“Lena is an amazingly gifted and soulful musician from Russia who can eat most of her peer saxophonists on this planet for breakfast, lunch and dinner in one gulp. She can also swing you into bad health with any musical offering she wishes to perform.”

Keith Copeland

With her international cultural background and early classical training, Lena is working towards a truly unique style. Her musical influences in jazz range from European Classical tradition to Middle Eastern and Turkish music to the modern “greats” of jazz. While living in Germany, Lena became interested in Arabic, Persian and Turkish music, where she met many immigrant musicians and played in the legendary “Embryo” band, who she toured with. In her own compositions, Lena incorporates Middle-Eastern and Eastern European elements into the jazz idiom, achieving a unique sound. She is also an inventive improviser and a refreshing performer of standard jazz material.

Born in Russia into a family of concert pianists, Lena started her piano lessons at the age of 6. In high school, she taught herself guitar and became a singer-songwriter, performing at the local theater. Soon, she was singing jazz, learning to improvise and to transcribe. But her life changed forever when she heard “My Favorite Things” and “Love Supreme” by John Coltrane for the first time. Fascinated by Coltrane’s sound and concept, Lena began a lifelong love affair with the saxophone.

Initially an intuitive self-directed learner, working without books, Lena decided to immigrate to Israel and was immediately accepted as a student at the Rubin Academy of Music and Dance, studying with Boris Gammer. At the Rubin, she received a cash award to buy her first Selmer tenor saxophone. She remained in Israel for one more year, performing at the Red Sea Jazz Festival in the summer, as well playing clubs alongside her teacher.

In 1990, Lena moved to Europe and started her own group in Cologne, Germany. At that time, she began studies at the Jazz Department of Cologne Conservatory. In Cologne, Lena enjoyed playing and studying with great American and European musicians: John Taylor, John Marshall, and Keith Copeland. And, with her own quartet, she was already touring Germany, playing in jazz clubs in Hamburg, Leverkusen, Dusseldorf, Bonn, Munich, Dresden, and participating in several renowned jazz festivals, including Leverkusener Jazz Tage, and Ingolstadter Jazz Herbst. Her quintet won First Prize at the prestigious “Jazz Newcomer Competition” in Leipzig, Germany. In Cologne, Lena met the great jazz saxophonist Lee Konitz and became his passionate student.

In 1994, Lena received a full scholarship for the Jazz In July workshop at the University of Massachusetts/Amherst, where she met and studied under Yusef Lateef and Billy Taylor. At the end of the week, she won the “Outstanding Performance Award” for 1994.

In 1999 she recorded her first CD “Pyramid”, featuring John Marshall on trumpet, Boris Netsvetaev on piano, Chris Lachotta on bass, and Stefan Noelle on drums.

In the Spring of 1999. she received a full scholarship to the Banff Jazz Workshop at the Banff Centre for the Arts, Canada, working with Joe Lovano and Kenny Werner. At Banff, she played on a studio recording with vocalist Judy Silvano and Chicago-based drummer Jerry Steinhilber.

In 2001, Lena recorded her second CD with more originals, this time with a drummer and friend David Mason, pianist Boris Netsvetaev and bassist Chris Lachotta. The same year, in Munich, she met legendary percussionist Steve Reid, and an interesting collaboration began. Several festivals followed, and Lena played on Steve’s live CD “Steve Reid Live In Europe”, featuring Lena’s original “Farewell To Arms”.

One of the most exciting and unforgettable experiences at this time was Lena’s playing with Johnny Griffin and Horace Parlan, with Mal Waldron, Keith Copeland, John Marshall and Alvin Queen.

And, in 2002, Lena was invited to Russia to perform at Igor Butman’s legendary “Le Club” and at the Voronezsh Jazz Festival.

Back in Germany, Lena continued to perform with many of her talented young colleagues: Matthias Bergmann, Daniel Buttner, Francois De Ribaupierre, Markus Rieck, Fedor Ruscuc, Joe Hertenstein, Christian Ramond, Felix Astor, Guido May, Thomas Rueckert and others.

In 2003, Lena returned to Amherst, MA, where she was offered a full scholarship for the Master’s of Music degree at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She studied jazz composition with Jeff Holmes, and took lessons with the great New York-based saxophonist Adam Kolker, studying sound production and modal harmony in jazz.
. While at UMass, Lena played the first tenor chair in the Jazz Ensemble and was awarded the MENC Award for 2004 at the national conference in Minneapolis, and, in 2005, Lena was recognized with the “Downbeat Student Award for 2005”.

Now in the U.S., Lena quickly became a part of the American jazz scene. With her own trio, she performed widely throughout New England. As a soloist, Lena performed with the Vermont Jazz Center Big Band, the multimedia group “Ambassadors Of Light”, and “Safari East”. She had the wonderful experience of working with musicians such as Dave Shapiro, Vishnu Wood, Claire Arenius, Paul Arslanian, Eugene Uman, Howard Brofsky, Rod Levitt, and George Kaye.

In 2005, Lena was an honored soloist at the Kennedy Center “Women in Jazz” Festival, which also featured Allison Miller on drums.

During her UMass years, she met composer and bassist Salvatore Macchia and began her study of contemporary composition with that tremendously inspiring artist.

Lena currently lives in New York City, playing with the great Russian virtuoso pianist, Eugene Sivtsov. She also appears with many well-known New York musicians, including Bertha Hope, Sumi Tonooka, Roberta Picket, Billy Mintz, Scott Wendholt, Dan Tepfer, George Schuller, Ike Sturm, Michael Kanan, Murray Wall, Shinnosuke Takahashi, Chris Higgins, and Murray Wall.

Performances include St. Peter’s Jazz Ministry, St. Marks Church, Smalls, Puppets Jazz Bar, Miles Cafe, Tomi Jazz, and Caffe Vivaldi. Lena was a featured performer at the “Lady Got Chops” Festival for 2010 and 2011. And Lena is working in collaboration with Washington DC-based saxophonist and band leader Brad Linde (Lester Young’s Birthday Tribute, Gerry Mulligan-Bill Holman Project, and the Ted Brown Quartet).

Lena is a member of the International Women In Jazz.