One of America's best pianists, Misha Piatigorsky, completes his Russian tour Friday with a concert at LeClub.

For Piatigorsky, who emigrated from the Soviet Union with his family when he was 8, it will be his first major performance in Moscow. The gig will close a 12-date Russian tour where he mostly dueted with Daniil Kramer, a famous Russian pianist. In his last concert, Piatigorsky will perform music from his first album "Uncommon Circumstance," released to critical acclaim in 2007, with a couple of local musicians.

Piatigorsky started out as a classical pianist, turning to jazz at the age of 17. He graduated from the Manhattan School of Music and became a regular performer at New York most famous jazz venues. He won the Thelonious Monk Composers Competition in 2004.

But despite playing at renowned venues such as Birdland and Iridium in New York, Piatigorsky has found the Russian tour an eye-opening experience.

"Everyone knows Daniil. So the halls are packed. It's amazing! I'm walking into the philharmonia -- a thousand people, holy [expletive], they've all come to hear me playing!" he said.

Piatgorsky started off playing traditional bebop jazz before creating his own original sound, a mix of jazz with Latin American, Eastern European, Arabian and Jewish influences. There is also some Russian in the mix.

"It just comes out unintentionally ... sometimes people hear me playing and say, 'Yeah, that was very Russian,' but when I sit down to write, I don't just think, 'Right, now I'm going to compose something Russian,'" he said.

For Piatigorsky, the music is all about energy and passion. "When you're improvising, you are actually channeling the energy, you're just a vessel.

"I find a lot of sexuality in music, especially in mine," he said. "Whenever I play, I feel everything comes from that, what you call it? Chakra. Definitely the bottom one. Therefore I find myself dancing a lot when I play, right on my seat."

Unlike many jazz players who tend to shrink into their shell, Piatigorsky tries to connect with the audience.

"I feel totally connected to everyone," he said. "That's why I love playing in clubs. There's nothing stronger for me than playing in a club, with the trio. And when I feel that people are hanging off every note and they're reacting and screaming when it's the time to scream, and they go 'woooooah' -- if i'm feeling that, that's better than sex."

The Misha Piatigorsky Trio will perform Sat., Feb. 27 at 8 p.m. at LeClub. 16 Ulansky Pereulok. Metro Chistiye Prudy. Tel. 632-9264.