David Mac (DM): Greetings Konstantin. Let’s take it from the top and start at the beginning.

Konstantin Kolesnichenko (KK): I was born in 1983 in Dnepropetrovsk (now Dnipro), Ukraine. It's a big industrial city. In my early childhood, until the 1990s, it was a closed city because we had a secret military and a rocket engine design office. It’s interesting that despite this fact, foreign music was finding its way to us.

DM: Do you come from a musical family? 

KK: Yes, music was always around me. My grandpa played piano, my mom was a very good singer and played good piano too. My father was a jazz drummer. He played in a famous Ukrainian jazz band called Gamma and he was in the first band of world famous jazz piano player Andrey Kondakov.  When I was a child I was studying in music school. I took piano classes until I was thirteen. I took a break from music and didn’t pick it up again until I was nineteen with the harmonica.

DM: What was your first exposure to American music?

KK: I was listening to a lot of music when I was a child. It was mostly my father's vinyl records and cassettes. I remember my first blues record was Live at the Regal by B.B. King. My father had this album on cassette. My next record was John Lee Hooker’s album Boom Boom. From that time I couldn’t stop listening and collecting blues and jazz records.

DM: Let’s talk about your early development as a musician.

KK: I remember when I decided to play harmonica there were no harmonica players in my city at all. So I learned by some foreign books and mostly by listening to the records. My first harmonica records were Charlie Musselwhite’s and Sonny Boy’s (Rice Miller) albums.

DM: To put it mildly your country has experienced a lot of turmoil. To what degree (if any) has this shaped your musical sensibilities?

KK: Thank you, David for bringing that up. I think Ukrainians have a blues from their birth. You know our country always had troubles with our independence and we are a poor country. In Soviet times, about seven million people died of hunger extermination. That's why we have a lot of sad songs in our folklore. I can't be sure, but probably it's the reason why black (African-American) music is so close to me.

The revolution woke up the spirit of our country. It woke up people’s confidence and gave us faith in our country. It united us and showed how strong and unbelievable the people of this country can be. Unfortunately, we paid a big price for all the changes. We are still paying a big price.

DM: I ask about this political upheaval for several reasons, but I find it fascinating not only that a 33 year old is playing music in the style of another era, but music that comes from a time when there was a complete ban on Western goods of all types. This of course included American music. There was no internet obviously and the music that you champion comes from the ‘Cold War’ era, when the Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union.

KK: David that is an excellent observation. As we talked about earlier, my dad was a jazz drummer in the 70’s and 80’s and he has told me about how difficult it was to find this music. So I’m happy to be able to interact with the world of music through the internet. It’s now so much easier to collect records. I have Bluebeat Music, for example, at my disposal. I just bought a few CDs from there today.  

DM: At some point you found other musicians who had a fondness for American music. Let’s talk about those associations.

KK: Firstly, I started playing with piano players. They were kind and patient enough to listen to my playing. One of them became my friend and future band member. He gave me my first Thelonious Monk record, some Earl Hines and an old New Orleans Jazz record.

DM: Who are your musical influences?

KK: I think all music that I love influenced me in some way. My favorite harmonica players are Little Walter, George Smith, William Clarke, Gary Primich, Paul Delay, Norton Buffalo, Jason Ricci, PT Gazell and others. David, it’s a very big list.  

In terms of musical style I love Grant Green, Bill Jennings, Jack McDuff, Jimmy Forrest, Lou Donaldson, Bill Doggett, Willis Jackson, Louis Jordan, Johnny Lytle, etc. I love some hardcore blues as well. You know all that cool stuff by Muddy, John Brim, Floyd Jones and those old Sun Records. I also listen with pleasure to The Crusaders and Steely Dan too.

DM: You are like a lot of musicians I know in that you have a very large musical palette. Let’s talk about  some of your early band experiences.

KK: I started playing with a blues band on a regular basis about eight years ago. At that time the band consisted of guitar, bass, drums, keyboards and harmonica. I also was playing in a duo format with the guitarist from that band, Oleg Lavrik. The band is still on the run and we have three original band members in it. Oleg, me and bass player Konstantin Tikhonov are still playing together.

DM: Let’s talk about early recordings.

KK: Before I made my last album Hypnotized! I had recorded another two. My first album If You Want to See This Blues was recorded in 2013-2014. It consists mostly of some blues and jazz standards. It was like a ‘Konstantin Kolesnichenko and Friends’ album because so many different musicians played on it.

My next album was recorded in 2015. It shows my love of some funky-jazzy stuff like the Crusaders played in the 70s. It's an all instrumental EP with some songs by George Benson, Steely Dan, Crusaders, etc.

DM: Let’s talk about the new album which was recorded in August of 2016, Hypnotized!. 

KK: It is not 100% blues or 100% jazz. It is a tribute to all those musicians I love that worked in that junction of genres in the 50s and 60s. What they did was really  something special. I'm a big fan of Bill Jennings. His single note phrases are ideal to be played on harmonica. I don't know why other harmonica players don't use them a lot. I transcribed by ear his Alexandria, VA. Alt take and recorded all guitar and sax parts on harmonica. Then I transcribed his solo from There Will Never Be Another You, uploaded it on YouTube and shared these videos in harmonica forums. I'm a big fan of the Modern Blues Harmonica forum by Adam Gussow.

