"Alexander Kan’s liners do a good job of setting the stage occupied by these pre-perestroika musicians; he recounts scenes that read like LeCarre. And indeed the strongest impression of this music is its urgency. Cliched reflections about the tormented Russian anima are almost unavoidable, but the fact is that music has great immediacy for people in times of crisis; I have seen it in such unromantic settings as an RAF base on the eve of the Falklands gambit.
This urgency is what compels Vyacheslav Ganelin (piano, various instruments), Vladimir Tarasov (percussion) and Vladimir Chekasin (saxes, various) to free improvisations of sustained focus and intensity at live sets recorded in Leningrad and West Berlin. The latter appearance greatly impressed the Western critics, and the music stands up well. These men are playing for their lives, and have no time to worry about whether this or that transition might be difficult. As a result potential pitfalls vanish into thin air as they achieve a kind of mobility rare outside of Sun Ra and a freedom that must have been sweet indeed." - Duck Baker
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Vladimir Tarasov / drums, percussion, bells, talking drum
Vyacheslav Ganelin / piano, bassett, guitar, percussion
Vladimir Chekasin / as, ts, wooden flute, cl, bassett-horn, percussion, voice
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Part 1 recorded live in Leningrad, Nov 5, 1980. Part 2 recorded live in West Berlin, October 29, 1980. Tapes remastered by Alan Moseley. Special thanks to Liz Trott for smuggling out the tapes.
Available as 320k MP3 or 16bit FLAC
The late Soviet Union was not renowned for its contributions to jazz, but it did produce at least one notable group, for in the '70s and '80s the Ganelin Trio was arguably the world's greatest free jazz ensemble. Comprised of pianist Vyacheslav Ganelin, saxophonist Vladimir Chekasin, and drummer Vladimir Tarasov, the trio's mostly improvised music was as emotionally intense as anything being created in the U.S. -- or anywhere else -- at the time. The three members were extraordinarily skilled, possessed abundant chops and imagination. In style and instrumentation, the band was similar to Cecil Taylor's trio with Sunny Murray and Jimmy Lyons. It differed, however, in several ways. First, the Ganelin Trio utilized different materials; the musicians' backgrounds dictated as much. Secondly, the instrumentation wasn't exactly the same; Ganelin frequently played piano, keyboard bass, and percussion -- sometimes simultaneously -- and Chekasin was adept at playing two saxophones at once. Finally, the Ganelin Trio was truly a band of equals. Where Taylor ultimately dominated his band, Ganelin, Chekasin, and Tarasov were consummate team players, each complementing, inspiring, and cooperating with the other. Born in Moscow, Ganelin played in jazz and dance bands as a teenager. He attended the Lithuanian State Conservatory in Vilnius, graduating in 1968. The next year, he formed a duo with Tarasov and two years later, they were joined by Chekasin and the Ganelin Trio was born. The group performed at the Warsaw Jazz Jamboree in 1976; that year they also released their first album -- Con Anima -- on Melodiya, the Soviet state record label. Leo Feigin, a Russian émigré living in London, began issuing records of the band's work on his Leo Records label, helping establish their reputation worldwide. The group eventually played jazz festivals all over Europe and the U.S. before disbanding in 1987. In addition to his jazz activities, Ganelin also taught composition at the Vilnius State Conservatory and served as music director of the Vilnius Russian Drama Theatre. Ganelin now lives in Israel; he leads another Ganelin Trio, with Petras Vysniauskas on reeds and Klaus Kugel on drums.
