Yuri Saulsky, Yuri cast iron. A Brief History of Soviet Jazz. Inhuman music. Dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the October Revolution

The sonorous name "Persimfans" stands for "First symphony ensemble". The difference between the ensemble and the orchestra is that, contrary to the rules, it fundamentally plays without a conductor. Such an ensemble was created in Moscow in 1922 by young musicians who dreamed of transferring communist ideals to such a bourgeois cause as symphonic music. The most surprising thing is that they he succeeded: according to his contemporaries, Persimfance performed the most complex works of the classical repertoire with marvelous coherence and power. big team challenging tasks without sensitive individual leadership became somewhat untimely - and Persimfans was dissolved.

To be revived in 2009, through the efforts of the same young avant-garde archaists with conservative training, primarily pianist Petr Aidu and double bass player Grigory Krotenko. However, the context in the 21st century is already different. Not so much political as musical. After all, "post-bop" jazz bands, and especially prog-rock bands such as King Crimson, taught us that "fancy" music can be played without notes on music stands and a conductor at the podium - but with a fair dose of theatricality. This is exactly what was revealed at the concert of the new Persimfans on April 9, 2017 in such a citadel of academicism as the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory. However, the program was avant-garde in moderation. It featured Sergei Lyapunov's Oriental symphonic poem "Hashish" (1913) based on the poem of the same name by Arseny Golenishchev-Kutuzov, Sergei Prokofiev's 1st Concerto for Violin and Orchestra (1917), the symphonic suite "On the Dnieper Building" by Julius Meitus (1932) and a cantata Daniil Kharms (!) "Salvation" (1934).

Persimfans started with Dneprostroy. The author of the suite is known as an orthodox socialist realist, the author of the now forgotten operas "The Ulyanov Brothers", "Richard Sorge", "Yaroslav the Wise". But in the 1920s, it was he who created the first jazz band in Ukraine and was the only "serious" composer interested in such an avant-garde contraption as "proletarian noise orchestras" - far ahead of the "noise" and "industrial" of the electronic era! In the suite of 1932, which sounds rare, these interests of his found direct expression. And yes, it did sound like prog rock at times. Only not on guitars and synthesizers, but on the instruments of a large symphony orchestra, from harp to drums. This strange effect manifested itself even more in "unscheduled" work by Meitus, not previously announced in the program - a small oratorio for a reader with an orchestra "Death of Ilyich".

But having put Prokofiev's violin concerto in the program, Persisfans, of course, strongly "substituted". This concert was recorded by the best violinists with the best conductors. But the violinist Asya Sorshneva, who, despite her youth, is the artistic director of the Lege Artis festival in the Austrian city of Lech am Alberg, and Persimfans have completely withstood the "competition". Their interpretation of one of the masterpieces of modernism was sometimes unexpected, but always convincing.

The same can be said about an example of pre-revolutionary orientalism - Lyapunov's "Oriental symphonic poem", written on the plot of a small poem of the same name A.A. Golenishchev-Kutuzov, poet and officer. Before the beginning of the music, it was performed in abbreviated form by the actor Andrey Yemelyanov-Tsitsernaki, who took on the role of both the reciter and entertainer. The poem describes the intoxicating dreams of a poor smoker, in which he either ascends to heaven, or falls into hell. Now, of course, this spicy work is perceived not so much as "oriental", but as "psychedelic" - taking listeners not to Central Asia of the 19th century, but to California in the 1960s ...

The last piece of the concerto is almost an encore. Harms, of course, did not leave a cantata with notes; he marked out a table with texts for four soloists and many "technical" instructions, on the basis of which the modern composer Andrei Semenov "harmonized" the text. Persimfans performed this opus, which is about two girls drowning in the sea and two brave rescuers (“the water is flowing, klu-lu-lu-lu-lu, and I love-love-love!”), as choral work divided into 4 groups.

And then, when the musicians put down their instruments and stood facing the audience, showing young faces and bright red, not at all academic attire, it became completely clear: although the concert in the BZK is considered the “exit act” of the Lege Artis festival, in reality it is a jump in the legendary era of the 1920s. To paraphrase the poet of that time: the avant-garde is the youth of the world and it must be performed by the young!

Press release provided by the organizers of the concert

The United Symphony Ensemble of two sister cities - Moscow and Düsseldorf - will perform at the P. I. Tchaikovsky Concert Hall on December 14, summing up the musical result of 2017 - the year of the centenary October revolution.

