You may have originally discovered my blog back on September 11, 2018 when I first wrote about Ksenia Buzina. At the time, I spoke of the many talents Ksenia possessed, including her ability to speak seven languages, a degree in international economics and her large following of fans in Russia, China, and in recent years; the U.S. Her most obvious talent is her incredible singing ability, which, at the time, I pointed out would knock the socks off the judges on any of the American singing competition shows.
In fact, she was actually one of the performers on The Voice in Russia during Season 3 in 2014. The whole country was able to see her talent. ( here )
When I wrote my original post, I didn’t have the benefit of reviewing a single website while doing my research, but Ksenia has a website these days here.
In recent years, she has garnered quite a following in the U.S. with the nationwide tours of her musically-talented colleagues as part of Leonid & Friends. The pandemic threw a wrench in the planned 2020 tour, but fans can be sure to see the Chicago-tribute group again soon and they have added to their repertoire with some songs from other classic groups and a new, original tune that they just released. That is the inspiration for this post.
A year ago, fellow musician and songwriter Alexey Ashtaev passed away at age 49. Today (April 26, 2021) would have been Alexey’s 50th birthday. Leonid & Friends just released a song Alexey wrote and co-arranged with Leonid called “The Speck of Dust” with Ksenia doing the lead vocal honors. It is a song that takes advantage of a full orchestration, much in the spirit of the Moody Blues. Sergey Kurmaev, Serge Tiagnyriadno, Vasily Akimov and Danil Buranov add backing vocals to Ksenia’s lead.
When I wrote the 2018 post, Ksenia enjoyed reading it. I can attest from contact during the interim time period, that in addition to being such a talented singer and on-stage talent, she is a genuinely nice person. Here is The Speck of Dust. Enjoy.
Yes she is great and i really enjoy the clips with L & Friends. And I wish I was a friend too. Such great musicians.
But most of all a big fan of Ksenia for some time now.
Bassman……….I agree; all the members of Leonid & Friends are very talented and I am a Ksenia fan as well.
Big Ksenia fan here. She shines in so many ways – she cannot be put in a box as far as music style- she shines in every category!!
David………you’re so right and I think she could handle covering any genre of music and do a great job. She’s a great pianist as well as singer also.
A wonderful tune, played by superb musicians.
Gracious and humble as always; Ksenia said she really liked this post.
I made a suggestion that she do a cover of a 1965 song by Fontella Bass….Rescue me. It is somewhat obscure, but she could unleash a lot of power into what was a good song of that era. I suggested another song, but it was maybe too self serving to mention…..still, it is an interesting blues, that could have an interesting viewpoint of the power of a woman… one line is “rolling in the sunshine, our bodies wet with morning dew….tasting sweet mother nature……
I have never seen anything that compares with ksenia buzina in every way I can think of.
There is a Brilliant cover of a Brian McKnight song ” One last Cry ” featuring Ksenia Buzina on You Tube . Her pitch is amazing what a voice. Why is she not a Super star International Singer in her own right. A woman who can Speak 7 Languages but in any language she Communicates through her Singing.
Angela Saini has moved to new york from great britain……She is a writer who was named one of the top fifty thinkers in the world in a British Magazine…..You really need to meet her……and it would do her good to meet you….https://www.angelasaini.co.uk/aboutme
Ksenia is certainly a great singer who does a great job, but all of the other details in this recording – the writing and arranging, the band (including the orchestra), the mixing, etc, all contribute towards making this song sound great. One other thing which makes this song special is the fact that it is in 5:4 – very unusual for pop music. That is another reason why it sounds fresh and interesting compared to most of the other pop songs we are familiar with.
Hey Doug, I agree- they take 5/4 and make it accessible. The Tuvak throat singer starting with the mystery, Leonid’s unmistakable snarly MusicMan tone anchors the bottom, Konny’s guitar providing the ostinato at the beginning, the orchestra adding the suspense and Serge’s synth swells bringing in Ksenia’s heavenly vocals. The lyrics are uplifting, the melody harkening back to a time, maybe the late 60s, early 70s-ish pop, with the harmonies (love the sus chords in there!). The interlude shows the power of a live orchestra, like a movie soundtrack to an epic interstallar sci-fi movie (Gustav Holst’s “The Planets” comes to mind), then back into the groove, with Igor just flawlessly driving the rhythm in his inimitable, powerful, almost atomic-clock-like accuracy…the whole piece is just amazing! Kudos to Leonid for producing and releasing this absolutely stunning gem of a song!
