Leonid and Friends explained

Leonid and Friends
Alias:	Chicagovich
Origin:	Russia
Genre:	Pop rock, jazz rock
Years Active:	2014–present
Label:	IEC Leonid Vorobyev

Leonid and Friends is a Chicago tribute band based in Moscow. They began as a YouTube band, and now occasionally tour as well. Leonid Vorobyev (b. 1957 in Moscow, Russia), is the founder and leader of the band. Vorobyev is a multi-instrumentalist, a recording studio sound engineer and choir conductor by training, at the East Siberian Institute of Culture.^[1] Vorobyev made his first Chicago video recording of the song "Brand New Love Affair" in 2014.

With Ukrainian vocalist Serge Tiagniryadno, Leonid and Friends' YouTube videos have gone viral, with views in the millions.^[2] Leonid & Friends have recorded three Chicago tribute albums, titled Chicagovich.

After touring in Russia, the band first toured the United States in 2019.^[3] Starting in 2018, songs by Earth, Wind, & Fire, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Tower of Power, The Ides of March, Lighthouse and Steely Dan were added to the playlist. In 2022, their cover of Rufus and Chaka Khan's "Ain't Nobody" with Ksenia Buzina was added to the setlist.

Leonid Vorobyev's son, Roman Vorobyev (b. 1991), is the band’s manager. The band's instrumental setup features bass and lead guitars, drums, keyboards, saxophone, trumpet and trombone, with occasional flugelhorn, French horn, flute, metal clarinet, cello and violin and miscellaneous percussion.^{[4] [5] [6] [7]}

Discography

Albums

Three self-released albums (vich is Russian for son of):

• Chicagovich - 50th Anniversary of the Band Chicago^[8]
• Chicagovich II^[9]
• Chicagovich III^[10]

Singles

• "The Speck of Dust" - a Leonid and Friends original single with lead vocals by Buzina Kseniya Yurievna, released in 2021 (written by Alexey Ashtaev, lyrics by Leonid Vorobyev and Roman Vorobyev)^[11]
• "Superstar" by Ksenia Buzina and Leonid & Friends, a The Carpenters cover was released in September 2023.^[12]
• Ain't Nobody with lead vocals by Buzina Kseniya Yurievna, a Rufus and Chaka Khan cover, released in September 2022.^[13]

Tours

Leonid and Friends currently tours with about 11 musicians, from Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, and Belarus. Prior to 2019, the band performed exclusively in Russia. In 2019, the band embarked on their first tour of the United States, the Fancy Colours Tour, and later followed with two more sold-out tours in 2019. The 2020 tour was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Leonid and Friends toured the United States again in 2021, with the Feeling Stronger Every Day Tour, and once more in 2022. In late 2023, the group embarked on yet another tour of the United States.

In 2024, the band performed their first cruise gig, On The Blue Cruise: The World’s Greatest Classic Rock Music Cruise from Miami to Puerto Plata and Nassau, as part of a bill with other bands. The cruise took place on the Norwegian Pearl from April 5-10.^{[14] [15]} They also announced an extensive 2024 US tour following the cruise.

Members

Current members

^[16]

• Leonid Vorobyev – transcribes, bass guitar, keyboards, piano, synth, backing and lead vocals ^[17]
• Igor Javad-Zade – drums, percussion ^[18]
• Vasily Akimov – lead and backing vocals, percussion, occasional rhythm guitar ^[19]
• Ksenia Buzina – backing and lead vocals, percussion ^[20]
• Andrey Zyl – trumpet, flugelhorn ^[21]
• Oleg Kudryavtsev – tenor and alto saxophones, flute, percussion, backing vocals ^[22]
• Maxim Likhachev – trombone, percussion ^[23]
• Sergey Kurmaev – keyboards, backing vocals
• Konstantin Kovachev – lead guitar ^[24]
• Danil Buranov – lead and backing vocals, percussion
• Mikhail Puntov (Michael Puntov) – lead and backing vocals, rhythm guitar, percussion

Past members

• Serge Tiagnyriadno – lead and backing vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, percussion ^[25] Serge returned to Ukraine to fight in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine^[26]
• Dmitry Maximov – bass guitar
• Sergey Kashirin – lead guitar, lead and backing vocals ^[27]
• Alexey Batychenko (1972-2021) – trumpet, flugelhorn ^[28]
• Alexandr Michurin – trombone, percussion ^[29]
• Konstantin Gorshkov – tenor saxophone ^[30]
• Vladimir Popov – baritone and alto saxophones, flute, percussion, backing vocals
• Vlad Senchillo – keyboards, backing vocals ^[31]

