MILCHO LEVIEV
Genres: Post Bop, Jazz Related Soundtracks, Big Band, World Fusion, Vocal Jazz, Third Stream, Post-Fusion Contemporary • Bulgaria

Milcho Leviev [ˈmiɫtʃo lɛˈviɛf] (Bulgarian: Милчо Левиев) (December 19, 1937 – October 12, 2019) was a Bulgarian composer, arranger, and jazz pianist. Leviev was born in Plovdiv, and graduated from the Bulgarian State Academy of Music in 1960 majoring in composition under Pancho Vladigerov and in piano under Andrei Stoyanov. His professional development as a composer began at the Drama Theatre in Plovdiv. He was appointed conductor of the big band of Bulgarian National Radio after Emil Georgiev left office (1962–66). His ideas were innovative in the orchestra; pieces like Studia, Blues in 9 or Anti-waltz combined folklore and jazz. From 1963 to 1968 he worked as soloist and conductor of the Sofia and Plovdiv Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1965, embracing the idea of the writer Radoy Ralin, he founded Jazz Focus '65 with which he toured until 1970, achieving success for Bulgarian jazz and winning prizes at jazz festivals in Montreux, read more...