Sascha’s Bloc is an eclectic mix of music and musicians. The musicians create a rich European flavor performing music that is beautiful and fresh in its approach. Many of the musicians are graduates of prestigious European conservatories and have played professionally all over the world.Sascha’s Bloc is comprised of the utmost talented musicians whose specialties encompass a broad range of genres including, gypsy jazz, contemporary jazz, flamenco, swing, blues and country. Composed of passionate musicians who bring their own individual stylistic approach to each song, Sascha’s Bloc has a style all their own incorporating distinct rhythm variations, moods, unique phrasing, and dynamics placed with exquisite precision. Each song blends together forming a sweet melodious expression, thus making Sascha’s Bloc exceptionally remarkable.
Alex Gershman (Sascha)
Bass Guitar
Alexander “Sascha” Gershman – on bass & vocal – world famous surgeon - leader and creator of Sascha’s Bloc jazz band. Composed of 8 passionate musicians who bring their own individual stylistic approach to each song, Sascha’s Bloc has a style all their own incorporating distinct rhythm variations, moods, unique phrasing, and dynamics placed with exquisite precision. Each song blends together forming a sweet melodious expression, thus making Sascha’s Bloc exceptionally remarkable.
Before he started speaking, he was singing. Alex has loved music since he was one year old. His parents always presumed he was going to be a doctor so they never wanted him to study music, although he did take piano lessons for two weeks with a crazy Jewish woman who slapped his hands when he made a mistake. Needless to say, fear discouraged him from ever taking lessons again but instead, he learned piano on his own. Fortunately, there were no residual effects from the hand slapping and Alex went on to become a highly successful and sought after surgeon. Alex has always heard music well and started playing on his own in high school in a small band. He then played throughout medical school in different jazz bands playing piano and bass, and acoustic guitars. He played in various venues in Russia with many accomplished jazz musicians and performed in jam sessions with major horn players and big bands in Moscow. Alex then moved to the US and hadn’t played for many years because he was working hard but he kept playing and learning on his own with the guitar with different sounds and genres and started playing with some of his friends jazz, French gypsy jazz, and just loved it. He also took some small courses and kept playing. And that’s how he started. He likes jazz and pop music but jazz is most interesting to him. Any music that is meaningful; ballads, or something with substance. He also loves country and blues.
Igor Krylov
Drums
Igor graduated Kharkov Institute of Culture in 1979. His specialty is a conductor of the orchestra drums.
Things you wouldn’t know are that he drinks a cup of latte with mango and cheese every morning. He likes tennis, soccer, Earth Wind & Fire, Al Jarreau, George Benson and Vlavimir Mazenkov.
Andrew Goodloe
Piano
Andrew has a wide range of skills and musical styles that mirror his background. Growing up, he moved frequently and soaked up the sights and sounds of such contrasting locales as London, rural Virginia, and suburbia. Begging for piano lessons at 3 and starting lessons at 4 on piano and violin soon after, he was composing his first award-winning compositions before he was a teenager. He majored in classical piano performance at Oberlin Conservatory.Andrew has studied with a wide range of internationally renowned musicians, including classical pianist Peter Takacs, jazz pianists Geoff Keezer, Neal Creque and Dan Wall, and well-known composers/arrangers Michael Philip Mossman and Wendell Logan.Andrew has shared the bill or performed with leading musicians in jazz, rock, Latin, and other styles; his performance credits include Paquito Guzman, Bobby Sanabria, Joe Bataan, Francisco Aguabella, The Platters, and the Tri-C JazzFest. He has opened for Maceo Parker, the Gipsy Kings, Blues Traveler, Brazilian Girls, and Ruben Studdard (American Idol).His recent focus on composing for film has led him into an entirely new realm of his musical career; he has scored music for theatrically released films as well as numerous short film projects and trailers. He recently served as an on-camera performer and musical consultant for AMC’s Emmy-nominated show Mad Men, and he is scoring a series of shorts for Jones Day, a major international law firm. In addition to teaching privately, Andrew taught at the Musician’s Institute (MI) in Hollywood and at Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C) in Cleveland. He is a member of ASCAP, The Society of Composers and Lyricists, and NARAS.
Jacob Nakhman
Saxophone
Jacob is a talented musician from Russia who came to the US in 1992. He has a classical background, graduating from the Conservatory of Belarus; formerly of USSR. He is the author of many instrumental tunes and composed one of the first Smooth Jazz albums in the Russia.Besides being a talented composer, he is a great performer as well. Jacob’s musical talent is a gift as he is a multi-instrumentalist playing sax alto, sax soprano, clarinet, and keyboard. He also has quite an extensive reportoire and there really isn’t any musical genre he can’t play with confidence.
Andrei Nyderek
Guitar
Andrei was born in Poland and finished his education at the age of twenty-one. He then moved to the UK and opened up an intaglio fine art printing studio. The studio eventually became a rehearsal studio for his rock band and led him on his way to perform with a variety of different bands all over the world. He has had the privilege to have met and played with a vast amount of talented musicians throughout the years and has learned many different styles of music.
In 1997, Andrei moved to the USA and became interested in gypsy jazz which is his specialty that he brings to Sascha’s Bloc. His musical influences are Django Reinhardt, Jimmy Rosenberg, The Rosenberg Trio, and Bireli Lagrene. Andrei hopes to meet and be inspired by many musicians and to never stop learning his craft.
Lisa Vachon
Vocalist
Lisa’s love of music started in the second grade when she started playing flute. She later moved on to playing bassoon and oboe. Her love of music extended to singing in musicals and being a theatre major, she worked the stage for many years in Chicago performing in plays and musicals. The older she gets, much like a fine wine, she has realized that there is one place Hollywood that will accept a singer of a certain age, the world of cabaret. Being a writer, Lisa writes and performs her own themed one woman cabaret shows and has found a cozy home with Sascha’s Bloc. Lisa is currently learning piano and guitar, a rather slow journey, plays some harmonica, and is writing original song lyrics for the band.
Rudy K
Solo Guitar
Rudy is a graduate of the Moscow Institute of Culture in Musical Composition and has played in many prestigious jazz festivals in the former Soviet Union and European Countries.
Rudy came to the US in 1992 and in 1993, he produced his first jazz-fusion and contemporary jazz album. Over the years, Rudy has worked with a vast amount of famous musicians including, Marco Mendoza, Renalto Neto, Joe Heredia, Gary Meek, and many more. He is well established in the industry and has performed at a variety of different jazz festivals in the US. To date, Rudy has produced four albums and is a highly sought after musician for studio and session work.
Mikhail Sprindis
Violin
Mikhail was born in Odessa Ukraine in 1986. He is from a family of classically trained musicians. His father is a very famous violin player and is currently playing in a jazz band in Odessa and his mother, who is also a violin player, performs in the National Symphony Orchestra.
This heritage could not lead to anything but a love of classical music, but Mikhail was always interested in jazz and improvisation. He first entered the Musical School of Stolyarsky and then graduated from the Odessa State A.V. Nezhdanova Musical Academy.
Mikhail has worked in the Musical Comedy Theatre and also in Bavarian House in Odessa. Mikhail is an award-winning violinist having receiving an award at the prestigious competition in Kiev, Ukraine as a violin and accordion duet. He came to Los Angeles in 2006 and is working to enhance his skills as a violin jazz musician by playing various types of jazz standards, gypsy jazz, and contemporary jazz.