Persimfans (First Symphony Ensemble) - an orchestra without a conductor - was organized in Moscow in 1922 and became one of the most remarkable phenomena cultural life in Soviet Russia. The ensemble gave more than seventy concerts during the season; without performing a single time outside of Moscow, Persimfans gained worldwide fame as one of the best symphony ensembles of that time. In his likeness, orchestras without a conductor were organized not only in the USSR, but also abroad - in the USA and Germany.

In 2008, Persimfans was revived on the initiative of Petr Aidu after several decades of forced hiatus. Under the auspices of Persimfans, cultural studies are carried out, exhibitions are organized and theatrical performances. Persimfans today is a universal combination of arts.

Demonstration recent achievements Persimfans became a joint project with the Düsseldorf Tonhalle: on October 7 and 8, Moscow musicians teamed up with the artists of Düsseldorfer Symphoniker. electronic editions, several TV and radio channels comprehensively covered this event.

The organizer of the only concert in Moscow is the Apriori Arts agency represented by independent producer Elena Kharakidzyan in partnership with the Helikon Artists agency and the Tonhalle Düsseldorf management with the support of the Goethe Institute in Moscow, the German Foreign Ministry and the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Jazz vinyl cover

The history of Soviet jazz begins in the early 1920s, more precisely since 1922, when the first Soviet jazz ensemble, or, as it was then called, "jazz band", was organized in Moscow. The first performance of the ensemble took place in October 1922 in Great Hall State Institute theatrical art and it went very well. Shortly before this, the poet Valentin Parnakh published several articles on jazz and, in fact, was the first to bring it to public attention.

Much has been done to popularize jazz in these years. Leonid Varpakhovsky(in Moscow) and Julius Meitus(in Kharkov), who organized jazz ensembles. Jazz in our country in those years took its first steps. And therefore it is not surprising that the repertoire of these ensembles was random character and focused mainly on the music heard from the American ensembles touring in the USSR in 1926 under the direction of Frank Withers (with Bechet and Smith), and the Negro operetta "Chocolate Boys" under the direction of Sam Wooding. The Sam Wooding Ensemble was one of the most popular Harlem ensembles in those years, often touring Europe; the performance aroused great interest among Soviet listeners. A heated controversy about jazz began, which continued for a long time.

Orchestra conducted by Leopold Teplitsky. Poster

Creation in 1927 of an orchestra under the direction of Alexandra Tsfasman ("AMA Jazz") in Moscow and almost simultaneously with the orchestra conducted by Leopold Teplitsky in Leningrad, marked the beginning of professional jazz in the USSR. The repertoire of these orchestras consisted mainly of works by foreign authors, jazz transcriptions of works by classical composers, blues and spirituals. Teplitsky, sent by the People's Commissariat for Education to New York and Philadelphia to study music for silent films, returned to Leningrad greatly impressed by Paul Whiteman's orchestra. The style of P. Whiteman's orchestra, outwardly brilliant and polished, although not genuine jazz, nevertheless played a significant role in its development. The style of this orchestra went down in history under the name "symphojazz".

In 1929, another jazz orchestra was created in Leningrad under the direction of George Landsberg and Boris Krupyshev ("Leningrad jazz chapel"), which includes in the program of concert performances, in addition to foreign pieces, works by young Soviet authors who worked in the field of jazz - Alexei Zhivotov, Genrikh Terpilovsky, Nikolay Minkh and others. Their style was distinguished by the seriousness of aesthetic aspirations and some academicism. "Jazz Chapel" lasted until 1935 and made a significant contribution to the development of Soviet jazz.

In March 1929, the premiere took place "TEA Jazz" organized by the actor of the Leningrad Theater of Satire Leonid Utyosov and trumpeter Yakov Skomorovsky. "TEA Jazz", i.e. theatrical jazz, built his performances according to a certain scenario, including pop numbers, songs, dances, sketches, etc. in the program. It was for this group that he began to write music Isaac Dunayevsky. Although the orchestra's repertoire was based on the song, jazz instrumental works were often included in its programs. New orchestras have appeared - Ya. Skomorovsky, G. Landsberg, A. Tsfasman, as well as A. Varlamova, (created in 1933 and performed for some time with the Negro singer Celestina Kool) - performed mainly instrumental music close to jazz. The main place in the repertoire of A. Varlamov's orchestra was occupied by his own arrangements, made with great skill. The orchestra began to record on records. At that time, A. Varlamov's orchestra was the jazz orchestra that came closest to understanding the true jazz style.

