November 24, 2012: A memorial plaque was inaugurated in honor of three members of Parnokh family on their birth house at Alexandrovskaya Street, 62. The family was very talented: Valentin Parnakh, Russian poet, translator, historian, explorer, musician, choreographer, ballet master, one of the most influential personalities of the ''Silver Age'' and one of the leader of the European and Russian art avant-garde of 1920s, the founder of Soviet Russian Jazz; Sophia Parnok, Russian poetess and translator; Yelizaveta Tarakhovskaya, poetess, playwright, translator and author of children's books.

Valentin Parnakh was elected President of the Paris Chamber of Poets, among his friends were Guillaume Apollinaire, Jean Cocteau and Pablo Picasso, his books Samum and Slovodvig (Mot Dynamo) were illustrated by Mikhail Larionov and Natalia Goncharova. In 1922, Parnakh founded the First Eccentric Orchestra of the Russian Federated Socialist Republic - Valentin Parnakh's Jazz Band, which held its debut concert in the Russian Academy of Theatre Arts GITIS on October 1, 1922, in Moscow. The date is considered to be the foundation day of the Soviet Jazz music. Parnakh's jazz band of New Orleans style greatly influenced the artists of Russian avant-garde of those days.



The memorial plaque was inaugurated within the framework of the The 9th International festival "Rostov Jazz Welcomes" under motto "Countdown to the Century".

Today in Taganrog jazz music lessons are given at Tchaikovsky Children's Music School and at Taganrog Music College. The Taganrog Music College's orchestra was honored to open by its performance the jazz festival in Taganrog.