In this review we shall talk about the golden period of the Central Asian Jazz Rock from the countries, the names of which do not sound familiar to an ordinary music lover.
The forgotten gems of the Central Asian Jazz Rock
In this review we shall talk about the golden period of the Central Asian Jazz Rock from the countries, the names of which do not sound familiar to an ordinary music lover: Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, etc. These three ex-Soviet republics are the place where musicians were "forging" the ethnic jazz and progressive rock, that was at the peak of its evolution in the 80's. What is pleasantly surprising is that in those years, when the West was flooded with electro and dance music, a new evolution phase of rock music was going strong in former Soviet republics, which despite rich literary and musical heritage, remained behind the Iron Curtain.
Each band was special in its own way: some of them, like Yalla, leaned more towards the big stage, while the others, Gunesh for instance, played in a more progressive style, but all of them worked toward a dialog between two cultures: the West and the East. As it turned out, fusion of folk melodies with jazz and rock led to quite peculiar results, which remained in history on Melodiya label vinyl discs. All this vinyl was produced at Tashkent factory named after Tashmukhamedov - at some point in time it was the largest Melodiya branch in the Central Asian region. Despite its remoteness from the Centre the factory was well equipped and the Tashkent branch of Meolodiya recording studio had the latest hardware, which allowed for a high-quality of music recording.
Grig Pushen's Modern music group (Anor) - the Taste of Pomegranate 1988
Uzbek group Anor was formed in 1985 by the bass player Grig Pushen when after taking the main prize at the Jazz Through Time, Jazz band and rock group contest, Semen Mordukhaev, a talented sax player joined him. Grigory Pushen became famous among the youth back at the turn of the seventies as a member of Skify group. The mutual work of the two musicians, studio producers and composers resulted in the creation of the fascinating music, which combined avantgarde, eastern folk music and electric fusion. They were joined by the best local musicians: Yuriy Benyaminov (guitar, sitar and other national Uzbek instruments), Adyur Yakubov (keyborad), Batyr Tashkhodjaev (gidjack), Andrey Pertsev (drums, later on he played with a lineup of the Russian "heavy" bands, such as Cherniy Kofe and EVM), and singer Natalya Narmukhavedova, who had been famous since 1968 as the vocalist for student band Spectre. Later on she gained even more popularity as a member of Yalla.
With this lineup Anor toured for two years around the republics of USSR and the Eastern block. In 1987 the group assisted Nurmakhmedova, who had become an Honoured Artists of the Uzbek SSR, in recording her second album called "Raspberry Syrup". Everything changed in the summer of 1988, when Anor released their only ethnic jazz-rock record.
The Taste of Pomegranate album vinyl has long become a desired object of Russian and foreign music enthusiasts. However, little is known about it: it was produced in the limited quantity of either 2500 or 1000 records and it instantly became rare. In 2002 it was supposed to be reissued by the well-known Check-Russian company Bohemia Music. It seems that the reason why it never happened is that the company faced financial difficulties and left the market. Obviously, the rarity increases the price of this masterpiece, which had enchanted everyone who had a chance to experience it directly through speakers with its eastern melodies in progressive jazz-fusion style like To Forever, Mahavishnu Orchestra, etc. Well, as they say, the one who searches will find...
Jazz Band Boomerang - Boomerang 1983
Kazakh band Boomerang (not to be mistaken for the supporting group of Eduard Artemiev with the same name) - is a brainchild of a famous Alma-Ata musician, drummer Takhir Dzhalalidinovich Ibragimov (1947-2006). Basically, this person is the reason of the birth and development of the whole Kazakh ethno jazz. Later on due to its extreme activeness Takhir managed to make Boomerang one of the leaders of the Soviet jazz rock. Just like legendary Rishad Shafi, Ibragimov took the greatest interest in drums. There is no need to be surprised about it: numerous rhythmical devices, tablas are widely used in folk music, which, as other ancestors of jazz, are directly connected with human movement and breathing reflexes as well as with various religious rituals.
