The Ganelin Trio

The Ganelin Trio: Strictly for our Friends

by AAJ Staff
May 1, 2001

Evolutionary biologists fret constantly about the long-term consequences of isolation. The giant tortoises of the Galapagos Islands and the mutant flowers of Hawaii provide two examples where species have run rampant in isolation. In this era of immediate communication and internet accessibility, one often forgets that music has also undergone similar experiences. Political forces, driven by the Communist agenda, offered crushing isolation to experimental musicians in the Cold War-era Soviet Union. In this environment, the Ganelin Trio actually managed to ...

The Ganelin Trio: Con Affetto

by Glenn Astarita
December 1, 1999

The “Ganelin Trio” were among the first of the new wave or new jazz bands to perform behind the Iron Curtain while also attaining considerable attention on these shores, back in the early 1980’s. Continuing with Leo Records’ new batch of previously unreleased or reissued – with bonus tracks material on the label titled, “Golden Years of New Jazz”, is the Ganelin Trio’s Con Affetto which was recorded live in Moscow, 1983 and released here for the first time.

The ...

The Ganelin Trio: Con Affetto

by Robert Spencer
December 1, 1999

The Ganelin Trio created some of the best improvised music ever played in the old Soviet Union, which you may think is like saying they're the best country music singers in the Metropolitan Opera company until you hear this disc. Recorded live in Moscow in 1983, this performance consists of Ganelin's fifty-seven minute “Semplice," plus three relatively brief encores.

As may be expected, “Semplice" is a huge, sprawling tapestry, full of rich and shifting textures. It begins like a piece ...