A farewell ceremony for jazzman Alexei Kozlov is taking place in Moscow.

The farewell ceremony for People's Artist of Russia, jazzman and composer Alexei Kozlov began in Moscow, reports a RIA Novosti correspondent.

Last Friday, the musician’s family told RIA Novosti that Kozlov died at the age of 90. As those close to him clarified to the agency, the cause of death was a short illness.

The farewell ceremony began at 14.00. After this, the artist will be buried at the Troekurovsky cemetery.

Friends, colleagues and fans gather in the Great Hall of the Troekurovsky Cemetery to say goodbye to the composer. They carry flowers and take places to see him off on his last journey. At the coffin are the artist’s relatives, who are grieving the loss.

In the center of the stage is a coffin strewn with red roses. Nearby is a portrait of Kozlov and a wreath from the Igor Sandler Foundation with an image of a treble clef of white roses and a funeral floral arrangement from Alexei Kozlov’s jazz club. His most famous compositions are heard in the hall.

Kozlov was born on October 13, 1935 in Moscow. He graduated from the Moscow Architectural Institute, and later from the Moscow Regional Music School. He began to learn to play the saxophone on his own in the late 1950s.

In 1973, Kozlov founded the Arsenal ensemble, which became one of the first professional jazz-rock groups in the USSR. The musician stood at the origins of Russian jazz-rock, participated in Russian and foreign jazz festivals.