Other contributors

• Vladimir Osinsky – piano on "Colour My World"
• Ilya Prokudin – trumpet, flugelhorn on "You Are on My Mind" and "Spinning Wheel"
• Daniil Dubrovsky – alto, soprano and tenor saxophones on "Beginnings", "Street Player", "Hanky Panky/Life Saver", "Mongonucleosis" and "After the Love Has Gone"
• Ilya Vymenits – congas on "Hot Streets" and "Street Player"
• Jorgito Nunez – congas on "Hanky Panky/Life Saver"
• Rei Frometa – congas on "Call on Me", "Happy Man", "(I've Been) Searchin' So Long", "Mongonucleosis", "The Speck of Dust" and "So Very Hard to Go"
• Olga Andreeva – trumpet on "Got to Get You into My Life"
• Roman Vorobyev – backing vocals and handclaps on "East River" and "Mongonucleosis" (also manager)
• Igor Baydikov – backing vocals and handclaps on "East River" and "Mongonucleosis"
• Yan Senchillo – backing vocals and handclaps on "East River" and "Mongonucleosis"
• Artur Gilfanov – trombone, percussion on "Mongonucleosis"
• Evgeny Kondratyev – trumpet, flugelhorn, percussion on "Mongonucleosis" and "After the Love Has Gone"
• Roman Koshkarov – keyboards on "If You Leave Me Now"
• Jacob Zakh – keyboards on "Just You 'n' Me", "You're the Inspiration" and "After the Love Has Gone"
• Mikhail Spasibo – keyboards on "Just You 'n' Me"
• Suren Kocharyan – baritone saxophone on "My Old School"
• Kirill Stekhov – alto saxophone on "My Old School"
• Dmitry Andrianov – guitar on "Ain't It Blue?"
• Valery Martynov – trumpet on "So Very Hard to Go" (also touring substitute 2022–present)
• Dmitry Gorevoy – baritone saxophone on "So Very Hard to Go"

Most members are from Moscow, though Tiagnyriadno, Kashirin, Zyl, Kurmaev and Kovachev hail from Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan respectively.

External links

• Leonid & Friends: The Story So Far
• Leonid & Friends: Behind The Music
• Facebook

Notes and References

1. Web site: Leonid & Friends - Chicagovich. Phil Traynor - Official Site.
2. BACK IN THE USSA: Leonid and Friends Arrive in America. The Fourth Way World. LLC. www.prnewswire.com.
3. Web site: OFFICIAL TOUR SCHEDULE. Leonid & Friends Tour.
4. Web site: Leonid & Friends. Discogs.
5. Web site: Leonid Vorobyev takes the music of Chicago and Earth Wind & Fire to Russian audiences. Paul. Cashmere. November 13, 2018. Noise11.com.
6. Web site: Russia's top Chicago tribute band, Leonid & Friends, back in the USA. August 7, 2019. San Diego Union-Tribune.
7. Web site: How a group of guys from Moscow became an internationally renowned Chicago tribute band. Los Angeles Daily News. January 11, 2019.
8. Web site: Leonid & Friends – Chicagovich - To 50th Anniversary Of The Band Chicago (2017, CD). www.discogs.com.
9. Web site: Leonid & Friends – Chicagovich II (2018, CD). www.discogs.com.
10. Web site: Leonid & Friends – Chicagovich III (2021, CD). www.discogs.com.
11. Web site: Song of the Day: Leonid & Friends, "The Speck Of Dust". John. Holton. May 3, 2021.
12. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhWrggrJ20I Superstar
13. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jko3HdUOLhc Ain't Nobody
14. http://leonidandf.com/tour.html Leonid and Friends Tour, leonidandf.com
15. https://onthebluecruise.com/ n The Blue Cruise, onthebluecruise.com
16. Web site: Visit the new Leonid & Friends SHOP!. Leonid & Friends.
17. Web site: - IMDb. IMDb.
18. Web site: Igor Javad-Zade. IMDb.
19. Web site: Vasily Akimov. IMDb.
20. Web site: Biography. kseniabuzina.com.
21. Web site: Andrey Zyl – Fine Arts Gallery. fine-arts-gallery.com.
22. Web site: Oleg Kudryavtsev. IMDb.
23. Web site: Maxim Likhachev – Fine Arts Gallery. fine-arts-gallery.com.
24. Web site: Konstantin Kovachev – iMediaTV.net.
25. Web site: Serge Tiagnyriadno – Singer, musician, songwriter.
26. Web site: Serge Tiagniryadno – Ukrainian Singer Of Leonid & Friends – Defends against Putin | 2911 Enterprises, Inc..
27. Web site: Sergey Kashirin Russian lead guitar of Leonid and Friends on 25 or 6 to 4. Telecaster Guitar Forum.
28. Web site: Aleksey Batychenko music @ All About Jazz. All About. Jazz. All About Jazz Musicians.
29. Web site: Alexandr Michurin. IMDb.
30. Web site: Konstantin Gorshkov. IMDb.
31. Web site: Vlad Senchillo. IMDb.