KINUS Yury Grigoryevich (27.09.1949, Bataysk, Rostov region) is a musicologist, an arranger, an educator, Candidate of Art History, an associate professor at S. V. Rachmaninoff RSC (Academy), a creative director and a chief conductor of Kim Nazaretov’s jazz orchestra, a juryman of the international contest of young jazz performers, Honored Worker of the All-Russian Musical Association.
He has loved jazz since childhood. In 1968 he graduated from the Rostov College of Radio Engineering, where he organized an amateur ensemble. In 1967 he started playing and arranging in Alexander Blok’s variety orchestra. Since 1970 he has been working with Kim Nazaretov’s jazz orchestra.
In 1974 he graduated from the Theoretical and Composer Department of RCA (by correspondence), in 1979 - from the Theoretical and Composer Faculty of RSMPI (nowadays S. V. Rachmaninoff RSC (Academy)). In 1980 he organized in RCA a student jazz club, where in 1983-1993 he conducted a student big band of RSMPI, which became a holder of the I Degree Diploma at the All-Russian festival of VJD.
Since 1990 he has been a constant master of ceremonies of Rostov-on-Don jazz concerts. Since 1997 he has been the head of Kim Nazaretov’s jazz orchestra, with which he has performed at the festivals at the near and far abroad, has represented Rostov-on-Don at the season concert “In the World of Jazz” at the P.I. Tchaikovsky Concert Hall. He has conducted a cycle of season and theme concerts devoted to the masters of native and foreign jazz. From 1996 to 2007 he was holding concert and dance evenings “Nostalgie”, giving elucidative commentaries to the music performance about its history, authors and performers. He has been a participant of the international project East West European Jazz Orchestra (since 2004) that grew out of the relations of twin cities Rostov-on-Don and Dortmund.
Since 2001 he has been working in the school. He has developed several methodological programs on jazz education. He has had a number of research papers published, including “Arrangement as a composition factor in jazz”, “Correlation of improvisation and composition in jazz”… He has had several books published: “Improvisation and composition in jazz” (2008), “From the history of jazz performance” (2009), “Jazz” (2010), “Jazz. Origins and development” (2011).
