Valery Ponomarev

VALERY PONOMAREVis a Russian-born trumpeter/composer with one of the most unlikely and fascinating stories in jazz, as documented in his recently published memoirs, On the Flip Side of Sound (Author House 2009). Valery grew up listening to the Voice of America, fantasizing about playing with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. Finally, in the mid-’70s, he defected, sat in with the band in New York, and when Bill Hardman left, Valery took over the trumpet spot. A disciple of Clifford Brown, he went on to record 11 albums with Bu, with reviewers often singling out his work for praise.