Fedor M. Shak

He was born in the city of Taganrog, Rostov Region, into a family of musicians.

He studied at music school and the Taganrog Music College. He holds two higher‑education degrees: in music pedagogy (qualification – music teacher) and in music sound engineering (qualification – music sound engineer, teacher). He completed doctoral studies at the Rostov State Rachmaninov Conservatory in the discipline Musical Art (17.00.02).

He worked at the Krasnodar State Institute of Culture as lecturer (2002–2007), associate professor (2008–2013) and head of the Department of Sound Engineering (2014–2021).

His research interests include jazz and popular music, mass musical culture, music criticism, the philosophy and sociology of music, multimedia technologies and music sound engineering.

His Candidate’s dissertation «Jazz as a Sociocultural Phenomenon: On the Example of American Music of the Second Half of the Twentieth Century» was defended in 2008 at the Rostov State Rachmaninov Conservatory. His academic supervisor was Professor P. S. Volkova, Doctor of Art History and Doctor of Philosophy.

His Doctoral dissertation «Jazz and Popular Music in the Sociocultural Processes of the Second Half of the Twentieth and Early Twenty‑First Centuries» was defended in 2018 at the Rostov State Rachmaninov Conservatory under the supervision of Professor A. M. Tsuker, Doctor of Art History.

He is the author of 89 scholarly publications, including two monographs, 26 articles in peer‑reviewed journals of the Higher Attestation Commission and one article indexed in Scopus.

He has published five teaching and methodological works.

He has taken part in 24 international and 18 all‑Russian and regional conferences.

He supervises postgraduate and Master’s students in jazz performance, popular music genres and music sound engineering.

Under the supervision of F. M. Shak the following Candidate’s dissertations have been successfully defended:

• Polishchuk, A. E. «Third Stream and Progressive Jazz in the Evolution of Jazz». Candidate of Art History, speciality 17.00.02 Musical Art (2018);
• Bazhilin, N. R. «Teaching University Students the Fundamentals of Jazz Improvisation on the Accordion in the Higher‑Education Process». Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences, speciality 5.8.2 Theory and Methodology of Teaching and Upbringing (Music, General and Professional Education) (2023);
• Xia Yu. «Post‑bop as a Phenomenon of Contemporary Jazz Art: History, Theory, Practice». Candidate of Art History, speciality 5.10.3 Arts (Musical Art) (Art History) (2023).

Participation in the organisation and programme committees of jazz‑related conferences:

• I International Research and Practical Conference «Jazz Education in Russia: History, Theory, Practice», 26 April 2024, Gnesin Russian Academy of Music;
• I All‑Russian Research and Practical Conference «Jazz Art in Contemporary Musical Culture», 28 April 2022, Gnesin Russian Academy of Music;
• All‑Russian Research Conference with International Participation «100 Years of Jazz Art in Russia», 29–31 May 2023, State Institute for Art Studies;
• International Research and Practical Conference «Popular Music and Jazz Performance in Contemporary Culture», Krasnodar, 2016;
• II All‑Russian Research and Practical Conference with International Participation «Popular Music and Jazz Performance in Contemporary Culture», Krasnodar, 2018;
• III All‑Russian Research and Practical Conference with International Participation «Popular Music and Jazz Performance in Contemporary Culture», Krasnodar, 2020.

Main publications:

Monographs:

• The Phenomenon of Jazz. Krasnodar: Krasnodar State University of Culture and Arts, 2009. 157 pp.;
• Jazz and Rock Music in the Sociocultural Processes of the Second Half of the Twentieth and Early Twenty‑First Centuries. Krasnodar: Krasnodar State Institute of Culture, 2018. 342 pp.

Teaching and methodological manuals:

• Multimedia Editing with Vegas: A Guide for Advanced Users. Krasnodar: Krasnodar State University of Culture and Arts, 2011. 196 pp.;
• Course Papers in the Training of Pop and Jazz Performers. Krasnodar: Krasnodar State University of Culture and Arts, 2014. 30 pp.;
• Styles of Piano Jazz. Multimedia electronic teaching resource. Krasnodar: Krasnodar State University of Culture and Arts, 2013.

