The administration of his jazz club announced Kozlov's death on its Telegram channel, Ekho reported. A representative of the musician confirmed to RBC that he had died, TV Rain reported. The cause of death was not given.
Kozlov was born on October 13, 1935, in Moscow. In 1973 he founded the ensemble Arsenal, which became one of the most famous groups in the USSR.
The group released several records and compact discs. One of Arsenal's albums, "Svoimi Rukami" (With Our Own Hands), was reissued in the United States.
Over the years the ensemble performed in France, Germany and the United States. On a joint tour with Georgian singer Tamara Gverdtsiteli, Arsenal played at New York's Carnegie Hall.
Beyond performing, Kozlov did educational work: he hosted themed programs about jazz on Russian television and wrote a book on the history of rock music.
His work is cited in jazz encyclopedias and dictionaries. He was written about by Vasily Aksyonov in the novel "The Burn," by American journalist Hedrick Smith in the book "The Russians," and by historian Frederick Starr in his study Red and Hot on the history of jazz in the USSR.