Я англо-русский переводчик и журналист. С двенадцати лет собираю пластинки. В качестве музыкального обозревателя пописывал для нескольких газет и журналов. Кроме этого был период в несколько лет, когда я работал ди-джеем и директором программ двух радиостанций.

В 1990 году мне удалось организовать свою газетку. Жил я в то время в Харькове, и это была первая на Украине газета, посвященная року, джазу и прочим направлениям неакадемической музыки. Газетка называлась "Джем". Вот так выглядел один из первых номеров:

Страшненький видок, да? Но ведь это было 20 лет назад...

А ниже примерно то же самое, только по-англицки (написал в свое время для одного англоязычного сайта - не пропадать же описалову, вдруг какой мериканец сюда заглянет):

First I would like to tell you a couple of words about myself and the background of my project called JAM Music Journal.

I am a freelance Translator, Interpreter and Journalist. As a music columnist I worked for several newspapers and magazines. I also spent several years working as a DJ and Programme Director at two radio stations. In 1990 I managed to establish a newspaper of my own. I lived in Ukraine at that time and my newspaper was the first periodical dedicated to non-academical music in that country. I christened my newspaper JAM ["Джем" in Russian]. Below you can see one of the JAM first issues:

In the end of 1991 I left Ukraine for another country and stopped publishing of JAM.

So this is the history. Now I would like to restore my periodical in a form of a virtual music journal. You can see it here.

Most of the albums you will find in JAM are quite rare. Under 'rare' I mean those albums that are not available in every music shop around the world from the USA to China. For example the Music album by Madonna isn't for JAM Music Journal (sorry, Madonna fans) while music played by Tadeusz Nalepa is what this journal made for as in most countries this great Polish bluesman is not known and his recordings are not so easy to be found even in Poland.

I hope the MP3 albums you can find in JAM Music Journal will help you to learn about music from various corners of the world. If you like what you hear, you can later buy that music in first-rate sound quality on CDs or vinyl at real-life or virtual record shops.

I would like to encourage you to leave your comments about the music posted there. If you've got any questions don't hesitate to ask them and I will try to answer to the best of my knowledge.

Musically yours,
JaMMeR