In this episode, I chat with Professor Alexandre Abdoulaev. Professor Abdoulaev is a pianist, conductor, researcher, arranger, and band leader based in Baltimore, Maryland. He has been studying pianosince 1985, and has been teaching piano, music theory, and music history professionally for over fifteen years. Professor Abdoulaev studied both classical and jazz piano under such noteworthy teachers as Radoslav Kvapil, Teofils Biķis, Thomas Mastroianni, Lewis Porter, and Joshua Rifkin. As a professional musician, Professor Abdoulaev has experience in classical solo and chamber music, jazz piano, and musical theatre vocal coaching and conducting. Most recently, he was seen in Washington, D. C. with the Trinity Chamber Orchestra, performing George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" under the baton of Maestro Jeffry Newberger. Additionally, Professor Abdoulaev is also the artistic director and pianist with the jazz-cabaret quintet "Ghosts of Weimar." In 2014, Professor Abdoulaev graduated with a Ph.D. in Historical Musicology from Boston University, where he completed his dissertation titled "Savoy: A Portrait of the World's Finest Ballroom, 1926-1958." Currently, Professor Abdoulaev maintains a busy schedule as a jazz pianist, ballet accompanist, a professor of music history at West Chester University, and a lecturer at Boston University, where he maintains a full schedule of teaching and research duties. His current research interests include the role of blues as a tool of social protest in modern society; development of cinema and video game music; and a variety of ethnographic and musicological topics in jazz.