During these years, the repertoire of jazz orchestras gradually expanded with works by Soviet composers. Orchestras will memorize jazz suites D. Shostakovich, A. Zhivotov, jazz rhapsodies by I. Dunayevsky, plays by G. Terpilovsky, G. Landsberg, N. Minkh, Y. Khait, A. Varlamov, L. Schwartz, A. Tsfasman, L. Diderikhs, Dm. and Dan. Pokrassov and others. In 1938, in The State Jazz Orchestra is being created in Moscow(artistic director M. Blanter, chief conductor V. Knushevitsky). At the same time, the orchestra of the All-Union Radio Committee was organized, which at first was led by A. Varlamov, and then A. Tsfasman. Soviet jazz music began to play regularly on the radio. In 1940, a similar team was created N. Minhom on the Leningrad radio. In the same period, jazz groups appeared in the Union republics. Recordings of some orchestras of this period have been preserved, by which we can judge the artistic and performing level of the leading Soviet jazz orchestras (led by L. Utesov, A. Varlamov, J. Skomorovsky, A. Tsfasman, V. Knushevitsky and etc.). This level is quite high, and now we can appreciate the ingenuity and freshness of thinking of the composers and arrangers, the virtuosity of the soloists.

In the late 1930s, jazz orchestras also appeared in the Union republics: G State Jazz Orchestra of Azerbaijan (conductor T. Kuliyev), State Jazz Orchestra of Armenia (conductor A. Ayvazyan), State Jazz Orchestra of Georgia (conductor R. Gabichvadze).

Leningrad Jazz Chapel. Poster

Among instrumental themes this section a number of the most popular and widely performed melodies of the 1930s by jazz bands are presented. Unfortunately, much of what was created in the 1920s could not be found due to the lack of musical material. Recordings of Soviet jazz music on records began to be made in the late 1920s, so one can only get an idea of ​​the jazz music of that time from eyewitness accounts.

The earliest examples of the themes included in this section are from the repertoire Leningrad Jazz Chapel(penned by G. Landsberg). This is "Wind from the Neva" N. Minha(1929), written in the tradition of early swing with Dixieland influences and "Jazz Fever" G. Terpilovsky(1929) - a piece whose character and sequence of sections of the form are influenced by the "ragtime" style.

The traditions of Soviet jazz of the 30s are largely reflected in the music A. Tsfasman and A. Varlamova. It is important to emphasize that the then young authors, along with an accurate sense of the style of the genre and following the most valuable that had been accumulated in jazz music in general by that time, clearly showed those individual traits that contributed to the formation and development of early Soviet jazz. Their instrumental pieces seem to be typical examples of Soviet jazz music of the 1920s and 1930s, although, of course, they are not limited to them.

Claviers and songbooks were the source of song material for this section. If we recall the history of jazz in the 30s, then not only in our country, but also in other countries, the thematic material for jazz compositions was mainly vocal music. It is enough to remember the topics George Gershwin, Jerome Kern and Kurt Weill- they were both songs and the basis for many instrumental jazz arrangements and improvisations. In our country, even the term "song jazz" appeared, with which TEA-jazz by L. Utyosov with music by I. Dunayevsky. Dunayevsky's popular songs were soon picked up by Soviet jazz orchestras - many instrumental paraphrases, fantasies, arrangements appeared; in jazz ensembles, musicians improvised on these themes. It is to the number of such themes that the melodies included in this collection. Song melodies equally well-known in instrumental jazz music are themes L. Knpper, M. Blanter, Y. Hayt, V. Pushkov and songs specially written for jazz A. Tsfasman and A. Varlamov.

Performance of the State Jazz of the RSFSR conducted by Leonid Utyosov on Sverdlov Square in Moscow on May 9, 1945

During the Great Patriotic War Soviet musical art actively contributed to the mobilization of the spiritual forces of the people for the victory over fascism. Soviet jazz and pop music, as part of Soviet musical culture, also throughout the war years, with its major, life-affirming art, instilled optimism, strengthened morale at the front and in the rear, and contributed to unshakable confidence in defeating the enemy.

