Maxim Likhachev

[officermayo]

Going to see Leonid & Friends Friday night. Hoping to meet their trombonist Maxim Likhachev and get a couple of photos autographed for my Wall of Fame.

[officermayo]

Had a great time at the concert. Meeting Maxim Likhachev was really cool - super nice guy.

[Trombo]

A good guy. I've known him since 1983. We served in the Soviet army at that time, but in different orchestras and met at rehearsals for parades on Red Square as part of a combined military orchestra of 1,000 musicians.

[officermayo]

Thanks for that information as I've never seen anything about his military service in any articles I've read. We had trouble communicating, but struggled through fior about an hour. I gave him Bill Bleck's transcriptions of all the Jimmy Pankow solos. He was totally thrilled and surprised.

[Trombo]

In the Soviet Union in the 1980s, all healthy men between the ages of 18 and 27 had to serve in the army for 2 years (in the Navy for 3 years). Musicians who studied at colleges and conservatories in Moscow stayed to serve in Moscow to participate in parades on Red Square. It was only necessary to audition in advance in a military orchestra, of which there were a lot in Moscow. Serving in a military band in Moscow was a real happiness compared to serving in Siberia, the Far East, etc.





I understand his joy at your gift. James Pankow was our idol in those years. The musicians loved listening to jazz-rock: "Chicago", "Blood, Sweat and Tears", "Earth, Wind, Fire".