George Garanian

[MosJan]

http://www.myspace.com/garanian

 

If you started to mark the places in which Garanian goes on tour with flags, very soon the globe would turn into a bristled up hedgehog. From France to Kazakhstan, from Izhevsk to Donetsk, from China to Tomsk … Musical horizons of Garanian are as infinite, as geographical. Glenn Miller and Gennady Gladkov, Benny Goodman and Rimski-Corsakov – there is not enough space to name all of them! And one concert is not enough to hear all styles of execution and arrangement that are subject to Garanian. You should watch TV translations of his concerts, buy CDs, listen to the radio. Though … If casually heard melody has set you thinking or smile, if you have closed eyes and for a minute were disconnected from the world or, on the contrary, begun to time steps to the music, does it matter, in what style it is written and even – who is the author? After all you do not know a name of the passer-by who smiled to you in the street. The main thing is that this music has touched your heart. Krasnodar big band

 

The history of big band has begun in 1997 with several phrases told Garanian by someone from the government of Krasnodar about a promising orchestra. Garanian has visited a rehearsal of the orchestra and … has lighted up the new project! Less then three months after that Krasnodarski big band created a sensation in Moscow . Triumphal procession of big band on jazz festivals, in the academic halls and at concert has begun. Now this orchestra is one of the most popular in the country and abroad. Krasnodarski big band has released two albums: “Just for fun …” and “When you are smiling …”.

 

The "Melody" Orchestra

 

In 2004 Garanian has revived the project, which was considered in the USSR as a cult - the band called "Melody". Only Victor Gusejnov and Garanian himself remained from the first members. So this project is a musical paradox: a brand new band with a 35-year history. Despite of their youth, the soloists-improvisators of the new Melody are really brilliant.

 

They can play music almost in any style. Former “Melody” has been named an ensemble-millionaire, because albums of the band were issued by million copies. New “Melody” does not hand over positions: the ensemble has already gotten out the album called “Provereno vremenem” (“Timeless songs”) starring the themes from popular soviet movies, and a double disk “From a melody to a melody”. Initially ensemble “Melody” has been conceived for a studio work. However time has made amendments and now “Melody” is basically a concert collective, to sincere pleasure of its numerous admirers.

 

George Garanian's Moscow Big Band

 

The "Melody" had further development. In 2006 George Garanian has added 5 musicians to the ensemble - brass and saxophones section - and converted the ensemble to Big Band. Now its repertoire consists of two parts – ensemble MELODY and BIG BAND. Big Band already began to make history participating in some prestigious projects – The presentation of New Year in Moscow biggest hall –Gostiny Dvor, two projects in Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory - Music of American Dancing with Krasnodar Big Band (two big band on stage – wow!) and ambitions program “Mystery of Glenn Miller”, as well as gigs in many Russian and Ukrainian cities, international jazz-festivals in Donezk and China.

 

George Garanian - Denis Matsuev Duet

 

(saxophone-alto-piano)

 

The long-playing duet was born right after Denis has won International Tchaikovsky competition. Very successful and demanded ensemble, which has a combination of classics and a jazz such as Bizet, Duke Ellington, Gershwin, Schubert in its repertoire.

 

George Garanian has the highest rank in RUSSIA - People's artist of Russia, and he is the only jazz musician who gives the series of seasonal jazz concerts in the most prestigious Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory. He is the local and foreign Jazz Festivals Laureate. In the course of his entire creative activities Garanian”s concerts are always sold out. Garanian was the conductor of the famous Tchaikovsky orchestra in the double CD album «Oregon in Moscow», with renowned American jazz group Oregon . In 2000 this album was nominated to the Grammy award. One more surprise from Garanian - a jazz album “Jazz in tuxedos”. It's been recorded with the orchestra “Virtuosos of Moscow” and pianist Denis Matsuev. It is a unique compilation - Gershwin, Ellington, Mozart, Prokofiev in Garanian's arrangements for a string band. Before you could hear it only from stage – now it is on CDs.

