The Ganelin Trio

Although the Soviet Union in its waning years rarely earned recognition for jazz innovation, it nevertheless yielded one standout act: throughout the 1970s and 1980s the Ganelin Trio stood, by many accounts, as the preeminent free-jazz unit on the planet. Pianist Vyacheslav Ganelin, saxophonist Vladimir Chekasin, and drummer Vladimir Tarasov fashioned largely spontaneous performances whose emotional force rivaled the most gripping work then emerging anywhere, including the United States. Each player brought exceptional technique and fertile imagination to the proceedings. Stylistically and in its instrumental makeup, the ensemble echoed Cecil Taylor’s group featuring Sunny Murray and Jimmy Lyons, yet several distinctions set it apart. The raw materials differed, shaped by the musicians’ individual histories. Instrumentation also diverged: Ganelin often handled piano, keyboard bass, and percussion in tandem, while Chekasin mastered simultaneous performance on two saxophones. Most crucially, the Ganelin Trio operated as a genuine collective; unlike Taylor’s commanding presence in his own ensemble, Ganelin, Chekasin, and Tarasov functioned as equal partners who continuously supported, challenged, and responded to one another. Ganelin, born in Moscow, performed in jazz and dance ensembles while still a teenager before enrolling at the Lithuanian State Conservatory in Vilnius, from which he graduated in 1968. The following year he formed a duo with Tarasov; two years later Chekasin joined, officially establishing the Ganelin Trio. In 1976 the group appeared at the Warsaw Jazz Jamboree and issued its debut recording, Con Anima, on the state-owned Melodiya label. Russian émigré Leo Feigin, then based in London, subsequently documented the trio on his Leo Records imprint, broadening its international profile. The musicians ultimately performed at festivals across Europe and the United States before the original lineup dissolved in 1987. Beyond his improvisational work, Ganelin instructed composition at the Vilnius State Conservatory and held the post of music director at the Vilnius Russian Drama Theatre. He now resides in Israel, where he directs a new Ganelin Trio featuring Petras Vysniauskas on reeds and Klaus Kugel on drums.