The Ganelin Trio - 1980 - Catalogue (Live In East Germany)

The Ganelin Trio

1980

Catalogue (Live In East Germany)

01. Catalogue: Live in East Germany (46:38)

Vyacheslav Ganelin (piano, el. guitar, perc.)

Vladimir Tarasov (drums, percussion)

Vladimir Chekasin (reeds)

Recorded in East Berlin, 22 April, 1979, released in 1980 with the disclaimer, "musicians do not bear any responsibility for publishing this tape".

The first самиздат / samizdat LP in the West from tapes smuggled out of the USSR. Legendary recording that gave birth to Leo Records.

"This is one of the very important jazz records of recent times... " 

(The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, LP & Cassette by R. Cook & B. Morton).

It's quite paradoxical that Ganelin Trio, most probably the only European band which played free jazz by the same way and on the same level of creativity and virtuosity as genre's American leaders, have deep Eurasian roots. Founded in early 70s in Vilnius, capital city of then Russians occupied Lithuania, it included three emigrants from Russia motherland.

Leader pianist and composer Vyacheslav (Slava) Ganelin was born in a family of Russian Jews not far from Moscow in the end of WWII and moved to occupied Vilnius with his parents at age 4. Sax player Vladimir Chekasin born in Sverdlovsk (now - Yekaterinburg), Ural's industrial town right on the border between Europe and Asia. He graduated as classic clarinet artist in his hometown conservatory and moved to Vilnius at 24. Drummer Vladimir Tarasov comes from Russian sub-Arctic city of Archangelsk, an important Russian Navy port in the Far North, where he played jazz in local clubs still being teenager. At 19 he started music studies in St. Petersburg Conservatory but was dismissed the same year because he played Jazz and it was considered "Enemy Propaganda. He didn't return to Archangelsk but moved to Vilnius, where he started playing jazz with pianist Ganelin in the legendary Vilnius' "Neringa" restaurant.

So, in 1971 in Vilnius, three future avant-garde jazz giants founded the trio which influenced all Lithuanian jazz scene for decades ahead. For outsiders, it's almost impossible to imagine in what kind of world this trio's music was born. A century earlier the Russian Empire had banned the use of Lithuanian language in any form other than spoken word (i.i. books,newspapers,schools and University education on Lithuanian all were under the ban), their successors Soviet Empire banned on all controlled territories any forms of Western culture, with the exception of classical music. Rock  and Jazz were classified as "Rotten Capitalism" propaganda and the one was forbidden and the other under pressure and strict control as well. Vilnius (besides of Tallinn in Estonia, another Russian occupied Baltic state) was a true mecca for semi-underground jazz since during the Soviet rule it became a quite isolated place, kind of sleepy province far from Moscow and Leningrad where everything was under strict control of KGB eyes. In Lithuania there even existed a jazz studies in State Conservatory (established not in capital Vilnius, but in Klaipeda - smaller town 300 km west on Baltic coast, even more far from Big Brother's eyes).

So, there was some fresh air for jazz musicians to breath in Vilnius with possibility to play in restaurants, University halls and even on local radio / TV in rare cases. On the other hand, Vilnius was in such isolation from the world as any other place in the Evil Empire. There was no possibility to buy jazz records or to hear modern jazz played on radio (rare exception was a Polish radio often plying pop jazz, it was possible to hear it in Vilnius). The only source of musical news was contraband LP's coming from West which were extremely rare, banned and as a result unbelievable expensive (the price of them often being the worth of several weeks' salary).

There was an active exchange of second hand vinyl and home-made tapes between musicians and jazz fans as well which often was the main source of any new information. In that atmosphere three young musicians with classical music education and underground street-wise new jazz information started playing music never heard there before. As a result, Ganelin Trio, especially on early stage, sounded as fresh and unexpected European version of Art Ensemble of Chicago: they played lot of instruments (often sounding as much bigger combo than real trio) mixing American free jazz with their classic music formal roots and Russian folklore.

There are lot of recordings from late 70s - early 80s by the trio, but almost all of them are bootleg level live tapes, smuggled through the border and released in UK by another Russian Jew emigre in UK Leo Feigin on his Leo records. "Live In East Germany" is a good example of such release - rare foreign gig (recorded in Eastern Germany), as usually - one long composition divided on two vinyl sides. The Ganelin Trio sounds as much bigger band (Ganelin even plays some distorted guitars closer to the end of the gig, Chekasin plays multiple saxophones simultaneously), there is lot of freedom, lot of melodies, hyper-energy of their live shows and lot of humor and circus as well.

The music sounds fresh and surprisingly well organized, which makes evident the musicians classical education. Don't be fooled by the year of the concert - because of the Iron Curtain free jazz came to this part of Europe much laterthan in the rest of the world. Taking in account the time correction because of political reasons, they are as fresh as US free jazz of mid 60s.

One great (and for many jazz fans unexpectable) music, it is easier acceptable now because of some re-issues around. Ganelin left for Israel in 1987 disbanding the trio, he teaches music in Lithuanian Music and Theater Academy and plays regular concerts in Vilnius. Chekasin teaches in same Academy and runs the students big band, Tarasov switched towards avant-garde audio-visual arts, one can hear/see his new installations regularly.

Vyacheslav Ganelin (piano, guitar, percussion), Vladimir Tarasov (drums, percussion) and Vladimir Chekasin (reeds), aka the Ganelin Trio, were a legend in the Soviet Union. The tape of this performance from East Berlin in 1979 was smuggled out of the USSR by a German tourist and released on LP by Leo Records in 1981 with the following disclaimer: "The musicians do not bear any responsibility for publishing this tape." CATALOGUE made an instant impact among Western critics unaware of the maturity of the jazz and new music scene developing in the Soviet Union despite political repression. By the time CATALOGUE was recorded the Ganelin Trio had been together for eight years, and their mutual understanding is strikingly apparent in this structured suite lasting 46 minutes. Bop, free and folk inform the music which is always more than a miscellany of styles. The transitions from one section to the next are seamless, though audience enthusiasm tends to mask some of the subtlety with which they are executed. The variety and progression of ideas is remarkable and reveals three multi-instrumentalist virtuosi redefining the possibilities of the jazz trio.