Moscow-based jazz journalist Cyril Moshkow, publisher and editor of Jazz.Ru, Russia's only Jazz magazine, writes about how does it feel to run a jazz magazine in Russia.
Jazz.Ru Magazine #1-2013 (#47) released on February 12, 2013
On the cover: Dave Brubeck (photo by Pavel Korbut)
as seen by, and spoken about, by his son, trombone and bass player Chris
Brubeck
Peter Vostokov & The Big Jazz Orchestra play Tchaikovski/Ellington/Strayhorn:
an interview with the leading trumpet player from Russia's younger jazz
generation
9th Rostov Jazz Festival: Cyril Moshkow, Jazz.Ru editor, reviews
the gathering of the southernmost regional Russian jazz scene
'RUSSIAN JAZZ': a two-volume hardcover collection of Jazz.Ru
articles on Russian jazz is published in St.Petersburg
SibJazzFest-2012: a review of the Siberia's best jazz festival
Yuri Galkin: The British Graduate. Jazz.Ru interviews the bassist
who recently returned to Moscow after a 7-year stint in London.
Marina Vishnyakova and her Atlantic Experience: Russian jazz
violinist who gradually makes it in Philadelphia
Tampere Jazz Happening 2012: Anna Filipieva reviews Finland's
grandest jazz festival
News From Helsinki: the presentation of Finnish jazz scene in
Moscow reviewed
Sergey Khutas "Moscow...Sky": an interview with Russian bassist on
his debut album as a leader
Saxophonist Nick Vinstkevich interviewed on his work with his
father, pianist Leonid Vinskevich, and the role the Jazz Province festival
(which he helps his father to produce) plays in their lives (by Anna Filipieva)
In Memoriam. Soviet jazz veteran saxophonist Emil Geigner
passes away at 91; we also bid farewell to jazz radio host Moisei Rybak
(1934-2013) and Siberian jazz drummer, Sergei Kushilkin (1962-2013)
Alex Rostotsky’s discography is the most impressive in Russian jazz: he has more than 25 albums under his belt as composer, producer, and performer at the same time. But it is not just sheer volume that is important. Every next Rostotsky’s recording features a new concept, a new stylistic turn, new sound, new partners, and new approach. Electric bassist, keyboards player, vocalist, composer, arranger – it is hard to say what is his main role; therefore his works stand apart from the bulk of Russian jazz recordings, as they are certainly not «like all others do.»
Rostotsky’s music works have a unique «globalized» focus. He fuses elements of different music cultures – those from Africa, India, Middle East, and Russia – with jazz rock, electronica, classical music influences, and jazz, not just within albums, but often within a single piece of music. This poly-cultural, or poly-ethnic, approach is natural in the world music idiom, but a rare feature in Russian jazz, while most of Alex’s musical partners are jazz musicians.
This compilation of Rostotsky’s recordings documents just one facet of his music’s poly-cultural approach. For «A Swan Is Swimming By» he chose from his 21st century records nine tracks with a focus on Russian music. Of course he had recorded more than nine tracks of Russian-influenced music: for an instance, his 2006 album, «Pictures At An Exhibition Or Promenade With Mussorgsky» (JBT/One records) consisted entirely of jazz readings from the great Russian classical composer’s book. But this compilation does not have any composer’s music in it – that is, other than Rostotsky’s; but all his compositions in this new album are based upon the melodies of Russian folk songs, and (in seven tracks out of nine) on the genuine folk lyrics.
One should not, however, seek in this music neither precise ethnographic documentation, nor simplified pop-folk approximation. Nothing is that simple here. Melodies and harmonies of Slavic folklore are easy to recognize, but they are cleverly combined with many other unlikely elements, such as electronic rhythms, or sharp Indian percussion, or quasi-classical symphony sounds, while all those elements are nailed together with prolonged improvisational statements which are, undoubtedly, jazz.
Most prominently, it is the work of Yuri Parfyonov that stands out. The trumpet and flugelhorn virtuoso was Rostotsky’s steady musical partner during the 2000s, bringing in Alex’s projects his expertise in oriental music: Parfyonov first came to prominence in 1970s Soviet jazz as the principal soloist in Bumerang, Uzbekistan-based jazz rock combo which added a lot of Central Asian spices in their own brand of fusion. Other strong jazz soloists in «A Swan Is Swimming By» are guitarist Pavel Chekmakovsky, tenor saxophonist Sergei Golovnya, and others.
