think the Smalls Live websites is the best place to hear Ilya.

Well I guess he has the Hand and Frank record out, but IMO it does not feature the guitar much and does not really capture what he does. The studio version is nothing like the live version.

**JazzIsGood** · 11-27-2022, 01:52 AM

Here's a good one-

Looks like he's sight reading doubling the sax around the 13 minute mark, then proceeds to tear up the fretboard while also singing every note. I've seen lots of people singing what they play and I know you're supposed to practice that way but he's got some accuracy and speed on this that is unusual.

Wacky comping by the piano player, but overall it's a great band and great set. Put this one on and just let it play for an hour or two.

**JazzIsGood** · 12-11-2022, 05:09 PM

In a Mellow Tone-

Also includes Ceora, Girl from Ipanema, Someday my Prince will Come and a few more. If you can name the rest of the songs please reply. I have heard them but the names of the tunes are eluding me at the moment.

Sounds a bit different on a Gibson ES-335 (or something in that family), but it's a great trio performance.

**mr. beaumont** · 12-11-2022, 08:11 PM

Originally Posted by JazzIsGood

Yeah Ilya seems to be a legend in small circles, but for some reason mostly unknown on the internet.

He doesn't play along to transcriptions at 300bpm on instagram.

**DonovanT** · 12-12-2022, 10:54 AM

Originally Posted by JazzIsGood

Sounds a bit different on a Gibson ES-335 (or something in that family), but it's a great trio performance.

it looks like an es-330 , the guitar grant played on all of the classic blue note stuff. Its like a 335 but full hollow and single coils instead of humbuckers. I used to have that I wish i wouldn’t have sold