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Album
Ancora Da Capo
The Ganelin Trio →528 listeners1,218 plays
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about this album
Composed by pianist/leader Vyacheslav Ganelin, Ancora Da Capo is an inspired major work consisting of two parts, recorded live on two separate occasions in 1980 and each nearly 40 minutes long. The Ganelin Trio's brand of loosely structured free jazz was something really distinctive, though unfamiliar listeners might use the Art Ensemble of Chicago as a loose comparison since the two groups share several common elements: multi-instrumentalism (the trio's members play 16 instruments among themselves here); liberal uses of space, miscellaneous percussion sounds, and traditional/folk music references; and an anything-goes sense of humor. All of these qualities are evident on Ancora Da Capo. The piece has a few pre-composed themes (which are actually more alluded to than they are clearly stated) and an overarching form that guides the playing along, but the bulk of the music is heavily improvised within this larger framework. "Part 1" begins quietly with several minutes of chimes, shakers, and rattling percussion sounds before Ganelin and Vladimir Chekasin switch to piano and clarinet, respectively, improvising sparsely and patiently around a skeletal theme. Things heat up about halfway through when a new theme enters, as percussionist Vladimir Tarasov slides into a more propulsive free jazz groove and Chekasin's saxophone begins honking and vocalizing. Subsequently, there are more rattling percussion noises, some violin scrapes courtesy of Chekasin, a Ganelin piano solo that vee
why this is interesting
# Ancora Da Capo This work rewards patient listening with something genuinely uncommon: free jazz that breathes rather than overwhelms. Ganelin's compositional intelligence shapes two extended pieces through restraint and textural subtlety—the trio's sixteen instruments create landscapes of surprising intimacy rather than spectacle. What distinguishes this album is its cultural position: Soviet-era improvisation that honors folk traditions and uses silence as purposefully as sound. The live recordings capture spontaneous invention without sacrificing architecture. Rather than explosive virtuosity, the music emphasizes how three musicians can explore vastly different sonic territories while remaining in meaningful conversation. For anyone curious about jazz beyond American boundaries or free music that values contemplation, this
