The Ganelin Trio (
Vyacheslav Ganelin, piano and electric guitar;
Vladimir Tarasov, drums;
Vladimir Chekasin, reeds, wooden flutes, and voice) is the proof that the Soviet Union could produce incredible musicianship and unbridled creativity.
Poco-a-Poco, recorded live in Novosibirsk, February 1978, and released in 1988 on Leo Records (it was the label's first CD), introduced the trio to Western listeners. The shock was real and invigorating. Avant-garde jazz aficionados discovered a trio of lunatics who were condensing 100 years of jazz, blending it with folkloric elements and stage antics. The resulting music is passionate, complex, ever-shifting, and very funny; it crackles with energy. Posing as a 60-minute suite, "Poco-a-Poco" sounds more like a collage of excerpts from a live show (cuts are noticeable between sections) but ultimately it matters very little: The fact remains that this is an exciting record from beginning to end.
Vyacheslav Ganelin's writing could be compared to a Russian and jazzier avatar of
John Zorn. The trio moves from free jazz to 2/4 upbeat themes, from sensual Coltrane-ian melodies to wacky recorder solos. Although Catalogue, the trio's second album for Leo Records, is stronger composition-wise,
Poco-a-Poco remains a must. In September 2000, the label released a reissue of the CD with extensive liner notes by Steve Kulak in a limited edition of 500 copies.