Music Connects – Ventura Music Festival

Welcome to Music Connects: VMF‘s Digital Music Festival!

Each week a performer shares in a personal video what they are experiencing and a personal piece of music that especially resonates for them today and tell us why. Some will be well-known artists; some, outstanding young performers from our Rising Stars and Student Jazz programs. Still others, we hope, will be talented local musicians who, until recently, have been playing in area clubs and elsewhere.

If you are a musician, we would love for you to take part in Music Connects. Submit your personal video message and music video per the guidelines below. We’ll feature entries on our website, on Vimeo and other social media channels.   VMF is a world-class, mixed-genre festival so as to music: “the best of anything goes” – classical, pop, world, soul, roots, jazz, R&B, crossover.

Musician Guidelines

MC13 – Ilya Serov

From Executive Director Susan Scott

Dear Friends,

I’m smiling as I write this because I’m also listening to and lovingMC-13’s “Swing 42” and delighted to make the acquaintance of the musician who submitted it: Ilya Serov, jazz trumpeter, guitarist, singer and music producer.

The Russian-born Ilya began training in classical trumpet at age 7 inSt. Petersburg, discovered jazz in his teens and moved to LA at 21 to pursue it: All kinds– swing, big band and straight-ahead jazz, maybe incorporating R&B, or something else.

He lives in Hollywood now and has developed a rich, creative life as a performer, studio musician and producer, collaborating with jazz greats (and past VMF headliners) Roger Kellaway (2017) and Poncho Sanchez (2008) and 2019-20 world tours with sax great Dave Koz (the one this year alas a Covid-cancel). Each of these greats is a Serov-fan. Sanchez sums up, saying” Ilya’s got it all going on. The mainstream loves him and he’s “hip enough for jazz folks because he’s a great trumpet player. And he sings great, too!!”

While Serov’s music credentials and fans are already diverse and growing, VMF did not know him until he accepted our invitation to area musicians to submit for Music Connects. Shout-out to other fabulous musicians in the area: follow suit, please! Guidelines are on the website.
While Ilya Serov does not sing in “Swing 42”, he and Grammy-winner Kellaway shine big time in this fabulously “fresh, whimsical” arrangement of a Django Rheinhardt hit from 1941 actually. I think you will love it and wouldn’t be surprised if you got up and danced.

Folic if you can.