Ilya Portnov
- Having chosen the diatonic harmonica as his instrumental voice, Ilya transforms its rustic simplicity into a sophisticated, expressive sound capable of conveying the most challenging music.
- As a world citizen, Ilya is equally comfortable swinging a Brazilian choro, navigating a sinewy Balkan dance, or celebrating harmonica’s roots in the blues.
- Ilya has recorded and performed with a number of groups at venues and festivals throughout the United States, Europe, Russia and Brazil.
- Ilya’s critically acclaimed debut album “Strong Brew” has been nominated for the Blues Blast Music Award and has so far spent 7 weeks on various Roots Music Report Charts including Top 20 California Albums and Top 50 Blues Albums.