From the very first days of the war, musicians are included in front-line life. Jazz orchestras prepare their new programs in the shortest possible time and go to the front. Variety and jazz orchestras of Alexander Varlamov, Alexander Tsfasman, Viktor Knushevitsky, Boris Karamyshev, Claudia Shulzhenko, Dmitry Pokrass, Leonid Utesov, Isaak Dunayevsky, Boris Rensky, Yuri Lavrentiev, Yakov Skomorovsky, Nikolai Minkh and many others. And how many amateur ensembles and orchestras were organized in military units! During the Great Patriotic War, Soviet jazz gravitated more toward song genres. During this period, many beautiful songs were created. Born during the war years, they still live. The high spiritual mood of these songs provided them with long life and after the victorious end of the war. Songs like « Dark night» N. Bogoslovsky, "Evening on the Road" V. Solovyov-Sedogo live today not only as works of the song genre, but also as instrumental jazz compositions.

During the war, orchestral works for jazz were created A. Tsfasman, A. Varlamov, A. Ostrovsky and others. Another interesting fact is the appearance during this period of some American jazz compositions in the repertoire of Soviet jazz orchestras. So, in the records of 44 - 45 years. some plays are played D. McHugh, C. Porter, I. Berlin, G. Miller and others. This, of course, had a positive effect on the work of Soviet composers and arrangers working in this genre, especially in the field of instrumentation. It should be noted that during the war years, the “Russian theme” sounded noticeably in American jazz as well. Glenn Miller Orchestra, for example, often performed in concerts "Polyushko-field" and "Dubinushka" in tactfully done handling; Benny Goodman Orchestra- processing fragments of a symphonic fairy tale "Peter and the Wolf" S. Prokofieva, "Intermezzo for Clarinet with Jazz Orchestra" A. Tsfasman and whole line other works of Soviet authors.

Soviet composer Alexander Naumovich Tsfasman (1906-1971)

AT post-war period gradually began to determine the further development of jazz in the USSR. The attraction of orchestras to various genres has become more noticeable. Front-line musicians became the leaders in the variety orchestra of the All-Union Radio. He was led V. Knushevitsky, Then there were many recordings of light music written by D. Shostakovich, V. Solovyov-Sedym, M. Blanter, A. Tsfasman, Y. Milyutin, A. Polonsky, A. Arsky, V. Knushevitsky, A. Ayvazyan and etc.

In 1946 Alexander Tsfasman organized a large variety orchestra ( "Symphojazz") at the Hermitage Theatre. Many talented young musicians - graduates of the conservatory - came to this orchestra. Subsequently, they could be seen among the best Soviet instrumentalists.

But jazz, as an improvisational art, naturally needed a creative "climate" of small ensembles - "combos". Therefore, jazz musicians who worked in large variety and symphony orchestras of radio and theaters, in addition to their main work, united with other musicians to play music together. In Moscow, one of these places was a restaurant "Metropol", where an amazingly harmonious jazz ensemble performed (Alexander Rivchun - clarinet, alto and tenor saxophones, Yan Frenkel - violin, Leonid Kaufman and Viktor Andreev - piano, Alexander Rosenwasser - double bass and Sergey Sedykh - drums). The jazz orchestra led by A. Shulman, composed mainly of musicians from the Radio Committee, played in those years important role in the development of Soviet jazz.

Cinema was another center of jazz music. "Art". The orchestra conducted by Laci Olah, a magnificent virtuoso drummer, performed here. Along with the works of Soviet authors, the music from the film was a success. "Sun Valley Serenade". At that time, many of our orchestras performed it, and any arranger could find a version of the orchestration of melodies from this film (among them N. Minh, A. Tsfasman, E. Geigner and etc.).

There were orchestras and ensembles that performed the jazz repertoire in other cities: in Leningrad, Riga, Tallinn. In 1947, several records were released with recordings of small ensembles. Big success had plays "Happy day" A. Tsfasman and "Baby" I. Klyuchinsky. Until now, "Blossoming May" by A. Polonsky is still popular.

In 1949, the first in our country was held in Tallinn. jazz festival. In Leningrad in the 1950s, an orchestra began its activity, bringing together young jazz musicians, among them G. Golstein, K. Nosov and others. helped the process of differentiation in this genre.

Acquaintance with music in the "be-bop" style influenced the style of a number of ensembles, the nature of improvisations. It was a transitional period from swing thinking to a new style, although swing music ("swing" means as a style) continued to live. Tribute and more traditional styles: mid 50s Vladimir Rubashevsky organized Dixieland in Moscow, which performed jazz classics and works by Soviet composers.

Large orchestras in those years mainly accompanied singers, although their repertoire included virtuosic and lyrical instrumental pieces, some of them of a jazz nature. During this period, the names of young composers, arrangers and conductors were first heard: V. Ludvikovsky, K. Orbelyan, P. Saul, A. Kalvarsky. Among the musicians, members of small jazz groups of the late 40s, early 50s, it is necessary to name saxophonists: Alexander Rivchun, Emil Geigner, Mikhail Yakon, Piro Rustambekov, Vladimir Kudryavtsev, pianists Leonid Kaufman, Evgeny Rokhlin, Alexander Osnovikov, accordionists Evgenia Vystavkin and Vyacheslav Semenov, drummer Boris Matveev.

A major role in the consolidation of creative forces around the genre in the 50s was played by dance music programs, which were created on the All-Union Radio. It was for these programs that they wrote their essays A. Eshpay, A. Babadzhanyan, Y. Frenkel, A. Ostrovsky. A number of themes from these programs have firmly entered the practice of dance and jazz ensembles.

Orchestra conducted by Oleg Lundstrem

In the early 1950s, a p/u jazz orchestra toured Moscow O. Lundstrem. Based at that time in Kazan, the orchestra showed very interesting and promising experiences in composing and performing jazz pieces using folklore ( "Dreams" A. Monasypova, "Tatar samba" A. Klyuchareva). In the late 1950s, the orchestra settled in Moscow and became one of the leading jazz groups in the country, in which different time many talented jazz masters-performers worked.

Since the second half of the 1950s, the role of large orchestras in the republics of Transcaucasia - State Variety Orchestra of Azerbaijan conducted by R. Hajiyev, State Variety Orchestra of Georgia "Rero" conducted by K. Pevzner, State Orchestra of Armenia conducted by K. Orbelyan. In the programs of these groups, along with the song, jazz compositions constantly sounded. Among the instrumental topics of this section are works A. Tsfasman, A. Polonsky, O. Lundstrem, A. Eshpay, V. Ludvikovsky, U. Nayssoo, A. Monasypov.

Just as in the 1930s, during this period there were many songs that were not created specifically for jazz, but were performed a lot in jazz ensembles; there were many inventive treatments of these song themes. During this period, the songs of such famous masters as I. Dunayevsky and M. Blanter; the repertoire of jazz bands included songs melodies of the war years - V. Solovyov-Sedogo, N. Bogoslovsky, B. Mokrousov. Post-war song melodies, lyrical and humorous, were also often used for arrangements in large convoys and for improvisations in "combos". Here it is enough to remember song themes T. Khrennikov, A. Babajanyan, A. Eshpay, V. Muradeli and others. Some of the songs sounded especially good in Dixieland (N. Budashkin and Yu. Milyutin).

Soviet saxophonist and composer Georgy Aramovich Garanyan (1934-2010)

In the late 50s - early 60s. Soviet jazz reached new frontiers.

What is typical for the formation of a new period of Soviet jazz in these years? Attitude to jazz as a serious form of musical art, a deep study of the foundations of jazz music, close attention to more modern trends in jazz, a growing interest in the folklore of the peoples of our country, mastering the professional skill of playing instruments, comprehending the art of ensemble playing in a large orchestra. And, finally, the most important - young musicians have come to penetrate the secrets of the most complex art of improvisation.

At the end of the 50s, a group of then very young musicians appeared in Moscow, which was called the Golden Eight. It included saxophonists Georgy Garanyan and Alexey Zubov, trumpeter Viktor Zelchenko, trombonist Konstantin Bakholdin, pianist Yuri Rychkov, drummer Alexander Salganik. This group became the basis of the youth orchestra of the Central House of Arts (at first it was led by Boris Figotin, then - Yuri Saulsky), which received at the jazz competition of the VI World Festival of Youth and Students in Moscow silver medal and the title of laureate. Communication with foreign colleagues was a very important milestone in the development of Soviet jazz. Members of the Central House of Arts Orchestra, like other Moscow musicians, discovered new stylistic horizons for themselves and, probably, this time can be considered the beginning of a new stage in the development of Soviet jazz music. The growth of public interest in jazz was expressed in the creation jazz clubs in Leningrad (1958) and in Moscow (1960) with the active assistance of the city committees of the Komsomol. Soon jazz clubs began to open in other cities. Soviet Union. These clubs set as their goal the creation of jazz ensembles, performances in lectures, the study of Soviet and foreign jazz music.

Soviet trumpeter and composer German Konstantinovich Lukyanov (b. 1936)

In the early 60s, several interesting youth jazz bands appeared: "Seven Dixieland Boys" and "Jazz Doctor" playing traditional jazz, "Experimental Quintet" A. Liskovich, quartet Y. Vikhareva, quintets V. Rodionova, R. Vilksa and others (Leningrad). In these ensembles, domestic music, arrangements of Soviet songs, and their own compositions are increasingly heard.

In the early 60s. many young people who are fond of jazz have switched from listening to jazz to playing music, sometimes without professional musical training. During this period, many amateur jazz ensembles were born, in which the level of performance lagged behind the level of the repertoire. Probably, this process was natural for that time, but over time, from this total weight amateurs began to separate the most talented and inquisitive musicians who decided to become professionals. It was during this period that the intuitive process of comprehending jazz was replaced by a purposeful, systematic approach to the subject.

One of the brightest phenomena of the late 50s and early 60s was the “combo” recording, which included young Moscow musicians from the former "Golden Eight" Orchestra of the Central House of Arts. They were joined by a trumpeter who came from Leningrad German Lukyanov and Moscow pianist Boris Rychkov. A series of compositions performed by this line-up became the first professional studio recording of the new wave of Soviet jazz. It is noteworthy that the musicians improvised not only on classical jazz themes, but also on well-known Soviet song themes ( "Dark night", "Lonely Accordion" and etc.).

Here it is not possible to highlight many important aspects and events in the development of Soviet jazz during this period, however, to dwell on the most milestones development of modern domestic jazz is necessary. This is a period of formation, training in Soviet jazz, comprehension of a new style, and it is impossible to imagine it without studying the classical jazz samples of that time. a significant role in the acquaintance of Soviet musicians with the best examples of jazz art - and after all, at all times there are many low-grade examples of this genre - the bands played Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Willie Ruff - Dwyke Mitchell, Thad Jones - Mel Lewis, Kurt Edelhagen, Michel Legrand, as well as a number of other interesting groups of socialist countries, among them: Orchestra of Gustav Brom(Czechoslovakia), pianist Adam Makovich, ensemble Zbigniew Namyslovsky(Poland), etc.

Jazz Ensemble of Igor Bril. Vinyl disc "Earth Morning". 1978 Cover

As a thematic material for compositions, along with melodies of classical and modern jazz famous Soviet song themes, of course, those that, according to their harmonic plan and intonation-melodic structure, could find an organic implementation in jazz. Among them, of course, are those “evergreen” songs that fed the imagination of jazz musicians many years ago, and those new song themes that arose in these years ( T. Khrennikov, A. Eshpay, A. Fattah, A. Flyarkovsky etc.), also appeared large stock instrumental themes; song themes, in addition to their arrangements for big band and combos, are more often interpreted by ensembles of the Dixieland style.

In international jazz practice, instrumental themes during this period appeared much more than ever before.

In our country, jazz works during this period were created by both professional composers and jazz musicians, of whom the most creatively gifted began to increasingly turn to composing music. Among professional composers, in the Union of Soviet Composers, there is an increasing interest in modern forms jazz and pop music. After the meeting on pop music in 1962, held by the Secretariat of the Union of Composers of the USSR, the role of the pop instrumental music commission of the Moscow composers' organization, which united composers working in this genre, increased. A number of widely performed on the concert stage, recorded on the radio and on records appeared. jazz and symphonic jazz compositions B. Trotsyuk, I. Yakushenko, M. Kazhlaev, V. Rubashevsky, V. Terletsky, Yu. Saulsky, K. Orbelyan, U. Nayssoo, V. Oyakyaer. Many of these authors worked with passion in the style "progressive", "Third Stream" (jazz symphony by B. Trotsyuk, concertos for jazz orchestra by M. Kazhlaev and I. Yakushenko), the work of others was drawn to the combination of jazz writing with the features of a particular national musical tradition ( K. Orbelyan, U. Nayssoo, M. Kazhlaev), others were close to more traditional jazz forms. The themes of some of these compositions were widely used in small improvisational compositions. They are among the topics printed in this section.

The desire for their own creativity arises in many improvising jazz musicians. This natural desire in the 60s, and later in the 70s, was realized in the fact that a lot of Soviet jazz themes. However, only the themes marked with the features of creative individuality (in form, in harmonic-intonational structure or in rhythmic structure) are included in the anthology of Russian jazz themes published in our collection.

In a number of cases, these are topics that in one way or another include elements of folklore, for example, - created in the 60s. themes A. Tovmasyan, G. Garanyan, G. Lukyanov and others. Among the themes that are guided by the general canonical examples of jazz, but marked by the originality of the author's handwriting, are the themes written in the 60s and 70s. G. Holstein, Yu. Markin, A. Kozlov. N. Levinovsky, I. Bril, B. Frumkin, L. Chizhik, A. Kroll and others. The work of Soviet composers and musicians has significantly intensified due to the revival of concert and festival life in Soviet jazz.

Since the 60s. and currently in different cities and the republics of our country are held jazz festivals. In Moscow, such a festival takes place every two years (since 1978). Jazz weeks are organized in Leningrad, Yaroslavl, Donetsk, Novosibirsk, Tbilisi… In 1967, besides Soviet bands, musicians from Poland, Sweden, the USA, Finland, and Switzerland took part in the Tallinn festival.

In 1962, for the first time on foreign jazz festival left the Soviet ensemble consisting of: A. Kozlov, A. Tovmasyan, N. Gromin, A. Bulanov, A. Egorov, whose performance at the Warsaw Jazz Festival (1962) was a great success. From that moment on, regular performances of our jazz musicians at foreign festivals began, for example, the group of G. Garanyan-N. Gromin (in Prague), "Leningrad Dixieland", big band led by V. Ludvikovsky, led by O. Lundstrem, K. Orbelyan, A. Kroll (in Warsaw and Prague). In the future, starting from the 70s. the geography of performances by Soviet jazz ensembles is expanding. Along with participation in festivals and concerts in the socialist countries, our jazz musicians travel to India (A. Kuznetsov, T. Kurashvili, N. Levinovsky), West Berlin (Arsenal under A. Kozlov), England and Italy ( the trio of V. Ganelin), to France (L. Chizhik), to the FRG (I. Bril), to Holland (G. Lukyanov), to the USA (orchestra led by K-Orbelian).

Alexey Batashev. The book "Soviet Jazz". Cover

Starting in the 60s, then in the 70s and 80s. musical-theoretical thought seeks to analyze and generalize the processes taking place in the genre of jazz music in general and in Soviet jazz in particular. Books on the subject include: "Birth of Jazz", "Blues and the 20th century" W. Konen, Job A. Batasheva "Soviet Jazz", brochure V. Mysovsky and V. Feiertag "Jazz" and a number of others. The development of the genre is also helped by various articles in Soviet music magazines, appearances in newspapers, radio and television programs, and the varied activities of a number of the best jazz clubs in our country.

The professionalization of jazz musicians was greatly facilitated by the introduction of systematic music education, expressed in the opening in 1974 of pop-jazz departments in music schools of the RSFSR and some other republics, and now in a number of higher educational institutions. The first domestic teaching aids in the field of jazz music were created: "Fundamentals of Jazz Improvisation" (I. Bril), "Harmony in Jazz" (Y. Chugunov), "Arrangement" (G. Garanyan), a range of manuals for playing instruments. Along with special educational institutions there were studios uniting jazz lovers; the most famous among them is the "Studio of musical improvisation" at the D / K "Moskvorechye".

Soviet saxophonist and composer Alexei Semyonovich Kozlov (b. 1935)

You can't represent this big period development of Soviet jazz (from 1957 to the present day) as something unambiguous. So, for example, in the 70s. began a period of searching for new means of expression, a new style. Many jazz musicians, both in the USSR and around the world, initially did not accept rock music, which was popular in those years, although in the future they did not pass by its most interesting features. As a result, some adherents of exclusively jazz thinking began to work in the field of new genre alloys. This process can be traced, in particular, on the example of the activities of the Arsenal ensemble and the work of its leader, a saxophonist and composer Alexey Kozlov striving to combine in his compositions elements of jazz, chamber music and folklore, and in recent times attracting and elements of pantomime. Some of them are presented in the collection. The desire to combine jazz style with new trends in its own way manifested itself in creativity N. Levinovsky, I. Bril, L. Chizhik, a number of topics which are also included in the collection. But some musicians kept their commitment to jazz in its most characteristic, pure form, the trends of rock and fusion music touched them to a much lesser extent. Here one could mention a number of our musicians who still perform compositions in the styles of "hard bop", "cool", referring to modal jazz. This is first of all G. Lukyanov with his ensemble "Kadans", adhering to the style he chose many years ago in his work. This is - G. Holstein, Yu. Markin, D. Goloshchekin, A. Kuznetsov, M. Okun, V. Sadykov and others. A number of musicians develop in their work and performing activities free jazz style with elements of aleatoric and grotesque theatricalization, are musicians from Lithuania- V. Ganelin. V. Chekasin, P. Vishnyauskas and etc.