Selected articles:

• «Methodological Works by Ye. Ovchinnikov and V. Ozerov in the Practice of Russian Jazz Education», South‑Russian Musical Almanac, 2025, no. 2 (59), pp. 95–101;
• «Neural Networks in Musical Art: From Practice to Questions of Axiology», in: Modern Art in the Discourse of Time, Proceedings of the International Research and Practical Conference (Moscow, 28 March 2025), electronic edition, Moscow: ISI, 2025, pp. 377–384;
• «Re‑issues of Soviet Pop and Jazz Recordings through the Prism of Historical Reflection and Sociocultural Practices», in: Proceedings of the 12th International Research and Practical Conference «Music in the Space of Media Culture», Tambov: Rachmaninov Tambov State Music and Pedagogical Institute, 11 April 2025;
• «W. Sargent’s Jazz Research in Historical Perspective», South‑Russian Musical Almanac, 2024, no. 3 (56), pp. 95–101;
• «Contemporary Readings of Scott Joplin’s Legacy», South‑Russian Musical Almanac, 2023, no. 2, pp. 79–84;
• «Jazz Stylistics and Postmodernism», in: Contemporary Jazz in Musical Culture, ed. Ye. S. Barban, Saint Petersburg: Kompozitor, 2013, pp. 125–133;
• «The Post‑bop Jazz Style: On the History and Evolution of the Term», South‑Russian Musical Almanac, 2022, no. 3, pp. 101–109;
• «Jazz Art in Krasnodar Krai: On the Question of Historical Genesis», in: Musical Chronicle, Proceedings of the 13th International Research Conference, Krasnodar, 14 February 2023, vol. 13, Krasnodar: Krasnodar State Institute of Culture, 2023, pp. 160–175;
• «Overcoming the Commercialisation of Jazz Labels through Digital Music‑Streaming Technologies», PHILHARMONICA International Music Journal, Moscow: NB‑media, 2018, no. 3, pp. 26–33;
• «Neoliberal Interpretations of the Theory of the Culture Industry in the Context of Music Criticism», Cultural Life of the South of Russia, Krasnodar: KGIK, 2017, no. 3, pp. 40–45;
• «Individual Features of Sound‑Engineering Style in Contemporary Jazz Sound Production (on the Example of J. Anderson’s Work)», South‑Russian Musical Almanac, 2021, no. 3, pp. 32–41;
• «Academic Performance and Show Business on the Path towards Mutual Integration», Cultural Life of the South of Russia, Krasnodar: KGIK, 2013, no. 51, pp. 23–27;
• «Jazz in the Context of Pathography: Pro et Contra», Social and Humanitarian Knowledge, Moscow, 2007, no. 12, pp. 166–169;
• «Sympho‑jazz, Third Stream and “Soft Jazz” within Socialist and Capitalist Systems», Bulletin of the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet, Saint Petersburg, 2014, no. 6 (35), pp. 108–117;
• «Soviet Jazz as a Phenomenon of Mass Culture», Vestnik Shanygwas of Adyghe State University, Maikop, 2015, pp. 170–179;
• «Scholarly Approaches to Jazz and Popular Music in the USSR: Sociocultural Aspects», in: Art Studies in the Context of Other Disciplines in Russia and Abroad: Parallels and Interactions, Proceedings of the International Conference, Moscow: Maimonides State Classical Academy, 2014, pp. 663–668;
• «On Terminological Issues in Popular Music», Bulletin of the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet, Saint Petersburg, 2015, no. 2 (37), pp. 186–190;
• «Commercialised Forms of Jazz Music: An Attempt at Sociocultural Analysis», PHILHARMONICA International Music Journal, Moscow: NB‑media, 2019, no. 1, pp. 1–23.