The debut album with the same name, Boomerang, was their way to enter the row of the chosen ones. The band, at the time consisting of a mixed Russian-Kazakh lineup, released it in 1983. Long story short, after the first listen it was evident who was running things. Takhir gave the musicians equal opportunities to prove themselves, but didn't allow for the band to stray away from the solid rhythm section which he was in charge of. The first song "Semirechye" (Seven rivers) starts with a long horn sound performed by Yuriy Nazarov, which makes one imagine a picture of never-ending Kazakh fields. His solos are accompanied by keyboard modulations of Lev Liplavk. Then the songs evolves into a beautiful jam of all solo instruments: Viktor Nikolaev on the saxophone, Konstantin Lee on the piano, trumpets and guitars. And if Khaitarma shares the rhythm of Semirechye for the most part but with more coherent Eastern notes, Madras gives even deeper insight in the folk music. Takhir plays tabla brilliantly and closer to the end plays sophisticated, like a shaman, laces on the bass. The meditative intro in the next song is explained by its name Dervish, meaning "hermit monk". Luckily (or sadly?), this mood does not last long: the band resumed to play viscous solos in a sort of foggy, psychedelic manner. The closing song "Pagoda "Paya" is full of the Avant-garde details and demonstrates a strong connection to the Indian and Tibet music. I strongly recommend to find and take a listen of the two remaining albums Ornament (1985) and Mirage (1987).
Gunesh - Rishad Shafi presents Gunesh 1999. Turkmenistan, records of 1980-1984
Gunesh was one of the first groups which released an Eastern jazz rock album, and arguably the only ones who became famous in the genre internationally. The group's name became nominal among the enthusiasts of complex music from the USSR and it is mentioned along with Arsenal, Allegro, Aftograph, Gorizont, Sezon Dozhdey which were a matching intellectual competition to street activities of the so called "Leningrad Rock Club".
In the early seventies the band performed Turkmen folk songs and did not stand out from the other groups in the genre. However, by the end of the decade new blood came in, they were all about jazz and rock harmonies and the most prominent of them were drummer Rishad Shafi (1953-2009) and sax player Stanislav Morozov. The first step towards mass audience was their successful performance at Through Life with a Song contest in 1977, but their ultimate jump to fame was at legendary festival Tbilisi-80. Despite the fact that the band took "only" the second place (they shared it with Aftograph), they recorded and released their debut album the same year. For the last thirty five years this record, which laid the foundations for the golden era of the Central Asian Jazz Rock, has became a mega-rarity: it is virtually impossible to get your hands on a copy these days. The band continued their evolution with the production of the second album "I See the Earth", which came out in 1984 and also became very hard to get.
The CD titled Rishad Shafi presents Gunesh recorded on Bohemia Music label includes the songs from both albums, but the listing of the tracks does not correlate chronologically and some songs were named differently (would be interesting to know why?). Either way, it is an amazing retrospective of such a unique creative group as Gunesh.
Songs 7-12 are included in the debut album Gunesh (1980). All six tracks are a totally unique incomparable product in the jazz rock genre. It is highly unlikely to hear as vibrant and fervent of the folk dance song performance anywhere else as it is done by trumpet players Stas Morozov, Yusif Aliev, Shamil Kurmaov, blazing but soft hits on various drums by Shafi, touching vocals of Khadzhiriza Eziza and the fascinating guitar solos of Turkmen melodies by Mikhail Loguntsev. As a whole, this bold combination of rock elements with Turkmen songs expanded the limits of both genres and enriched them. At certain moments there are hints of progressive rock and Avant-garde, an undisputable innovation.
Songs 1-6 are from I See the Earth album. Orwell's 1984 the group celebrated "from the space". As it turned out, sad and touching Eastern motives combine very well with electronic effects and synthy rolls, which add a touch of a cosmic mystery. During those four years the group toured many Eastern countries, so their creative arsenal was topped up by beautiful adaptations of Indian, Vietnamese and other national music. Generally speaking, the second album stands out due to new intonations, increased professionalism, more complete forethought and the variety of sounds. For example, the "Caucasian Rhythms" is the only vocal song ending in a virtuoso violin solo of Gasan Mamedov. Never the less, the changes did not even touch upon Shafi, who continued to hit his exotic small drums the same way.
There is another interesting album released by Bohemia Musice - 45 Degrees in the Shadow (2000) - which is totally dominated by Shafi with his largely grown percussion.
Medeo group - Medeo 1985 (Kazakhstan)
A unique album, recorded in the genre of electronic avant-garde with bits of jazz and symphonic music. In many ways it resembles Gorizont group, which released their record a year later in 1986. Sounds like Medeo's album was one of the first signs of the renewed rock of the Perestroyka era.
