Boris Kozlov’s connection to Charles Mingus runs far deeper than simply directing the Mingus Big Band. Growing up in the Soviet Union, Kozlov first encountered Mingus through photocopied music, playing “Pussy Cat Dues” before he had even heard Mingus’s recordings. After moving to New York, hearing Mingus Ah Um proved transformative—Kozlov describes it as such a perfect recording that it could be sent into space as a representation of “what human jazz is.”
Kozlov joined the Mingus Big Band in 1998 as a last-minute substitute and quickly earned Sue Mingus’s confidence. Within weeks, she entrusted him with creating what became Charles Mingus: More Than a Play-Along. Now the band’s frequent musical director, Kozlov brings that nearly three-decade relationship to the group. His philosophy remains wonderfully Mingus-like: don’t imitate the master—use his music to find your own voice.
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