Vyacheslav (Slava) Ganelin ( he, ויאצ'סלב (סלבה) גנלין , lt, Viačeslavas Ganelinas, russian: Вячеслав Шевелевич Гане́лин; born 17 December 1944) is a Lithuanian–

Israeli Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni 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, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

pianist, composer, 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 a ...

. Primarily a pianist, he also plays other

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

( organ and synthesizer) as well as bass,

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

, and

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

s. He was the leader of the Ganelin Trio, described by critic

Chris Kelsey Chris Kelsey (born June 5, 1961) is an American-born jazz saxophonist, composer, music critic, and novelist. His music draws on bebop, free jazz, free improvisation, funk, and fusion, and is augmented by elements of non-tonal, contemporary classic ...

as "arguably the world's greatest

free jazz Free jazz is an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes. Musicians duri ...

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 ( , 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 millio ...

. In 1948 his family moved to Lithuania, 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. For many years, Ganelin taught composition at the Vilnius Conservatory, and was music director of the Vilnius Russian Drama Theatre. He wrote music for numerous

movies A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

, including the musical '' Devil's Bride'', and an

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 libr ...

, ''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 woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pro ...

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 ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

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 Dan Wolman (born October 28, 1941) is an Israeli filmmaker and lecturer in film studies. Biography Dan Wolman was born in Jerusalem, in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine. His father was Moshe Wolman, a pioneering physician. He spen ...

, 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 Ned Rothenberg (born September 15, 1956) is an American multi-instrumentalist and composer. He specializes in woodwind instruments, including the alto saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet, flute, and shakuhachi (Japanese bamboo flute). He is known ...

: ''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 pianists Musicians from Vilnius 21st-century pianists 21st-century male musicians Male jazz musicians Leo Records artists