Isaak Iosifovich [Isaak] Dunayevsky (30/01/1900 - 25/07/1955), a Russian composer, born Lokhvitsa, Poltava. He entered the Kharkov Musical School in 1910 where he studied violin under Joseph Akhron. During this period he started to study theory of music under Simon Bogatyrev. He graduated in 1919 from the Kharkov Conservatory.
Dunayevsky was one of the first composers in the Soviet Union to start using jazz. However he is not an innovator in music. He is mainly concerned with making his music comprehensible and accessible to the masses. The source of his success lies in the lyrical melodiousness of songs on familiar themes.