Boris Midney, born on October 22, 1937 in Moscow, was a Soviet-born American musician, producer, composer and conductor. He studied classical composition and clarinet, also teaching himself to play saxophone. In 1964, he defected from the USSR via the US embassy in Japan, citing censorship of art as his main reason for leaving. Upon arriving in New York City, Boris Midney formed The Russian Jazz Quartet, with whom he recorded Happiness (Impulse Records) in 1964. In the 1970s and 1980s, he began writing and composing disco music, often using pseudonyms such as USA-European Connection, Masquerade, Double Discovery, Caress, Companion and Festival. Notable productions include Make That Feeling Come Again! (Marlin) in 1978 under the name Beautiful Bend, and disco adaptations of the Broadway musical Evita (RSO) in 1979 and the score for The Empire Strikes Back. Boris Midney is recognized as one of the first producers to take full advantage of 48-track recording and a creator of the Eurodisco genre. In 1999, he released Trancetter, a progressive trance album, and OZ/Hot Records reissued his entire catalog on CD.