The members of Oxy Rocks call Mikhail Mikhailovich Zolotaryov “the sorcerer.” He is a mysterious figure, a man of few words. He was born in 1954 and he plays the drums. He prefers to perform in black. Most of all he loves jazz and for him a real musician is a jazz musician. He does allow, however, that you can play other kinds of music and he often does. At one time he played Russian-American country with Larisa Grigoryeva and her band “Kukuruza” (Corn). For several years now he has been playing blues, rhythm and blues and rock with the Moscow group, the Edison Blues Band. He worked for a time as a session drummer in Vladimir Osinsky?s studio and he was the drummer in the musical group of Margarita Terekhova?s theater. In 2004 he recorded Christopher Brubeck?s jazz composition “Mississippi Sunrise“ with the Russian National Wind Quintet for the television program “What Are We Playing?” When Oxy Rocks began working on the song „Blues Rock Mood” and was having trouble finding the handle, Misha was the one who solved the problem. He came up with an unexpected and complex back beat that gave birth to this central song on Oxy Rocks? first album.

©  Vladimir Gerasimenko