Oleg maximov biography

Oleg Maximov is a professional guitarist, arranger, music transcription specialist, and audio engineer based in Groningen, the Netherlands. His work spans performance, composition, arranging, transcription, notation, and studio production, combining formal education with extensive international professional experience.

Early Life & Musical Foundation

Born in 1990 in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, Oleg grew up in a musical family. His father studied at the Rostov-on-Don State Conservatory as a button accordion player, and music was a constant presence from an early age.

At the age of 14, Oleg began playing guitar and soon entered formal musical education at the M. F. Gnessin Music School, studying under Yuriy Lubchenko. Alongside his musical development, he pursued an engineering degree at Don State Technical University, graduating with honors in 2011. After completing his academic studies, he made the decision to fully dedicate himself to music.

However, Oleg's first musical experience came not through formal training, but through playing in a punk-hardcore band called Good2Go!. Although the band existed for a short period, it quickly became an important experience. At 2008, the group recorded a debut EP and toured several major cities in southern Russia, including Stavropol and Krasnodar.

You can listen to the Good2Go! debut album here

Formal Education in Jazz & Performance

Oleg continued his studies in Moscow at the Moscow State College of Variety and Jazz Art, where he focused on jazz guitar, ensemble performance, and classical guitar. He studied with leading figures of the Russian jazz scene, including Mkrtich Sudzhian, Valery Melekhin, Nikolai Golovnya, Alexandr Sukhikh, and Andrei Garin.

During this period, he performed extensively in ensembles and competitions, receiving awards at national and international events such as Guitar Virtuosos, Gnesin Jazz, Jazz Alley, and Lanote Jazz.

Some of the performance videos from the study days can be found here

After graduating with honors in 2016, he continued his artistic development through private study and international masterclasses with musicians including Gilad Hekselman, Julian Lage, Tim Miller, Eric Alexander, Sasha Mashin, Igor Boiko, and Lev Slepner, as well as participation in major educational clinics such as the Alternate Guitar Summit.

A significant highlight of his college years was a collaboration with pianist and composer Dmitriy Anikeev. Together, they recorded a piano–guitar duo album under the name Detective Stories, consisting of original compositions that explored the interaction between guitar and grand piano. In addition to the album, the duo also produced and released a music video combining studio performance footage with a narrative inspired by criminal drama aesthetics.

After college years (2016 — 2020)

After graduating from the music college in 2016, Oleg spent the following years actively performing in Moscow across a variety of professional settings. This period included work in the vocal–guitar duo 2Smile, the trio formation SAXy Trio, as well as extensive activity as a studio session musician and music transcription specialist.

Alongside live performance work, he began building his international freelance career, focusing on high-level music transcription, notation, and remote collaboration with musicians worldwide. This period also marked the launch of his professional online presence, including the creation of this website in 2016 and profiles on major freelance platforms such as Upwork, AirGigs, SoundBetter, and Fiverr.

Corona times (2020 — 2021)

The COVID-19 pandemic marked a major turning point in Oleg Maximov’s career. With live performances in bars, restaurants, and corporate events coming to an abrupt pause due to global restrictions, he shifted his focus away from routine performance work and toward more artistic and original projects.

During this period, he formed the Oleg Maximov Quartet, a classic jazz ensemble featuring tenor saxophonist Yuri Psyanchin, bassist Alexey Zavolokin, and drummer Daniil Morozov, with the harmonic foundation built around the guitar.

In late March 2020, during the first wave of the pandemic, the group entered the studio and recorded a full live session in a near single-take format, capturing both audio and video simultaneously. The result was released on YouTube as a series titled “Oleg Maximov Quartet – Live at the Corona Times Vol. 1”, documenting the raw, immediate energy of the ensemble during an unusual and uncertain time.

The year 2021 marked Oleg Maximov’s return from Moscow to his hometown of Rostov-on-Don. There, he formed a new version of the quartet with drummer Kirill Zinoviev, bassist Fiodor Faber, and pianist Denis Markin.

The ensemble soon embarked on a tour across the European part of Russia, titled “The First Lap”, performing in cities including Rostov-on-Don, Voronezh, Moscow, and Yaroslavl. In Moscow, the group appeared in two of the city’s leading jazz venues — Esse Jazz Club and Alexey Kozlov Jazz Club — before concluding the tour with an open-air performance at the Jazz May Penza International Jazz Festival.

The final concert of this lineup took place at the newly opened Esse Jazz Club in Rostov-on-Don and was documented in the same raw, live format as previous projects, with simultaneous audio and video recording capturing the performance without post-production editing.

Groningen, The Netherlands (2021 — ongoing)

In the middle of The First Lap tour, Oleg Maximov received an official invitation from the Prins Claus Conservatorium in Groningen, the Netherlands, to join the “New York Comes to Groningen” program — a progressive educational initiative designed to connect European jazz education with leading musicians from the New York jazz scene through weekly workshops and ensemble sessions.

The program was founded by Dutch bassist Joris Teepe and focuses on direct artistic exchange between students and internationally active jazz musicians, creating a living connection between academic study and real-world performance practice.

During his studies at the conservatory, Oleg was mentored by faculty members including guitarists Frank Wingold and Winfred Buma, theory and solfège teacher Leon Mennen, and ensemble coaches such as Joris Teepe, Miguel Martínez, and Mark Haanstra, among others.

The program also featured an exceptional lineup of visiting New York–based artists, including Don Braden, Steve Nelson, Mark Gross, David Berkman, Jeff Gardner, Conrad Herwig, Adam Nussbaum, JD Walter, Jesse Davis, Boris Kozlov, Michael Mossman, and Sheryl Bailey, as well as other internationally recognized performers and educators.

This environment provided intensive exposure to contemporary jazz practice at an international level, significantly shaping Oleg’s artistic development, improvisational language, and approach to ensemble performance.

As part of the New York Comes to Groningen program, students were also given the opportunity to take part in an educational trip to New York City.

Oleg Maximov participated in this trip in February 2022, visiting the city’s historic jazz scene together with a group of fellow students. During the stay, he attended some of New York’s most iconic jazz venues, including Smalls Jazz Club, the Village Vanguard, and Jazz at Lincoln Center, as well as visiting the jazz faculty at Queens College (CUNY).

The trip was also used as an opportunity for intensive private study. Oleg took lessons from leading New York guitarists Mike Moreno, Yotam Silberstein, and Jonathan Kreisberg, further deepening his understanding of modern jazz guitar.

After four years of study at the Prins Claus Conservatorium, Oleg presented his final recital at the Conservatorium’s jazz club, a performance documented in video and available here.

 

Cruise Ship Work

Alongside his artistic development, Oleg Maximov built an international career as a performing musician onboard cruise ships.

From 2020 to 2025, he worked with Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, P&O Cruises, Cunard, Ponant, and Princess Cruises, performing in a wide range of theatrical and live entertainment environments. His roles included pit musician work in Broadway-style musicals, performing big band repertoire with shipboard orchestras, and accompanying guest entertainer shows.

He also continued leading small ensembles onboard, including the Enchantment Trio on Enchantment of the Seas, and collaborated with other onboard groups such as The Mockingbirds band on Diamond Princess and The Amplified on Enchantment of the Seas.

In 2024, Oleg expanded his role beyond performance, working as Stage Manager and Sound & Lighting Technician onboard Ponant’s Le Dumont-d’Urville, overseeing live shows, theatre productions, and musical performances across the ship.

More details about this work can be found here: /cruise-ships

Voyager of the Seas theatre team

 

Artistic Projects & Collaborations

Oleg’s work spans a wide range of international collaborations, including: