From there, jazz spread throughout the USSR at a relatively steady pace.
Jazz reached the Soviet Union at around the same time that it was becoming popular in America, the early 20s. Many sources pinpoint the start of the spread of jazz in the Soviet Union to one man: Valentin Parnakh. Surprisingly, Parnakh was not self-identified musician, but instead a poet and a choreographer. The story goes that Parnakh was inspired by hearing American jazz musicians perform in Paris, where he was visiting. He was so driven by this new form of music that he went back to the Soviet Union, bought a whole orchestra with his own money and hired young and enthusiastic musicians to perform this newfangled music. This was the first official jazz band formed in the Soviet Union, and they called themselves The RSFSR Eccentric Orchestra: Valentin Parnakh’s Jazz Band (very succinct, I know). Their first performance was in October of 1922. From there, jazz spread throughout the USSR at a relatively steady pace.