Russian-born jazz trumpeter Alex Sipiagin is an adroit trumpet technician and forward-thinking post-bop improviser who has made his mark on the international jazz scene ever since moving to the United States in the early '90s. Alexei "Sasha" Sipiagin was born on June 11, 1967, in Yaroslavl, Russia. Growing up, Sipiagin studied classical trumpet and played in a youth orchestra. At around age 15 he enrolled in a local music school, where he first encountered modern jazz. Inspired to study more jazz, Sipiagin auditioned and was accepted into the Moscow Music Institute at age 16, eventually graduating with his bachelor's degree in music. After college, Sipiagin's studies were waylaid for two years of compulsory service in the Russian Army, after which he enrolled in the Gnessin Conservatory in Moscow.