But it is vocals that gives this album its special flavor. Classical singers Anna Sokolova and Elena Romanova, an entire chamber choir led by Vyacheslav Simonov, and spicy Indian voice of Indian tabla master Keshab Kanti Chowdhury all make different tracks to shine their different sound facets, but the most exotic element of the album’s sound is Rostotsky’s own singing voice. He has a certain vocal experience (he sung for years in an Orthodox Christian church choir, after all,) but his singing in this album does not play the standard vocal role: it is rather an integral part of the instrumental arrangement, as Alex more often sings through a vocoder than not – which adds his voice a strange shade of an exotic synthesized sound, either mystical, or romantic, or slightly ironical.
All this combined, the listener experiences an unusual whole, in which we can single out different elements of different styles and influences, but hardly we shall. This is not entirely jazz, entirely not rock, definitely not a study in ethnomusicology and not a stereotyped example of «world music» – it is just Alex Rostotsky’s music, as individual as it gets, and turned to the listener by its recognizably Russian side in this record.
I will appear in the United States next week for a few gigs, as well as some fieldwork in my research for two books I am working on right now: Jazz Industry in America (2nd edition) and Black Music: Roots and Branches (both in Russian, for St.Petersburg-based Planet of Music publishing house.)
The gigs are:
October 17, 2012 Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
Russian pianist Ivan Farmakovsky and music critic Cyril Moshkow present the lecture "Introduction to Russian Jazz and Soviet Music"
Noon – 1:30 pm, McAlpin Rehearsal Hall, Woolworth Center
October 22, 2012 Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ
IVAN FARMAKOVSKY QUARTET performs jazz arrangements of songs of Russian composers. Ralph Bowen (saxophone), Ivan Farmakovsky (piano), Kenny Davis (double bass), Donald Edwards (drums). Introduction by music critic Cyril Moshkow
12:30 pm, Mason Gross School of the Arts
In between, I plan to visit a few jazz research institutions in the Greater NYC area. Back to Moscow on October 23.
On the cover: Jack DeJohnette celebrates his 70th birthday.
A failure as an experience: The Modern Intellectual Art Festival
in Moscow, and its last-minute cancellation. Joshua Redman premiered his Axis Saxophone Quartet in
Moscow (+interview).
Jazz.Mansion Festival (Usadba.Jazz): the 9th edition in
Moscow, the 2nd in St.Petersburg
How to run a label in our times: Norwegian saxophonist/record
label executive Karl Seglem interviewed
Awards given: Jazz Awards (+the story of Russian
photographer Pavel Korbut who was awarded for the Photo
of the Year) and Jazz Masters 2013
St.Petersburg-based pianist Andrey Kondakov interviewed
on the occasion of his 50th birthday
Dr.Laksminarayana Subramaniam: The World Fusion.
Legendary Indian fusion violinist celebrates turns 65
A memoir by Alexander Salgannik, drummer from Moscow who
celebrates his 80th birthday (currently a San Jose, CA
resident,) on his jazz experience in the 1950s and 60s Dmitry Ilugdin, Moscow-based pianist and composer,
interviewed Valby Summer Jazz festival in Copenhagen, Denmark, as
witnessed by Sergei Bondarkov Tomasz Szukalski, Polish saxophonist, passes away at 65 North Sea Jazz 2012, in words and pictures VDU Jazz Connection festival in Kaunas, Lithuania: event
profile...
...and much more!
Here's two very different videos, both filmed by me during this summer. From the improv unlimited on an unusually hot summer day in a sunny St.Petersburg park, to an elegant and romantic 1960s bossa in a dark jazz club in Moscow, they both represent different side of Russian jazz scene.