There is very little known about Medeo aside from the fact that its frontman was Vladimir Nazarov from Boomerang. It is likely, that it was Ibragimov's side project. This album perfectly correlates with the 80's spirit - the decade of dark fantasies of writer George Orwell and film director Terry Gilliam. This gentle, largely sad and broody instrumental music for the most part performed on the keyboard associates with the entourage of the time's Soviet movies. Particularly, it would be a great fit for Autumn Marathon and Tears Dropped Down by Danelia, fantasy detective story "Dead Climber Hotel" and especially to "Epilogue" by Marlen Khutsiev. Nazarov's songs have something in common with the work of Estonian composer Sven Grunberg, who made the score for "Hotel...". Both of them lean towards this kind of mysteriousness. In this regard, the best song on the A-side of the vinyl can be considered "Sunday Walks" with a slow tempo and deep synthy chords. It consists of two completely different themes, united by a dark avant-garde cacophony.
The B-side opens with Ekibastuz song in electronic minimalism style. Ekibastuz is a town in Pavlodarsk Region, Kazakhstan. Aside from the brilliant musical form it has a sad yet beautiful melody. The complete group with a full-scale percussion, trumpet and even a guitar appears in the next song "Way to the Sun". This is the only track that has a jazz rock style in Boomerang spirit. The record closes with almost eleven-minute long suite "Hunter" which can be attributed to progressive jazz fusion but strongly dominated by electronic music. A marvelous final for a marvelous album.
Sato Jazz band - Efsane (Legend) 1986 Uzbekistan
Sato was formed in 1978 by multi-instrument player Leonid Atabekov. Soon after that due to various jazz festivals in the cultural center of Uzbekistant Fergana the band become quite famous among Soviet jazz rock enthusiasts.
None the less, its popularity could come much later if it was not for Enver Izmailov, a very talented guitarist. Having graduated from a musical college with the major in fagott, Izmailov taught himself to play guitar and invented his own style of playing. His unique technique of so called "double tapping" meant using both hands on the guitar's neck, as if it is a keyboard, and rapidly pressing the strings. In the company of such prominent musicians as flute and sax player Narket Ramazanov, keyboard and cello player Riza Bekirov, he could live up to his full potential. The guitar player, which meant the entire band, improvised with folk music of Crimea and Bulgar Tatarians, Central Asian countries and Indian folk music. It is no coincidence that Izmailov names Ravi Shankar one of his most influential guitarists.
In 1986 Sato releases their first masterpiece - Efsane record - having worked on it for eight years. Legend had better luck than most of the albums by other bands, it got reissued on a digital CD in 2006. The opening song Kazykchyklar does not skip on any musicians giving the cue to everyone of them. The accurate rhythm section, beautiful dialogs of the flute, guitar and electronic keyboard - feels like a fresh Eastern wind blowing on your face in the heat. Also "Gulmira's Dance" - wholly Izmailov's song, since it is performed by himself from the beginning to the end on a guitar. He is doing such a good job of complex, rhythmical and unique playing, that it seems that a trio is involved. The same goes for Tym-Tym song with the addition of Atabekov's bass. Another masterpiece of collective work was the cover on the Tatarian folk song Boyna. Having a full-scale rhythm section and a soft, but at the same time rhythmical keyboard accompaniment, this track is an example of true jazz rock, in the fabric of which ethnical laces of sax, guitar, flute are interwoven. The paraphrase on Arabalar themes and Khoro is opened with a guitar intro later on transforming into a stirring Eastern dance.
We also recommend to have a listen of the band's second album "Pass the Kindness in Circle" (1987) and such solo records of Enver Izmailov as "The Eastern Legend" and "Around the Black Sea".
Sevil group - Sevil 197? (Azerbaijan)
The Sevil group originated in 1969 in sunny Baku and is inextricably linked with the brilliant pianist and composer Vagif Mustafa-zade (1940-1979), who worked in those years in the State Orchestra of Azerbaijan. Quite a lot has been written about Vagif, at least you can easily find on the Internet a list of milestones in the career of this outstanding musician.
The international fame and recognition of one of the best jazz pianists of the world was brought by an innovative style mixed with mugam - traditional Azerbaijani song and dance music and excellent jazz improvisations.
The only album of Sevil is once again a mega-rarity, along with the productions of Firyuzy and Anora, from among those produced by Melody in the southern republics of the USSR. Studying the policy of Melody, I came to the conclusion that these records were produced in relatively small editions and were distributed mainly in the homeland of musicians. This predetermined their today's rare status. It is not even known in which exact year this record was released; release date varies between seventy-first and seventy-eight , but most likely, the record was made in the first half of the seventies.
