" data-original-title="" title="">Erkin Kydykbaev on bass, his father Bakyt Kydykbaev on drums, and his brother Kuban Kydykbaev on alto saxophone, recorded their first album Ata Bala ("Father and Children") at John Lee's studio in South Orange, New Jersey. They call the trio "Salt Peanuts"—Erkin Kydykbaev explains the trio's name: "It was at our first concert in 2002. We played Dizzy Gillespie's composition and in the composition are the words 'Salt Peanuts, Salt Peanuts.' The audience was all 'Wow, Salt Peanuts,' it was something interesting for them, something new. They began to call us and they began, 'Salt Peanuts, how are you?' They all remember that name, because they all like this composition."

The 35-year-old bassist has a good command of English, and a willingness to tell his story. His mother is also a musician, a violinist in a concert orchestra performing Western classical music. He was long the family exception: "When I was a teenager, I really didn't want to be a musician." He found their constant talking about music irritating. "I liked to play football outside, but one day, my father brought a double bass home." It sat unplayed in a corner until, curious, he began plucking the strings. "My father, and mother listened. They showed me how it's usually played."

That was his turning point.

Once he started playing, there was no question of what would be his focus. "Jazz is close to me because there is freedom in jazz. I can play what I want, I can express myself this way. I feel this is mine. For example, if someone's doing classical music, they need to remember all notes written by somebody else. But it's not my character. I want to play what I want to play. Because every time you play it depends on your mood; what you feel, you can express. That's why I like jazz. I started playing at 16, I didn't have a musical education, but in two years, I entered the conservatory in my city." No doubt this was his father's influence. Like so many Soviet citizens first curious about, but then attracted to the American art form, the senior Kydykbaev had tuned his radio to the Voice of America's jazz programing, (when he could get around the government's blocking efforts), and slowly built a collection of outlawed vinyl recordings. Some were real records smuggled into the Soviet Union, but in that era, the easiest way to build a music library was to buy homemade "jazz ribs." These were medical x-rays picked out of hospital trash, cut and shaped to size with grooves cut for 78rpm play. Prices were cheap but the quality was awful, and usually little or no information came with them.

At first, the young bassist studied music videos on his own. "The first video I saw was the trio of