From Russia With Love

By Vlafamir Fayertag

Vladamin Fayertah has had almost 40 years of experience as a publisher and teacher of jazz in St. Petersburg in Russia. He has worked with such artists as Paul Horn and Dave Brubeck. Mr. Fayertag currently manages Russian jazz pianist Andre Kindalov. As a guest at the 1994 Discover Jazz Festival in Burlington, Vermont, Mr.Fayertag shared his ideas with festival organizers about ways in which to conduct future festivals. In an interview with Patricia Braine (Of “Good Citizen” magazine) he was gracious enough to give his views on jazz in this country and in his homeland. 

Jazz music is very diverse. It can be entertaining or conceptual, easy or difficult. This diversity is necessary to the vitality of jazz. New melodic, rhythmic and ideological concepts should be continually introduced to preserve this. Musical geniuses such as Parker, Gillespie, and Coltrepi knew and practiced this.

From my personal experience it seems that many of these new concepts are introduced by younger musicians. They are more open to new ideas than older musicians who are committed to preserving the standards of jazz. In the 1994 Discover Jazz Festival in Burlington, musicians Steve Blair and Andre Kondakaov played original and innovative compositions in contrast to traveling stars Joe Henderson and Kenny Burrell whose music relied on the more familiar concepts of jazz.

Russian jazz could provide yet another opportunity for America to expand its horizons and keep its music alive and thriving. This is not a new concept; jazz pioneers from Coltrane to Russel have turned to non-American music sources for inspiration. With political changes in the past decade, it is easier today for Russian musicians to play with Americans and to exchange their ideas.

Russia’s international participation in jazz is growing, although slower than many would like, with only 12 or 15 festivals in Russian in 1994. International festivals have been conducted in St.Petersburg, Moscow, Sochi, and Yaroslavl to name a few. Many Russian musicians have also has more challenges in dealing with such jazz concepts as swing, drive and offbeat than their American counterparts who have been exposed to these ideas since childhood. Russian musicians who come to America indubitably gain new energy and broaden their range of interest, as well as further expanding the interest of jazz in their homeland. Talent exists everywhere, and I could name 10-15 Russian musicians who could surprise America.

It is uncertain whether this country is ready to welcome Russian musicians and ideas. Americans are proud of jazz and rightfully so. It is their music, their contribution to world culture. Americans should also take pride in the fact that many non-American musicians have taken a deep interest in this culture and can offer their own insights into American jazz. In a genre of music where listeners are overwhelmed with a quantity of sounds and a laziness of knowledge, jazz would benefit from the freshness of ethic diversity.