Slava Ganelin (piano, percussion, synthesizer) and Vladimir Volkov (acoustic bass) perform at the Usadba.Jazz festival in St.Petersburg, Russia, July 1, 2012 (middle part of their 45-minutes non-stop improv performance)
Russian jazz vet Alexey Kuznetsov (guitar), Felix Lahuti (electric violin) and bassist Dennis Shushkov perform Alexey Kuznetsov's original "Alyosha" (1968) during the release party for Felix Lahuti's "Universalove" (ArtBeat, 2012) at the Alexey Kozlov Club in Moscow, Russia, on June 27, 2012
On the cover (photo by Anna Filipieva): saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa performs at the Jazzkaar festival in Tallinn, Estonia, as reviewed by Jazz.Ru editors Cyril Moshkow and Anna Filipieva Jazz travels: Bergen, Norway - 40th Nattjazz Festival and Jazz Norway in a Nutshell showcase, as witnessed by Cyril Moshkow Jazz education, Philly way: an interview with Don Glanden, of Philadelphia's UArts Jazz Program Herbie Hancock interviewed in Moscow during his Russian tour The International Jazz Day: saxophonist Igor Butman on the inaugural celebration in Paris Bassist Christian McBride in Moscow: a concert review St.Petersburg improv drummer Alexander Ragazanov tells his life story in an extensive interview The Young Scene. Pianist Alexey Ivannikov: "There's nothing you can do in New York City if your eyes aren't glowing" 12th Triumph of Jazz Festival reviewed Saxophonist Oleg Kireyev awarded with the People's Artist honorary title in his native Russian republic of Bashkortostan Soviet jazz veteran, saxophonist Alexey Kozlov opens his own club in Moscow at 77 ArtBeat: composer/producer/bassist Alex Rostotsky on his African tour The Russian Trail leads Leo Records to Russia: Leo Records Festival in three major Russian cities unites Soviet avant-garde veterans and the new generation of the Russian improv scene... and much more!
The inaugural International Jazz Day, proclaimed by UNESCO, is April 30. This year it's Monday, which is not exactly convenient for major concert activities, so Russian jazz producers chose the preceding weekend as the time slot for the IJD celebration.
On April 29, there is an event at the Gnessins Russian Academy of Music presented by Anatly Kroll. Himself a venerated bandleader, composer, and jazz activist, Kroll leads the Academy of Music's big band (the Academic Big Band) for the last eight years, and it often sounds more modern and tight that his previous professtinal stage bands, the 1960s Tula Big Band (in a sense, the first modern big band in post-WWII Russia,) the 1970-80s Contemporary Orchestra (Orkestr Sovremennik), and the 1990s MCS Big Band (which name derived from its corporate sponsor, who wisely got rid of that active shortly before the nation's economy defaulted in 1998.)
Anatoly Kroll's April 29 event is titled All Tints of Moscow Jazz and scheduled at the Academy of Music's recital hall (recently renovated, it makes a good place for jazz with its 700 seats and nice sound.) The roster includes no less than FIVE big bands: Anatoly Kroll Academic Big Band, the historic (arguably, the oldest in the world!) Oleg Lundstrem Memorial Big Band (led by pianist Boris Frumkin,) the youth-driven but 1950s-styled Big Jazz Orchestra led by young trumpet player Pyotr Vostokov, the Orpheus Big Band led by bassist Igor Kantyukov (the band being a subsidiary of the governmemt-owned classical music station, Radio Orpheus,) and the country's most popular big band, the Igor Butman Orchestra. Besides, many soloists and small groups are going to be featured, athough I still cannot imagine how Mr. Kroll plans to squeeze all this into a mere five hours on April 29. VIDEO: Anatoly Kroll Academic Big Band performs "Fig (Neither Fugue Nor Jig)" written by featured soloist, french horn player Arkady Shilkloper, at the Academy of Music, May, 2011
The other event on the same dates is going to be the Noumen Art 2012 Modern Art Festival which, from April 24 through April 29, will present at the Ars Theatre in downtown Moscow (a.k.a. Khudozhestvenny Kino) the new improvisation, free improv, free jazz, new jazz, and generally the New Thing from the roster of the U.K.-based Leo Records, under the eye of Leo Feigin himself, the Leningrad-born British producer whose radical and no-baksheesh-taking label is a significant part of the New Thing landscape during the latest quarter of a century. The fetival will feature screenings of Leo's 10-part documentary series, New Musis From Russia, made for BBC in 1991, and live performances by those who were in the series 21 years ago, or is now following similar paths. What makes this festival specially interesting is that many Soviet Avant-Garde heroes, now scattered around the face of Earth (like throat singer Sainkho Namchylak who currently resides in Austria, pianist Aziza Mustafa-Zadeh who lives in Germany, or french hornist Arkady Shilkloper who shares his time between Germany and Russia,) are going to perform along with the new generation of post-Soviet musicians who, in different countries of the former Union, try new paths in improvisation - Moscow-based Second Approach Trio, St.Petersburg piano innovator Alexey Lapin, Siberian improv whiz Roman Stolyar, Estonian guitarist Jaak Sooäar, or the festival's music diurector, Moscow-based saxophonist Alexey Kruglov. VIDEO: Alexey Kruglov performs an improv session with pianist Alexey Lapin and Oleg Yudanov on drums at the JFC Jazz club, St.Petersburg, Russia, on September 2, 2011
