Vyacheslav (Slava) Ganelin (, , ; born 17 December 1944) is a Lithuanian– Israeli

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

pianist,

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

, and

pedagogue Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political, and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...

. Primarily a pianist, he also plays other keyboards (

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

and

synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

) as well as

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

, and

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

s. He was the leader of the Ganelin Trio, described by critic Chris Kelsey as "arguably the world's greatest

free jazz Free jazz, or free form in the early to mid-1970s, is a style of avant-garde jazz or an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s, when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventi ...

ensemble" of the 1970s and '80s. He was a founder of Lithuanian jazz (Soviet jazz, when Lithuania was controlled by the Soviet Union).

Early career

Ganelin was born in Kraskovo, near

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. In 1948 his family moved to

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

, where he learned to play piano in the music school. Later he studied piano and composition at the Vilnius Conservatory where he graduated in 1968. He debuted as jazz pianist in a 1961 concert, during the

Khrushchev Thaw The Khrushchev Thaw (, or simply ''ottepel'')William Taubman, Khrushchev: The Man and His Era, London: Free Press, 2004 is the period from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s when Political repression in the Soviet Union, repression and Censorship in ...

. For many years, Ganelin taught composition at the Vilnius Conservatory, and was

music director A music director, musical director or director of music is a person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert ...

of the Vilnius Russian Drama Theatre. He wrote music for many films, including '' The Beautiful Girl'' and the

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serv ...

'' Devil's Bride'', and an

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

, ''The Red-Haired Liar and the Soldier''.

Ganelin trio

In 1968, Ganelin formed a trio with percussionist Vladimir Tarasov and

saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

Vladimir Rezitsky. Rezitsky left the trio in 1971, and was replaced with Vladimir Chekasin. The trio, called ''Ganelin Trio'' or ''GTCh'', combined free jazz with elements of folk and classic music. It achieved critical acclaim in Soviet Union and abroad. The trio performed at the

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

Jazz Jamboree in 1976. The same year, its first album, ''Con anima'', was released. The 1980 performance at the

Berlin Jazz Festival JazzFest Berlin (also known as the Berlin Jazz Festival) is a jazz festival in Berlin, Germany. Originally called the "Berliner Jazztage" (''Berlin Jazz Days''), it was founded in 1964 in West Berlin by the Berliner Festspiele. Venues included B ...

was described by

Joachim-Ernst Berendt Joachim-Ernst Berendt (20 July 1922 in Berlin – 4 February 2000 in Hamburg) was a German music journalist, author and producer specialized on jazz. Life Berendt's father, Ernst Berendt, was a Protestant pastor belonging to the Confessing ...

as "the wildest and yet the best organized and most professional free jazz I've heard in years". In 1984, the trio toured in the UK, and in 1986, in the US. The trio released more than 20 discs; it broke up in 1987, making a reunion tour in 2001. Considered as the founders of Lithuanian Jazz School the trio received Lithuanian National Prize in 2016.

Israel

In 1987, Ganelin immigrated to Israel, where he became a lecturer at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance. In 1999 he founded the ''Ganelin Trio Priority'' with soprano saxophonist Petras Vyšniauskas and percussionist Klaus Kugel, which is still active. Ganelin also performs solo, as well as with various artists including the drummer Arkadiy Gotesman, the singer and dancer Esti Kenan-Ofri, the oud player Gershon Weiserfirer, and the classical pianist Irina Berkovich. He directs the festival Jazz Globus in Jerusalem. He also continues to write music for movies and theatre. In particular, he wrote the music for the movies ''The Distance'' and ''Foreign Sister'' by Dan Wolman, and for the plays ''Beautiful Girl'' of the Yiddishpiel Theatre and ''The Naked King'' of the Lookingglass Theatre.

Selected recordings

Solo

* ''Con amore'' (Leo, 1987) * ''On Stage ... Backstage'' (Rec. live in Germany 1992; Leo, 1994)

Duos

* as Slava Ganelin, with Esti Kenan-Ofri: ''On the Edge of a Dream'' (Rec. live in Germany 1992, and Israel 1999; ZuTa, 1999) * as Slava Ganelin, with Ned Rothenberg: ''Falling into Place'' (Rec. live in Israel 2004; Auris Media, 2006)

Ganelin Trio (Ganelin, Tarasov, Chekasin)

* ''Con anima'' (Melody, 1978) * ''Concerto grosso'' (Melody, 1980) * ''Non Troppo'' (Enja, 1983) * '' Ancora da Capo'' ( Leo, 1982) * ''Non Troppo'' (Hat ART, 1985) * ''15 Year Reunion: Live at the Frankfurt Book Fair'' (Leo, 2003)

Ganelin Trio Priority

* ''Live in Germany'' (Rec. 1999; Auris Media, 2005) * ''Live in Lugano 2006'' (NotTwo (MW 783), 2007) * ''Visions'' (Rec. live in New York 2007; SoLyD, 2010)

References

External links

Official site
* * Ganelin Trio Allmusic.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ganelin, Vyacheslav 1944 births Living people Avant-garde jazz musicians Free jazz pianists Jewish musicians Academic staff of the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre Soviet emigrants to Israel Lithuanian expatriates in Russia Lithuanian film score composers Lithuanian Jews Lithuanian musicians Male film score composers Male jazz pianists Musicians from Vilnius 21st-century pianists 21st-century male musicians Male jazz musicians Leo Records artists