Nick Dmitriev (posted 3/18/12)
Nick Dmitriev, (1955-2004) was an angel. In the midst of the hardest situations (Soviet Russia moving to post perestroika mayhem) he produced concerts of creative music all over his homeland and brought countless musicians o tour there. He started the music club DOM and the record label Long Arms. When Nick suddenly died of a stroke in April 2004 it was a tragedy for the arts in Russia. On the 5th anniversary of his death (an auspicious day in traditional Russian reckoning) I was invited to play at DOM in duo with the great bassist Vladimir Volkov. The concert was magic, Nick's spirtit was with us. The music has now been released by DOM.
My core beliefs are agnostic - I think that civilization advances the more that mankind learns to live and struggle with 'big' questions and not to expect absolute answers to the fundamental quandries of existence. I believe spirituality is something fundamentally IN the world, whether or not it is given by some higher power outside us really makes little difference. For me these 2 things are confirmed by the life of such a special spirit as Nikolai Dmitriev. On the one hand, he was a kind of angel, someone utterly devoted to art and music, to bringing new sounds and ideas to his beloved homeland, without a trace of self-aggrandisement or egotism. On the other hand, the untimely death of someone so crucial and benevolent can make one rage at God - how could Kolya, of all people, have been taken from us at such an inopportune moment? There is just no way to make sense of such a thing. However, the example of his life shows us that despair is not an option. Nick had to weather great trials in his life and it was so amazing at how he could pop up with a smile after the most frustrating setbacks. He lived his life as a model to us all, achieving great productivity with love,joy and grace. Let us endevour to do the same. It was a great honor for me to come to Moscow on the 5th anniversary of Nick's passing and celebrate with Vladimir Volkov, DOM and the Moscow music community our love for this remarkable human being.