This album is approximately thirty-five minutes unique and outstanding. Unlike the more famous Jazz Improvisations series, where Vagif works alone, this album produces the sound of a real ensemble with percussion and soulful singing of four vocalists. Therefore, there is no need to talk about the purely applied jazz direction of the album, it is a creative fruit at the intersection of folklore, jazz, rock and funk. Already in the first two songs “Roads” and “Golden Ring” - one of the best, by the way, - the essence of Mustafa-zade's performing style is easily revealed. Bright, colorful singing in the national style is perfectly played up with improvisations on the piano. It sounds very colorful and unique. Vagif discovered that sad national melodies are perfectly combined with warm and intimate jazz support and lead to such ingenious creations as, for example, “Favorite”. One can imagine the enthusiasm experienced by Western jazz musicians who explored their jazz traditions far and wide and were looking for new harmonies in a foreign land, like Chick Corea in Spain, when Vagif was discovered.
About half of all the compositions are purely instrumental and in combination with the rhythm section will appeal to lovers of both jazz rock and ethno jazz. They are distinguished by the wealth of oriental shades, interesting development, and high craftsmanship. About a year before his sad death from a heart attack, on October 7, 1978, Vagif Mustafa-zadeh spoke in Kiev, where he presented another interesting program consisting of vocal and instrumental parts using even a saxophone. We sincerely recommend listening to this concert, which was released on CD in 2003 from the archives of the National Radio Company of Ukraine, entitled “One Day in Kiev”.
Instrumental group Firyuza - Фирюза 1979
Together with Gunesh, Firyuza belongs to the best examples of Turkmen jazz rock. Unlike the first group, the story of the second is covered with a hazy mist; it is no longer visible for time. It is only known that the group was formed by the late drummer Dmitry Manukyan, who previously played in Gunesh, and another Gunesh member, Sabir Rizayev, was also prominent in the band. This musician will also manifest himself in many groups, including the well-known Ashgabat, whose disc “City of Love” will be released under the well-known label Peter Gabriel Real World in 1993. By the way, Firyuza is called a beautiful place near Ashgabat, where tourists and summer residents admire the mountains, the river and breathe fresh air. It is not surprising that the name creates poetic feelings and excites the musical imagination. To date, "Firyuza" has become one of the rarest albums released in the USSR. The price at auctions rarely falls below five hundred euros. Seven horsemen in national clothes, but with modern tools, look at us from the cover. So it is: a unique example of combining Turkmen music with progressive and jazz rock. As a matter of fact, there is not so much traditional jazz on the album, rather, funk. The main solo instruments are the violin performed by Hana Ten and the saxophone Sabir Rizayev, but Firyuza has a completely different approach to the adaptation of folk music.
Their multi-layered music is complex and performed in a smooth, if not to say lazy-stretched rhythm - as if the slow flow of a river, the splashes of which sometimes adorn the entrance. In the bands's music, folk melodies are clearly manifested only in preludes and interludes, often guitar (in the group there are two guitarists: Yevgeny Nochevny and Mikhail Mamedov). In the introductory composition “Ashkhabad”, the sad romantic melody of the famous Turkmen composer Nury Khalmanedov stands out. In the violin parts, there is much in common with Russian and Gypsy romances; Alto Saxophone successfully develops the theme. By the end of the performance, the tempo perks up considerably and leads to an interesting jazz-rock combination of virtuoso guitar solos and saxophone. But the central composition on the album is “The Edge of the Mother”, because this is a sort of Turkmen symphonic rock! In a completely original ten-minute composition, a new look at folk music is drawn, which, it turns out, with the support of percussion and a share of the fantasy of the soloists, may sound like cool progressive rock! The ending is especially good when, in a smooth rhythm of a pendulum, the violin falls, then breaks up. And no spontaneous improvisations.
Chapyksuar is another cover, this time of another famous composer Chary Nurymov. By the feeling, it is closer to Ashgabat, but more lively: by the end, the participants are played to the "full length": aggressive attacks on the keys of Dmitry Sablin and the swinging saxophone already look like some kind of avant-garde. The entry into the “Dialogue in the Aul” composition is singularly soft and deep, again in the form of violin preludes taking the soul, although this mood is deceptive. It is true for the album as a whole that the general chorus of sounds is built into a kind of psychedelic ethno-verse, from which an excellent solo on the flute and the improvisation of the guitar can only be distinguished. In general, it turned out to be a unique masterpiece of avant-garde ethno progressive style.
If you are interested in Turkmen folk music, then you can continue your acquaintance with it on the beautiful album “City of Love” of the Ashgabat folklore group. However, the character of this album is closer to traditional folk music.
In July 2014, the well-known online resource Diskogs.com published a list of the most expensive records sold there. So the album "Firyuza", added there, by the way, by the author of this piece, took the sixth place, selling at a price of 932 dollars or 680 euros.
SOURCE: Rock Music of the Eastern Europe. Project of Andrey Gaevsky