Eric………..I don’t think it could be summarized any better
Bonjour,
J’ai découvert ce groupe dernièrement, et j’ai apprécié tout particulièrement ce titre de Alexey Ashtaev : “the speck of dust”. Une orchestration et une interprétation magistrales ….
Savez-vous si ce talentueux compositeur malheureusement décédé nous a gratifié d’autres compositions ?
merci de votre retour à ce sujet
Bien respectueusement
Vincent
Vincent,
Je ne sais vraiment pas s’il était responsable d’autres compositions. Je suis d’accord que celui-ci est un chef-d’œuvre. Leonid et ses amis ont fait un excellent travail.
Meilleures salutations,
Richard
Yes, Ksenia’s work and enthusiasm on every level is amazing, but then the whole band is a tribute to excellence.
Gary,
Could not agree more
This is one of the best collection of musicians in the world! Their covers are just as good as the originals! Ksenia is beautiful!
Have listened to this song often, not realizing this site existed. The musicianship displayed here is awesome! Very much appreciate the background of the music. I love everything L&F does. I love the orchestral pieces included. And it goes without saying I thoroughly enjoy the singing talents of Ksenia. Her strong personality seems to show through everything she does. I’ve even ventured into watching some Russian videos, all of which are very entertaining. She’s a beautiful soul!
Jim…………would have to agree with everything you said.
I have the incredible privilege of meeting and befriending Leonid & Friends during the first summer tour. Especially to get to know this amazingly gifted young woman. I have the privilege of being her friends page administrator and personal friend, more like extended family. I have to tell you she is the among most genuine, kind, sweet human beings I know. Ksenia is pure kindness and love.
I can only compare her to the greatest female vocalists of all time. Helena Asu (Sade) A beloved Brown eyed girl Karen Carpenter. Petula Clark, Edith Piaf. Think of the greatest female vocalist, multi instrumentalist, pianist, percussionists living or dead: Ksenia Buzina is that level of gifted.
James………..thank you for your insights. You certainly put Ksenia in good company. I would have to say that my experience concurs.
I discovered Leonid & Friends a year ago thanks to YouTube’s fiendish algorithms, bless them! I am an ardent fan of Steely Dan and L&F’s brilliant cover of “My Old School” just popped up. At the time I wrote the following comment:
“As a youngster I was a snobby classically trained pianist with a penchant for ‘difficult’ chamber music by Bartok, Janacek et al. I also loved sophisticated ‘out-there’ modern jazz. I looked down on “rock” as inferior until one happy day… a younger work colleague lent me the Dan’s “Can’t Buy A Thrill”. It was about the same time in the mid-seventies that “Haitian Divorce” made the radio playlists in the UK. The jazz chops, the key changes, the irony of the esoteric lyrics and the sheer professionalism of the arrangement and engineering led to me become a lifelong convert. Steely Dan became the soundtrack of my life. But this is not simply a personal tribute to the genius that is SD. No way! This is a resounding plaudit for Leonid & Friends, so tragically split apart by Putler’s insane ambitions for territorial expansion. Forget geo-politics for a split second! Listen instead to the perfection of this cover of “My Old School”. Wow…words don’t cover it! It would be a perfect compliment if I likened them to a slavic “Snarky Puppy”. Michael League jazz aficianados will know what I mean. Leonid, who like me, is an older guy is now a hero of mine and an inspiration to us all! Don’t even get me started on Ksenia Buzina. What a talented hottie! Check out “Speck of Dust” immediately, if not sooner!!!! (This is my very first comment. Richly deserved, Leonid!)”
Needless to say, I have been fascinated by and a little obsessed with Ksenia ever since. She is adorable, a peerless beauty…and WOW such a vocal talent! Her tender rendition of romantic ballads like “Amo La Vita” are perfect. However I really enjoyed her L&F version of “Ain’t Nobody”. It gave her a chance to really let go and belt out a classic.
Ian,
When I was in college, I literally wore out Can’t Buy a Thrill on vinyl. It was my favorite album. Fast forward decades: Leonid and Friends are brilliant and Ksenia has extraordinary talent.
Thanks to you tube-I am a 75 year old who finds solace in music-dicovered Leonid and friends yesterday-best Xmas present ever!