 

 

Russia's Jazz Pioneer, Dies‎

[MosJan]

Saxophonist George Garanian, Russia's Jazz Pioneer, Dies

 

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/news/images/obit.gif Posted: 2010-01-11 http://www.allaboutjazz.com/images/discuss_icon_2008.gif Comments http://www.allaboutjazz.com/images/print_icon_2008.gif http://www.allaboutjazz.com/images/mail_icon_2008.gif http://www.allaboutjazz.com/datafeed2.gif

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/media/large/1/9/4/9aaf8cbd792705180157eb1dbb1e8.jpg Shortly upon his arrival in Krasnodar, Russia, where he was scheduled to conduct the Krasnodar Municipal Big Band during two planned concerts with featured soloist Michel Legrand, the Soviet jazz veteran bandleader, arranger, composer, and alto saxophonist George Garanian was hospitalized in the morning hours of January 11, 2010. According to his wife, Nelly Zakirova, the 75-years-old bandleader suffered a heart attack, which eventually led to his death. George (Georgy) Garanian was born in Moscow on August 14, 1934. He belonged to the 1950s jazz engineers generation a circle of musicians, mostly graduate and postgraduate students at Moscow and Leningrad's technical and engineering universities, with no background in classical music training, but with sheer admiration of the new, post-WWII jazz styles. Their jazz education consisted of endless careful transcriptions of American jazz stars' solos using not the original American records, which were not legally available behind the Iron Curtain, but either taped transmissions from the Voice of America (and its host Willis Conover, whose special English became the source of English education for those enthusiasts,) or the jazz on the bones records the self-made 78s cut on used X-ray film, with somebody's broken ribs in the background.

 

In 1958, Garanian became the first Soviet-born soloist accepted in the famed Oleg Lundstrem Orchestra, the Shanghai-based swing band from the 1930s which moved to its members' distant homeland, Russia, after WWII. In the 1960s, he worked in Moscow Radio's Vadim Lyudvikovski Big Band, where he showed a considerable passion for arranging the music. In 1973, the new Soviet Television and Radio Committee Chairman, Sergey Lapin, who hated Western music, fired the entire Radio Big Band and got rid of all jazz in the Soviet TV and radio programming; Garanian, and a few chosen instrumentalists from the former Lyudvikovski Big Band, formed the core of the new studio band, Melodia, which worked for the U.S.S.R's only record label with the same name.

 

Garanian spent about fifteen years as Melodia's director, arranging music for the country's leading pop singers and singing film stars, and directing the Melodia Big Band for dance albums. He did not play saxophone at that time, but, as director and conductor, made sure that the orchestra, which consisted of the leading Soviet jazz soloists, would record a few albums of his arrangements of jazz standards and Garanian's originals, mostly in the realm of light fusion (closer to disco) sounds.

 

In post-Soviet Russia, Garanian became one of the busiest bandleaders: in early 2000s, he would simultaneously direct up to four big bands in several Russian cities, including renewed Melodia Big Band, Krasnodar Municipal Big Band, and (from 2003 to 2006) the Oleg Lundstrem Big Band. Garanian toured extensively, mostly with either of his multiple big bands, performing jazz evergreens and/or Soviet song and movie music classics in his own arrangements, very accessible to general public. He resumed his alto sax playing after a 15-years break in the early 1990s, but, obviously, never reached his own former level as soloist, though at one stage (in mid-1990s) he also toured in a piano-guitar-sax trio setting where he soloed a lot.

 

In 1999, Garanian conducted the Moscow Symphony Orchestra during the Oregon's Oregon in Moscow sessions. Produced by Pat Metheny Group's Steve Rodby, the album received a Grammy nomination, thus partly making Garanian Russia's first non-classical Grammy nominee.

 

Funeral arrangements were not yet announced by mid-day of January 11.

 

On the photo by Pavel Korbout: George Garanian conducts his Melodia Big Band in Moscow on October 22, 2009

 

[MosJan]

Dmitry Medvedev extended condolences to George Garanian’s friends and relatives 11.01.2010 19:33 GMT+04:00 http://www.panarmenian.net/news/images/ico_print.gif http://www.panarmenian.net/news/images/ico_mail.gif /PanARMENIAN.Net/ Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has extended condolences to the friends and relatives of jazz saxaphone player and bandleader George Garanian who passed away Monday, at age 76, Russian leader’s press service reported.

 

George Garanian died in Krasnodar as a result of heart attack. He had arrived there to give a concert which was scheduled for January 13.

 

Garanian was one of the first Russian musicians who attracted attention of Western world as part of the "jazz from the USSR". He belonged to the first generation of Russian jazzmen who started to perform after the World War II. As a musician (alto saxophone), conductor and composer he always was among the best musicians. He was the leader of country's best big bands: "Melodia" (70s - 80s), Moscow Big Band - 1992-95. He led the Municipal Big Band of Southern Russian Krasnodar city.