Oleg Lundstrem Jazz Music Orchestra

The Oleg Lundstrem State Chamber Jazz Music Orchestra was founded in 1934 and has the status of the world's oldest continuously existing big band. This fact is recorded in the Russian Guinness Book of Records. This was the first composition of Oleg Lundstrem's orchestra.

The merits of the band in the formation and development of jazz music in our country and beyond cannot be overestimated. More than 10000 concerts in Russia, the territory of the former USSR and all over the world, rave reviews of the press and grateful listeners, diverse repertoire, careful attitude to national musical traditions, laid down by the founder of the orchestra Oleg Leonidovich Lundstrem, put the band on one of the most prominent places in the history of national jazz.

In 1941, during the Great Patriotic War, members of the orchestra in their entirety applied to the Soviet Consulate in Shanghai to be sent to the front as volunteers. In 1941, the Lundstrem Orchestra performed for the soldiers, singing patriotic songs and raising the morale of the troops. The orchestra performed in the front line, in hospitals, airfields and military bases. Musicians of the orchestra also participated in concert brigades that travelled to the front and performed for the soldiers in the most difficult conditions.

During the war, the Lundstrem Orchestra performed not only jazz music, but also patriotic songs, marches and military anthems. The orchestra's musicians also composed their own songs dedicated to the war and the heroism of Soviet soldiers.

The orchestra continued to perform at the front until the very end of the war. In 1945, the orchestra took part in the Victory Parade on Red Square in Moscow, performing the march ‘Farewell to the Slavs’.

In the 1950s and 1960s Oleg Lundstrem's orchestra gained widespread popularity in the USSR, becoming one of the most popular and respected jazz ensembles in the country. This was the heyday of Soviet jazz, and this orchestra played an important role in that process.

In the 1950s, the orchestra began to tour extensively throughout the USSR, performing in concert halls and on the radio. Lundstrem's orchestra was known for its unique sound, which combined elements of American swing and Soviet music. Lundstrem was also known for actively collaborating with prominent Soviet composers such as Arkady Ostrovsky and Kirill Molchanov, who wrote music especially for him.

From the 60s onwards, when the orchestra gained true popularity and public acclaim, the best voices of the country were honoured to perform with it: Maya Kristalinskaya, Sergey Sorokin, Gyuli Chokheli, and in the 70s and later Irina Ponarovskaya, Irina Otieva, Svetlana Rubinina, Olga Kormukhina.

From 2007 to the present day, the orchestra's Artistic Director and Principal Conductor has been the renowned jazz pianist and band leader, People's Artist of Russia Boris Frumkin. Under his leadership the orchestra continues the traditions of its founder, Oleg Lundstrem.

Today the Oleg Lundstrem State Chamber Orchestra of Jazz Music is a team of professional and talented musicians. The orchestra continues to be one of the most popular and respected jazz ensembles in Russia. It participates in festivals, actively tours and performs, preserving the traditions of Soviet jazz while introducing new elements and ideas.

In 2024, the orchestra celebrated its 90th anniversary.