In the late 70s and 80s. developed very rapidly national schools of soviet jazz in different regions our country. This was especially evident at the Moscow Jazz Festival in 1982, dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the formation of the USSR (it was also the year of the 60th anniversary of Soviet jazz). The combination of folklore with modern jazz, especially with its modal forms, turned out to be more organic than attempts to fuse folklore with jazz in earlier jazz styles. Successful searches in this direction were demonstrated by the musicians of Transcaucasia, Kazakhstan, Central Asia, the Baltics, a number autonomous republics RSFSR. Unfortunately, in this edition it was not possible to present many themes from the compositions created by talented musicians from our republics.

During this period in different years bearers of a good school in the traditions jazz mainstream were and continue to be big bands V. Ludvikovsky, O. Lundstrem, K. Orbelyan, Y. Saulsky, A. Kroll, G. Gachicheladze, A. Kalvarsky, B. Rychkov, G. Rozenberg. Some of them ( orchestras of O. Lundstrem, K. Orbelyan, A. Kroll, G. Rosenberg) are working successfully even now - they give a lot of concerts, participate in jazz festivals, and record on records. Their educational, popularizing role in jazz is hard to overestimate. Large orchestras attract the special attention of composers who have retained many years of fidelity to jazz music: the collection includes themes A. Eshpay, M. Kazhlaeva, I. Yakushenko, A. Mazhukov, V. Dolgov.

In the 70s, a number of the most significant jazz ensembles received the status of professional philharmonic groups. This made it possible to regularly promote the best examples jazz music.

The commission of pop and jazz instrumental music continues to work actively in the Moscow branch of the Union of Composers of the RSFSR. A number of talented Soviet jazz composers in the 70-80s. accepted as a member of the Union of Soviet Composers, the bureau of this commission takes an active part in organizing Soviet jazz festivals and concerts, in promoting the best samples jazz music on Central Television and All-Union Radio (for example, the television program "Jazz Panorama").

Barney thank you so much for the rip! :zvety_krasn:
I can only add information from the official booklet:

Persimfans was created by the outstanding violinist, professor of the Moscow Conservatory Lev Zeitlin in 1922. In the early years Soviet power Persimfans became a symbol of the triumph of collectivism and the musical enlightenment of the working masses, putting into practice the utopia of an equal creative initiative without the dictates of a monarch conductor. Sometimes reaching up to 150 people, the composition of the orchestra was formed from the musicians of the leading ensembles of that time, from the largest teachers and conservatory professors. At various times, the soloists of Persimfans concerts were S. Prokofiev and A. Rubinstein, E. Petri and J. Szigeti, I. Kozlovsky, V. Horowitz, A. Gedike and many others. The orchestra's repertoire included both European and Russian classics, from Bach to Scriabin, as well as works by contemporary composers: Ravel, Bartok, Stravinsky, Mosolov, and others. Persimfans' concerts were famous for being held not only in concert halls, but also in factories and workers' clubs, attracting the proletariat to academic music, who saw musicians sitting in a circle on the stage, who, without a conductor, but independently and harmoniously, performed the most complex symphonic works, thereby embodying the ideals of the new society. When the truly socialist ideas of self-organization of the collective began to contradict the authoritarian doctrines of totalitarianism, in 1933 the activity of the ensemble was forced to stop.
In the winter and spring seasons of 2009/2010, Persimfans successfully held a number of concerts, at which Mozart's Overture to The Magic Flute in a special edition of 1930 "for cinema, clubs, radio, schools and stage", an almost forgotten ballet S. Prokofiev’s Trapeze, Piano Concerto No. 1 by Alexander Mosolov, as well as Beethoven’s Third “Heroic” Symphony – a work performed by Persimfans at his first concert in 1922. Thus, Persimfans’ repertoire includes famous concert compositions, little-studied Soviet music from 1920- x years. (one of the concert discoveries should be the virtually unperformed symphonic suite by Y. Meitus “On the Dneprostroy”), but also the music of contemporary composers.
In terms of the reconstruction of the musical environment of the 20s. a noise orchestra was created with home-made authentic instruments and a musical repertoire corresponding to the original noise groups of the 20s. In addition, the symphonic concerts of Persimfans often also include a choir, a ballet and circus troupe, film montage and literary montage, each of which is an independent number included in the overall ensemble of the action.
Thus, Persimfans is creative and research laboratory that brought together people from various areas art, and embodying the principle of equal, versatile and lively creative dialogue.
Links:
http://www.vedomosti.ru/newspaper/article/179135/
http://www.musiccritics.ru/?id=3&readfull=5281