Oleg Leonidovich Lundstrem (also spelled Lundstroem, Lundström, russian: Олег Леонидович Лундстрем; 2 April 1916, Chita — 14 October 2005, Korolyov,

Moscow Oblast Moscow Oblast ( rus, Моско́вская о́бласть, r=Moskovskaya oblast', p=mɐˈskofskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ), or Podmoskovye ( rus, Подмоско́вье, p=pədmɐˈskovʲjə, literally "under Moscow"), is a federal subject of Rus ...

) was a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

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, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

composer and conductor of the Oleg Lundstrem Orchestra, one of the earliest officially recognized

jazz band A jazz band (jazz ensemble or jazz combo) is a musical ensemble that plays jazz music. Jazz bands vary in the quantity of its members and the style of jazz that they play but it is common to find a jazz band made up of a rhythm section and a ...

s in the Soviet Union (full official name: The State Oleg Lundstrem Chamber Orchestra of Jazz Music, russian: Государственный камерный оркестр джазовой музыки под управлением Олега Лундстрема; currently, Oleg Lundstrem Memorial State Jazz Orchestra, russian: Государственный оркестр джазовой музыки имени Олега Лундстрема). Lundstrem was born to a family of musicians in Chita, Transbaikal Oblast. His family moved to

Harbin Harbin (; mnc, , v=Halbin; ) is a sub-provincial city and the provincial capital and the largest city of Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China, as well as the second largest city by urban population after Shenyang and largest ...

, China, when he was five. In 1935, inspired by Duke Ellington's "Dear Old Southland" record which he occasionally purchased in Harbin for a private party, Lundstrem joined forces with eight other young Russian amateur musicians and formed the Oleg Lundstrem Orchestra. In 1936, the band moved to

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

, where they immediately became popular among the public. Until 1947, the band was an important part of Shanghai's jazz scene, along with

Buck Clayton Wilbur Dorsey "Buck" Clayton (November 12, 1911 – December 8, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter who was a member of Count Basie's orchestra. His principal influence was Louis Armstrong, first hearing the record "Confessin' That I Love You" ...

Orchestra. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, in 1947, Lundstrem returned to the Soviet Union and settled in

Kazan Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering a ...

, where he worked as a

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

ist in the

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

and

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

theatre, while keeping his jazz orchestra as a side act. In 1956, the Oleg Lundstrem Orchestra moved to Moscow; Lundstrem was appointed by the Soviet cultural authorities as the orchestra's

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

and conductor. In 1994, the

Guinness Book of Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

recognized the Lundstrem band as the oldest continuously existing jazz band in the world. In 1998, he was awarded the Russian Federation State Award. He died at the age of 89 from natural causes at his home in the village of Valentinovka,

Moscow suburbs Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million re ...

, and was buried at the cemetery of the

Obraztsovo Obraztsovo (russian: Образцово) is a rural locality (a village) in Kubenskoye Rural Settlement, Vologodsky District, Vologda Oblast, Russia. The population was 2 as of 2002. Geography Obraztsovo is located 70 km northwest of Vologda ...

village, Moscow suburbs.Lundstrem burial site

Instrumental pieces for jazz band

* "Interlude" - 1945 * "Mirage" - 1947 * "The Lilac is Flourishing" - 1955 * "Humoresque" - 1957 * "Improvisation" ("''Atom-bugi''") - 1957 * "Humoresque" - 1958 * "A Song Without Words" - 1960 * "Etude for the band" (or "Study for Orchestra") - 1960 * "Prologue" - 1963 * "We Are Together Again" - 1969 * "

Bukhara Bukhara (Uzbek language, Uzbek: /, ; tg, Бухоро, ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan, with a population of 280,187 , and the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara ...

Design" - 1972 * "In the mountains of Georgia" - 1973 * "The Ways of Love" - 1975 * "Speedway" - 1980 * "The Legend of Söyembikä" - 1981 * "At Dawn" - 1984

Honours and awards

Honoured Artist of the RSFSR Merited Artist of the Russian Federation (russian: link=no, Заслуженный артист Российской Федерации, ''Zasluzhenny artist Rossiyskoy Federatsii'') is an honorary title in the Russian Federation. The title is ...

(1973) *

People's Artist of the RSFSR People's Artist of the RSFSR (russian: Народный артист РСФСР, ''Narodnyj artist RSFSR'') was an honorary title granted to Soviet Union artists, including theatre and film directors, choreographers, music performers, and orchest ...

(1984) *

State Prize of the Russian Federation The State Prize of the Russian Federation, officially translated in Russia as Russian Federation National Award, is a state honorary prize established in 1992 following the breakup of the Soviet Union. In 2004 the rules for selection of laureates ...

(1998) *

Order of Merit for the Fatherland Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

, 3rd class

References

Oleg Lundstrem bio
at the

Oleg Lundstrem Jazz Orchestra Oleg (russian: Олег), Oleh ( uk, Олег), or Aleh ( be, Алег) is an East Slavic given name. The name is very common in Russia, Ukraine and Belаrus. It derives from the Old Norse ''Helgi'' ( Helge), meaning "holy", "sacred", or "blesse ...

website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lundstrem, Oleg 1916 births 2005 deaths People from Chita, Zabaykalsky Krai People from Transbaikal Oblast Russian people of Swedish descent Jazz bandleaders Russian musicians Russian jazz musicians Russian jazz composers Russian conductors (music) Russian male conductors (music) People's Artists of Russia Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 3rd class Honored Artists of the RSFSR State Prize of the Russian Federation laureates Soviet jazz musicians Soviet composers Soviet male composers Soviet conductors (music) 20th-century Russian male musicians 20th-century jazz composers Kazan Conservatory alumni