Jazz trumpeter Ilya Serov swinging his way through summer in the studio

Jazz trumpeter Ilya Serov has been cooped up in the recording studio all summer working on his second album, but Tuesday night in Laguna Beach, he’s going to take a break to make the live performance debut of the first single, “Swing 42,” featuring the dapper swingman dueting with Grammy winner and Oscar-nominated pianist Roger Kellaway. Accompanied by his 10-piece big band, Serov will be joined by Kellaway on stage at the Pageant of the Masters 2017.

Brandishing a fresh whimsical arrangement by Tom Kubis, Serov’s snappy muted trumpet reading of Django Reinhardt’s “Swing 42” is a frisky and fun summer frolic bolstered by Kellaway’s fanciful piano flourishes and a four-chair horn section.

“‘Swing 42’ is one of my favorite of Django’s tunes. It has such positive energy.  I really like the music of that era and I had been compelled to do a rendition of this tune for a while. I am glad we finally did it. It was so much fun and of course it was such an honor and a pleasure to work with an award-winning legend, pianist Roger Kellaway, who is a featured guest on the track. His brilliant play brought so much to the sound,” said Serov, a classically-trained musician from St. Petersburg, Russia who resides in Los Angeles.

At Tuesday evening’s performance, Kellaway will introduce Serov as part of the Rising Stars series in which “world-famous musicians and music aficionados introduce their favorite up and coming performers.” The two musicians first formed a bond after meeting a few years ago, which led to the collaboration for Serov’s sophomore outing. 

“I was fortunate to have met Roger several years ago and was featured on a couple of songs during one of his shows. It was an unbelievable experience for me and very encouraging. We stayed in touch and I am proud to call Roger and his lovely wife, Jorjana, my friends. I feel blessed to have been able to work with him and honored to have him play on my album,” said Serov, who also teamed with Kellaway to lense a video for “Swing 42” (http://bit.ly/2v7F2XB).

              

Last month, Serov appeared on SiriusXM’s The Dave Koz Lounge to talk about “Swing 42” as well as the album in progress, which will consist of standards and tunes from the Great American Songbook. Serov is producing.

A trumpeter and debonair vocalist, Serov released his debut album, “September in the Rain,” in late 2013. A year later, he was named Best New Artist at the Hollywood International Music Awards. Although the new session consists of big band, swing and straight-ahead jazz, Serov is also an imaginative alchemist who experiments with contemporary jazz, R&B, pop and world music nuances. For more information, please visit www.IlyaSerov.com.