Meet Vlad Girshevich | Pianist, Composer, audio and video production

We had the good fortune of connecting with Vlad Girshevich and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Vlad, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I was in love with music since I was four. Started playing at that age and never stopped. I got very lucky with a great classical education. Then I got very lucky to get involved in jazz.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
One of the best things that happened to me is probably my classical education. It was absolutely free, because it was still the Soviet Union. At that time Soviet education was at its best. The timing was perfect, because as soon as I graduated, the Soviet Union fell and the wave of immigration started. A lot of great teachers left the country that became an independent republic of Uzbekistan. When I was in 11th grade I was introduced to jazz which became my passion. My dream was to go to the United States and play jazz with American musicians. That dream came true. That is probably one of the unique things about me. The tools that I have from my classical world give me an advantage in the jazz world. And vice versa, things that I’ve learned in the jazz world gives me a richer perspective on classical music.

My path was not easy to get where I am today. I’ve had to make decisions that weren’t easy. In 1997 I was a part of Thelonious Monk Institute Summer Program in Aspen CO. Herbie Hancock invited me there and gave me a full scholarship after meeting me in Aspen at one of the Jazz Aspen presentations. When I was done with that I was offered a full scholarship to the Boston School of music. But I had to turn it down because I was in love and was about to go back to Uzbekistan to get married. I did get married and focused on the family. My marriage didn’t last and then I focused on raising my son by myself with my mom’s help.
Raising my son as a musician was a beautiful thing. One of my best accomplishments is the Album with my son and the legendary Eddie Gomez. My son Aleks was 12 at that time. You can find this album under The Girshevich Trio feat. Eddie Gomez “ Algorithmic Society”

One of the most challenging things on my path was the fact that I was raised in the Soviet Union and because of that I did not have any skills to survive in a capitalistic world. But it took me several years to understand that.I realize that I don’t have any marketing skills. Right now I have a business that I’m trying to promote. It is an online teaching business, anyone can book a lesson on a website KungFuPiano.com I don’t have too many students yet, but I have a YouTube channel with a lot of videos already that tell you all my secrets absolutely for free. So far the desire to help people and share knowledge somehow have been more important than monetization of my content, but I’m learning.

What helped me to overcome those challenges?
I think it’s letting go of my ambitions at some point. Realizing that music is not about the competition. As soon as I stopped focusing on ambitions, focusing on music became so much easier. I’m almost done with my new album, which is the first creative thing that I’ve done since an album with Eddie Gomez. It’s actually a pop album which is a surprise for many of my fans. But I’m very proud of it. I’ve done all the production, it features different musicians. Also, eight of those tunes are already available on YouTube (for free) with the videos that I produced. I found that making music videos gives me a lot of joy and I am very happy that I became sufficient in the area that I wasn’t familiar with before.

One more accomplishment that was also challenging, was learning how to play a Hammond B3 Organ. Quite a stretch for a classical piano player.) And nowadays I play more organ than piano, strangely enough.

The biggest lesson I am still learning. All of us are creators. We are co-creating this world everyday. And if we learn how to get along on the stage, why not get along in the everyday world?
My newest album is about love. Hopefully that would be a message to several people. My full name is Vladislav. The new Album is called “Vlad is Love”

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If my best friend were to visit, I would take him to Herbs, where I host the B3 Jam Session. I am playing a B3 Organ at Herb’s twice a week. Monday is a duo where I am featuring different drummers. Tuesday is a jam session that is always fun and you never know who’s going to show up. Another place I would take him to would be Dazzle, but of course it depends who is performing. But, knowing my best friend too well, we would both go somewhere we have not been before.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My best friend Alex Nekrasov is the one who I should thank for where I am today. He’s a true genius, and I’m really happy that such person is actually my friend.
Everything I know about sound and video production I learned from him. He is a musician, saxophone and keyboard player. But that’s not all. His scientific part of the brain is full of surprises. Alex has done variety of things, starting from designing an audio equipment all the way to engineering and programming several helpful devices. Whatever he’s into at the moment, he always becomes more than professional in that area. And of course everything I discovered in the music world during our conversations are mind blowing discoveries. Truly an outstanding person!

And another outstanding person who made a huge impact in my life (but I don’t know him personally) is Keith Jarrett. He made me understand what music is about.

Website: http://kungfupiano.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vladgirshevichpiano

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@VladGirshevich

Other: https://youtube.com/@KungFuPiano
http://vladgirshevich.com/