Jason Ricci saw these videos and liked them. He shared my Alexandria VA. on his Facebook page and then he even recorded a tribute for Dennis Gruenling and me. After that I couldn’t sleep two nights in a row. One of the best harmonica players in the world made music for me. It inspired me a lot. Once he commented in one of my Facebook posts that I must record an album of such music. So I thought...why not? He even was so kind and gave me his permission to put his quote on my back cover. PT Gazell and Pierre Laqocque were very kind too as they are also quoted.

DM: The record reminds me of an old Bill Jennings/Jack McDuff album I have from that period.

KK: Exactly, I adore the sound of a Hammond organ. It's so magical and mystical. Only vibraphone has such impact on me as a Hammond has.

DM: Is it fair to say that there is a 50’s/60’ Blue Note/Prestige Records feel to the new album? 

KK: It's that sound and approach to music that I love. Those old records have that elusive sentimental feeling. Every note, sound or song has its own style. There are not too many harmonica albums with such an approach. The first album that I heard in similar style was Down in The Mood Room by Jerry Portnoy. All those swingin’ jazz standards with an amped harmonica sound and beautiful guitar playing by Duke Robillard, that's what impressed me a lot. I'm a huge fan of this album to this day. Then I discovered Dennis Gruenling and PT Gazell. I am also a big fan of those William Clarke instrumentals. I want to think that we're pretty much on the same page. We are all fans of Willis Jackson.

There is one unique recording on harmonica I’d like to discuss, The Deb by Magic Dave Therault. It's really something. You can only find it on YouTube. Dave has the phrasing of a true horn player. I've read somewhere that he was a trombone player before he started playing harp. I transcribed and tried to play this song too. All in all, these things and my love for the albums of Willis Jackson, Jack McDuff, Jimmy Forrest, Bill Doggett, Eddie Lockjaw Davis, Stanley Turrentine and many more shaped the style of this album. Also the idea was to have this record short; it’s a half an hour or so. This is so after listening you are ready to spin it again.

DM: We should also talk about your band mates as they are all terrific players as well.

KK: They are monster players. They are very cool professional jazz musicians that can play very complex things, but it's so good that they can come down to earth and play my kind of music with a lot of soul. It's a rare ability of a musician, in my country especially. It's not my constant band, but I think I can offer them some gigs in that format.

DM: You also did the very cool album art, which I love...let’s talk a little (if you like) about that part of your creativity.

KK: Thank you for that question David. I had made the cover and came up with the album’s name before I recorded one note of it. I had insomnia because I booked studio days for recording. I was very overexcited. I was into planning so much. I couldn’t sleep so I went into the living room, took the piece of paper and pencil and started to draw. I wanted something in the old style because music that I'm going to play is old. I wanted something with beatnik spirit and without my face on the front cover. All in all the sound of the Hammond and harmonica on that record should be very hypnotic. So I made these small sketches in two nights during my insomnia.

DM: Let’s talk about the Ukrainian blues scene. Is there a Ukrainian blues scene?

KK: Ukrainian blues scene is very small, it’s tiny. You have enough fingers of one hand to count all the bands. All festivals are managed by the musicians themselves. These are small festivals that often take place in clubs. We have some full bands and we have my friend Max Tavricheskiy. He is a one man band who plays harmonica, guitar and tambourine.  Some famous musicians have come over here such as Bob Margolin, Guy Davis, John Nemeth, Matyas Pribojszki, Keith Dunn and Lucky Peterson.

I’ve never played in countries outside Ukraine. I have a dream to book some good foreign band for a small tour in Ukraine and play with them. I dream about Trickbag from Sweden.

DM: What are your interests outside and away from music?

KK: I love to stay at home and listen to good music and read a good book. I'm a stay at home person so to be at home with my wife and my dog is what I love the most. Sometimes my wife got me out of the house and we love to travel to some European or Ukrainian cities. We love to ramble on old streets in the old cities.

DM: What would you like people to know about you?

KK: I have an addiction to listening and collecting music. I can spend a lot of time before I go to sleep making orders and arranging my “want” list for Bluebeat Music. I think that deep dive into music as a complex phenomenon gives the best results. I love reading the liner notes and booklets that come with the CDs. I love rearranging my CDs and vinyl records on the shelves.

DM: This sounds like someone else I know...me. Perhaps now would be the time to discuss two very important women in your life. Of course I'm talking about your mother and your wife. 

KK: Thank you David for bringing this up. It's very important for me. I lost my mother in January. She always supported my passion for music. She gave me money on my first combo amp and green bullet mic. She was my biggest fan and friend. I think she helped me to make this album such as it is. That's why I dedicated it to her.

My wife is my best friend. When I decided to leave my IT developer work and to be a musician she totally confirmed my decision and helped me to get rid of doubts. She was happier with me because of this. I’m sure without these two women I will never be such a person and musician as I am.

DM: Thanks Konstantin for sharing your experiences and thoughts about this music that we all love so much with our readers.

KK: Thank you so much for this interview, David and for taking an interest in my music.