Pianist Leonid Vintskevich (b. 04/01/1949, Kursk) - Honored Artist Russian Federation, art director of the annual festival of the Russian Cultural Foundation "Jazz Province".
Leonid Vintskevich's father was a professional musician and played the violin. Mother worked as a surgeon, but was also fond of music and sang. Leonid himself began playing the piano at the age of seven.
Leonid Vintskevich graduated from the Kursk Music School (in the graduation program he played Sergei Rachmaninov's Second Piano Concerto with the school orchestra), and in 1968 he entered the Kazan Conservatory. His favorite composers are Mussorgsky, Scriabin, Prokofiev, Berg, Messiaen. During his years of study at the conservatory, Leonid improved not only as a pianist: as a free listener, he attended composition classes, was friends with students of the composition department and was the first performer of their new compositions (he had a particularly close creative relationship with the Kazan composer Alexei Rudenko). In parallel with his serious studies in academic music, he was interested in jazz. In the late 60s, he was among the most regular listeners of Arkady Petrov's program "Radio Club Metronome", which then aired on Fridays on the Yunost radio station. In Kursk, and then in Kazan, Leonid recorded each episode of the program on a tape recorder and carefully listened to everything that was broadcast there. Thanks to the radio, he learned about the vibrant jazz life in the USSR, heard the performance of the then leaders of Soviet jazz - Georgy Garanyan, Konstantin Nosov, Gennady Golshtein, German Lukyanov, Roman Kunsman... Most of all he liked Igor Bril, especially his works using Russian melodic music.
After graduating from the conservatory, Leonid Vintskevich returned to Kursk and became a soloist of the Kursk Philharmonic (he remains in this capacity now). In 1974, the creation of the first state jazz bands began in the USSR educational institutions- pop and jazz departments of music schools. Kursk was among the first 20 cities where such a branch was created, and Leonid took an active part in its organization. Since there was no organizational experience (curricula, organization of the educational process, teaching methods), the creators of jazz departments from all over the country were helped by Muscovites who had such experience - after all, back in 1967, a jazz studio began operating at the Moskvorechye Cultural Center (now the Moscow College of Improvisational Music). Two of the studio teachers, German Lukyanov and Igor Bril, as well as theorist Yuri Chugunov and others, also advised Vintskevich. In addition to purely pedagogical experience, Lukyanov and Bril influenced Leonid with their attention to Russian music (both, especially Lukyanov, at that time had many works using musical language Russian folklore).
Around the same time, Vintskevich accidentally (on a flexible record of the sound magazine "Krugozor") heard recordings of a folk choir in the village of Foshchevatovo, Belgorod region. The musician was struck by the harmonic and rhythmic structure of these songs, he transferred their fragments to music paper, trying to comprehend the nature of the rhythmic organization of folk singing, similar in perception to jazz drive. The result of the generalization of all these influences was the first original compositions by Leonid Vintskevich ("Leshy", "Autumn Song", "Burlatskaya", "Wormwood Grass"), which he showed at jazz festivals in Fergana (Uzbekistan) and Kuibyshev (now Samara) in 1978 In 1979 he performed at a festival in Tallinn as part of a trio (Sergei Vintskevich - bass guitar, Nikolai Adamov - drums). In the same year he played with the same trio at the Moscow Jazz Week. Newspaper " TVNZ" wrote about this performance: "The group plays with nerve and good enthusiasm. Sharp, caustic harmonies, energetic development of melodic material, easily recognizable features of Russian songwriting, subvocal polyphony..." The trio's reunion took place in 1998 at the Kursk part of the festival "Jazz Province-98" - the Vintskevich brothers (Leonid - piano and Sergei - bass -guitar) and drummer Nikolai Adamov played part of their program in the late 70s, and then they were joined by Leonid’s son Nikolai (soprano and alto saxophones), who in recent years has become a prominent figure among young Moscow jazzmen (he studies at the Russian Academy music named after Gnessins).
Since 1981, Vintskevich abandoned the rhythm section and began performing solo or in a duet with Moscow saxophonist Vladimir Konovaltsev. Vintskevich worked in this duet until 1984, until Konovaltsev organized his own quintet in Moscow, which did not leave him time for other projects.
Then, in 1984, Leonid met the Estonian tenor saxophonist Lembit Saarsalu at a jazz festival in Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg). Having played together once, the musicians created a duet that still exists today.
Lembit Saarsalu (b. 06/08/1948) is one of the leading jazz musicians of Estonia, Honored Artist of the Republic of Estonia. Leonid Vintskevich says about him: “Saarsalu is a most curious individual. First of all, he is not a “chatty” musician. He plays few notes, but each one is in place. He has absolutely no jazz rhetoric, all this love for ostentatious technique, empty passages. He can play two or three sounds and intrigue the listener so much that he will sit with bated breath... This is a predominantly spontaneous musician, best ideas who come on stage during a performance. Therefore, it is better not to rehearse with him, but to limit himself to some general schemes. This is where we disagree: I like to think about a thing, delve into it, turn the melody back and forth in order to understand what to do with it next... He is an interesting composer, although, again, he is organically incapable of sweating for a long time, inventing music. She is born to him somehow in one breath. We play some of Saarsalu's favorites. Lembit’s desire to use elements of Estonian folklore in music is extremely dear to me..." (Quoted from: Ark. Petrov. Jazz silhouettes. Moscow, "Music", 1996).
Best of the day
In the fall of 1984, the Vinckevich-Saarsalu duo performed at the jazz festival in Prague. In 1985 - at two festivals in East Germany (Jazzbuehne in Berlin and Jazztage in Leipzig). In 1986 - at the North Sea Jazz Festival (The Hague, the Netherlands), where instead of the required thirty minutes, thanks to the warm reception of the audience, they played one hundred and twenty.
In the 90s Leonid Vintskevich regularly performed with Lembit Saarsalu in Germany, where they recorded three CDs in different lineups. The fourth, also released in Germany, was recorded in Moscow in a trio with American guitarist John Stowell, whom Leonid and Lembit met at the Hampton Festival.
Among the musical projects of Leonid Vintskevich in the second half of the 90s - work with the folk choir "Rosstan" (Kursk), participation in the recordings of the "Ivanov Brothers Jazz Project" (albums "Black In Jazz", where Leonid participated in one track, and "I Love You", where the duet Vintskevich-Saarsalu is supported by double bassist Andrei Ivanov and drummer Dmitry Sevastyanov, and in one track Leonid’s student, pianist Mikhail Ivanov, plays the piano). In 1997, after the first “Jazz Province”, on the now defunct Moscow radio station “Rakurs” in live"Moscow Swing" program Leonid Vintskevich and Lembit Saarsalu showed an original program called "Estonian Wind", performed by Andrei Ivanov (double bass) and Oleg Yudanov (drums), a former member of the legendary new jazz group "Arkhangelsk".
The Vinckevich-Saarsalu duo took part in The Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival several times. The duo's first performance at the festival (1989) was accompanied by a surprise - Lionel Hampton himself, who was then 81 years old, suddenly appeared on stage and joined the duet with his vibraphone (he does this on very rare occasions when he especially likes the music of the festival guests). And this despite the fact that the festival is exclusively traditional, swing, and in the playing of Vintskevich and Saarsalu, more modern notes were still visible... Later, Down Beat magazine wrote about this performance: “Two musicians from Soviet Union showed that the style of Erroll Garner (tradition!) and the style of Cecil Taylor (avant-garde!) do not contradict each other at all." The musicians played at this festival every year until 1993. In February 1999, the sixth performance of Vintskevich and Saarsalu took place in Moscow, state Idaho, where this annual festival takes place; Leonid’s son, saxophonist Nikolai Vintskevich, attended and performed very successfully. In 2001, Leonid and Lembit visited the festival again (where they not only performed on the main stage, but also gave several master classes together. with horn player Arkady Shilkloper; in addition, Leonid acted as a partner of the famous singer Kevin Makhagani at his master class. During this visit to the USA, Leonid and Lembit recorded the music of the festival director, Lionel Hampton, negotiations are currently underway; about the publication of this recording in Russia.
Currently, Leonid Vintskevich's main project is his duet with his son, saxophonist Nikolai Vintskevich. The duo recorded and released on the Landy Star label Jazz album entitled "Five Song" (2001).
31.03.2018
Vintskevich Leonid Vladislavovich
Russian Musician
Leonid Vintskevich was born on April 1, 1949 in the city of Kursk. He started playing the piano at the age of seven. Graduated from Kursk music school No. 1, then - Kursk Music College, where he studied with teachers N.L. Kireevskaya and L.Ya. Uporina. In 1968 he entered the Kazan Conservatory to study piano. On his own initiative, he attended composition classes. He was friends with students of the composition department and was the first performer of their new compositions. In parallel with his studies in academic music, he was interested in jazz. At the end of the 60s, I constantly listened to Arkady Petrov’s “Metronome Radio Club” broadcasts on the “Yunost” radio station.
After graduating from the conservatory, Vintskevich returned to his hometown and became a soloist with the Kursk Philharmonic. It remains so to this day. In 1974, the creation of the first state jazz educational institutions began in the USSR - pop-jazz departments of music schools. Kursk was among the first 20 cities where such a branch was created, and Leonid took an active part in its organization. Since there was no organizational experience, the creators of jazz departments from all over the country were helped by Muscovites who had such experience - after all, back in 1967, a jazz studio began operating at the Moskvorechye House of Culture. Two of the studio's teachers, German Lukyanov and Igor Bril, as well as theorist Yuri Chugunov and others, also advised Vintskevich.
In addition to purely pedagogical experience, Lukyanov and Bril also influenced Leonid with their attention to Russian music. Around the same time, Vintskevich accidentally heard recordings of a folk choir in the village of Foshchevatovo, Belgorod region. The musician was struck by the harmonic and rhythmic structure of these songs, he transferred their fragments to music paper, trying to comprehend the nature of the rhythmic organization of folk singing, similar in perception to jazz drive.
The result of the generalization of all these influences was the first original compositions of Leonid Vintskevich, which he showed at jazz festivals in Fergana and Kuibyshev in 1978. Since 1978, he began active concert activities, participating in jazz festivals held in those years throughout the former USSR. In 1979 he performed at a festival in Tallinn as part of a trio. In the same year he played with the same trio at the Moscow Jazz Week. The Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper wrote about this performance: “The group plays with nerve and good enthusiasm. Sharp, caustic harmonies, energetic development of melodic material, easily recognizable features of Russian songwriting, subvocal polyphony..."
In 1984, Leonid met Estonian tenor saxophonist Lembit Saarsalu at a jazz festival in Sverdlovsk. Having played together once, the musicians created a duet that still exists today. The Vinckevich-Saarsalu duo took part in the Lionel Hampton Festival several times. The duo's first performance at the festival was accompanied by a surprise - Lionel Hampton himself, who was then 81 years old, suddenly appeared on stage and joined the duet with his vibraphone. And this despite the fact that the festival is exclusively traditional, swing, and in the playing of Vintskevich and Saarsalu, more modern notes were still visible... Later, Down Beat magazine wrote about this performance: “Two musicians from the Soviet Union showed that the style of Erroll Garner and Cecil Taylor's style does not contradict each other at all."
The musicians played at this festival annually until 1993. In February 1999, Winckevich and Saarsalu's sixth performance took place in Moscow, Idaho, where this annual festival takes place; Leonid’s son, saxophonist Nikolai Vintskevich, was present with them and performed very successfully. In 2001, Leonid and Lembit again visited the festival for his master class. During their visit to the USA, Leonid and Lembit recorded the music of festival director Lionel Hampton, Dr. Lynn Skinner.
... read more >On October 28, the XXI traveling festival “Jazz Province” will begin its march across Russia. On the eve of the opening, founder Leonid Vintskevich spoke about how the festival became traditional, whether the political situation influences the formation of the musical program, and how it is possible to keep a large-scale event under control in ten cities at once.
- Hello, Leonid! The XXI Jazz Province is opening very soon. Please tell us how the festival became a part of your life 21 years ago?
– I am very pleased that the festival is in demand. Since 1984, I have been organizing Jazz Days, but then I did not have a clear idea of all the nuances of organizing such events. There was a time then when jazz was not interesting, and I needed to communicate with other musicians who were also lovers of improvisation. This is how the idea to create a festival came about. My family has always supported me and continues to support me.
Thanks to the festival, my son Nikolai became one of the most sought-after young saxophonists - I constantly brought him to the stage. And it’s good that everything worked out, because the stage will definitely filter everything out. You can make a lot of effort, rent Carnegie Hall and hire the Philadelphia Orchestra, but this will be the first and last time, if there is no talent.
– Does the political situation affect the holding of the festival, the ability to bring foreign musicians in Russia? How do you deal with this?
– Our festival is supported by Embassies different countries. Jazz communities help their musicians come to Russia to show how different and multifaceted the art of jazz can be, representing as fully as possible the trends in modern improvised music. The festival, presenting musicians from all over the world, certainly contributes to the growth of mutual understanding, trust and friendship between peoples and shows that culture has a positive influence on politics.
– Organizing a festival in one city is not an easy job. And “Jazz Province” will change 10 locations this year. How do you manage to control and be responsible for the quality of such a large-scale event?
– Of course, carrying out such large-scale musical projects is impossible without financial support from government and public organizations and representatives of private business. I can’t boast that we have achieved much, but there are changes, there is a dialogue with top officials in the regions and relevant federal officials. It’s just that our culture is financed on a residual basis. There are a lot of interesting events in Russia, and our project has not yet gotten around to it.
– At the festival you will play as part of the Vintscevich-Taylor Quartet with musicians from the USA and Georgia. What program awaits guests?
Leonid Vladislavovich Vintskevich(born April 1, Kursk, RSFSR, USSR) - Kursk pianist, jazzman. Founder and Art Director international festival"Jazz Province"
Encyclopedic YouTube
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✪ Leonid Vintskevich - Lembit Saarsalu: Dialog
✪ Leonid Vintskevich - Lembit Saarsalu: Evening Music
✪ Master class by Alina Rostotskaya
Subtitles
Biography
Festival "Jazz Province"
“Jazz Province” is a traditional annual jazz festival held in Kursk in November since 1997 with the participation of the best domestic and foreign jazz musicians. Established by the Russian Cultural Foundation on the initiative of Kursk musician Leonid Vintskevich and director of the Kursk Philharmonic Olga Makarova. In accordance with the festival program, after the first concerts held in Kursk, festival participants tour the cities of the Central Black Earth Region and the Volga region and conclude the festival in Moscow or St. Petersburg.
Leonid Vintskevich about the Jazz Province festival: “Over the 20 years of the festival’s existence, a whole generation of young connoisseurs of this sparkling art [jazz] has grown up, an intellectual community of people in love with this music has formed, and hundreds of musicians from dozens of countries and cities have united.”
Awards and titles
Discography
- Trinity - Unity, The Moscow Session
"Songs From The Black Earth" SLAM (England) 2007 Leonid Vintskevich piano, Nikolai Vintskevich soprano and alto saxophones, Steve Kershaw double bass, Petter Sward drums, recorded in Oxford.
"Singularity" SLAM522 (England)2009 Leonid Vintskevich fender Rhodes piano, Nick Vintskevich sax, Joel Taylor dr, Kip Reed bass guitar.
"Vive Lamour" (IBMG) RUS 2011, Nick Vintskevich alto, soprano sax & composer, Leonid Vintskevich keys, Kim Nazarian vocal, Eve Cornelious vocal, JD Walter vocal, Jay Ashby percussion, Joel Taylor dr, Kip Reed bass, Eugene Sharikov bass .
"Russian Ornament" (IBMG)RUS 2013,with folk choir "Rostan" leader Valentina Savenko, Leonid Vintskevich fender rhodes piano, Nick Vintskevich sax, Joel Taylor dr, Kip Reed bass, Eugene Sharikov bass.
"Never Was A Doubt" (NiRo Music) Swiss 2015, Nick Vintskevich sax & composer, Bill Champlin vocal and Hammond b3, Kim Nazarian vocal, Mike Miller guitar, Jay Ashby percussion, Luis Conte percussion, Joel Taylor dr, Kip Reed bass, Leonid Vintskevich keys, Paulie Cerra sax, Lee Thornburg trumpet & trombone, Arno McCuller back vocals.
"Under A Different Sky" (SLAM) England 2016, Leonid Vintskevich piano, Steve Kershaw double bass, Nick Vintskevich alto & soprano sax.
Nikolai Vintskevich - one of the brightest jazzmen younger generation. Graduate of the jazz department of the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music, class of Professor A. Oseichuk. Winner of the Moscow Association of Jazz Journalists "Jazz Ear-98" award in the category "Musician Deserving Wider Recognition." A hard worker, artistic and charming musician, saxophonist, whose talent was recognized by world jazz stars with whom Nikolai had the opportunity to perform on the same stage: Lewis Nash, Grady Tate, Santi Debriano, Bill Charlap, Mike Ellis, Slide Hampton, Kenny Burrell, Kim Nazaryan, Jay Ashby, Igor Butman and many others. Nick is a regular participant in jazz festivals - Music” (Moscow), “Moscow Autumn”, “Jazz in the Hermitage Garden” (Moscow), “Stroom-jazz (Ukraine), “Russian Music Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow” (England), “ Russian jazz on the Dnieper”, “Jazz maratonas Nida” (Lithuania)... Unexpectedly for the jazz public, he took the path of composing and... unusually succeeded in a new quality! His albums recent years consist almost entirely of Nikolai’s compositions and attract constant interest and recognition from listeners: “Songs from the Black Earth” (2007), “Vive L`Amour” (2011), “Russian Ornament” (2013).
- You played on the same stage with many greats jazz musicians. Which one of them left the strongest impression on you? What have you learned from them? Maybe some difficult situations arose?
Lionel Hampton!!! on my first visit to the USA in 1999, I was 23 and he said that he wanted to listen to me, I thought it would be in one of the classrooms of his school (Lionel Hampton Music School) Moscow Idaho, but he wanted to hear me on the stage of his festival and this is a huge stadium and every day 10,000 people come to the festival (the festival lasts three days) and here I am playing two pieces in the company of the legendary drummer Grady Tate, pianist Bill Sharlap and bassist Santi DeBriano, such a cool line-up supported my performance! Hampton liked my performance, he says every other day: “You will play with my Big Band as a soloist!” And I didn’t speak English then. And here is the day's rehearsal, we play "Perdido" - the whole orchestra and the maestro himself at the vibraphone! I’m soloing, I played three squares, I think that’s probably enough, and every time he finishes a square he says: “One more.” And this lasted for about 20 minutes! It was an unforgettable experience in my life - to touch a Legend of such a scale as LH!!! he became my godfather in jazz!
Lionel Hampton introduces Nick Vintskevich:
- Your main instrument is the saxophone. Why was this the choice? Is this just your decision?
This was inevitable, since my father Leonid Vintskevich played in a duet with two excellent saxophonists for many years. Volodya Konovaltsev (played in the first line-up of Allegro) performed in a duet with his father for several years. It’s a pity that not a single disc of this duet was recorded, only amateur concert recordings remained. And later - saxophonist Lembit Saarsalu from Estonia, this duo existed for 20 years and was successful (two albums on the Melodiya company and four albums in Germany: one duet, a trio with the American guitarist John Stowell, a quartet and a trio with the German singer Jutta Glaser in ethno-folk style). My father and Lembit toured Europe and Scandinavia, and in 1989 they became the first Soviet jazzmen officially invited to tour the USA by Lionel Hampton himself, with whom they played dozens of times! My first saxophone lessons were given to me by Vladimir Konovaltsev, later by Lembit Saarsalu, and then I found myself in the hands of Alexander Oseichuk in Gnesinka, and everything was very serious there! I received an excellent education from Oseichuk and I am glad that I ended up with this Master, Teacher and Saxophonist!
- What (brand, age, history) are you playing today? What is the character of your saxophone?
Saxophones: alto Selmer mark 6 and soprano Yanagisawa. It’s difficult to answer about the character of my saxophone; from the outside it can be seen better. Someone says about my alto - “hard Paul Desmond”, about the soprano, when I play smooth - then “Grover”, and when in the Vintskevich-Taylor quartet - “Joe Farrell”. And most importantly, more and more often I hear from different people that I have a characteristic, recognizable style and for me this is the MOST IMPORTANT!!! Be different from others!
How did you move from performing to composing music? Who from the world of music inspires you? Whose composer's experience are you interested in today, who admires you?
Indeed, for many years I focused only on saxophone lessons (especially in Gnesenko), but then I began to spend time at the piano and look at chords, various sequences, analyze, disassemble songs and compositions. And somehow, at one point, I started writing my own. There are a lot of composers who inspire me: from Led Zeppelin to Antonio Carlos Jobim, from Ravel to Herbie Hancock! Thanks to them - without their music the world would be boring and uninteresting, it is a cure for depression!!!
- How did the idea for the album “Vive L’amour” come about, what does it consist of? What is the most important composition for you on this disc? Who took part in the recording?
The idea for the album was born a long time ago, about eight years ago. By that time I began to compose a lot, beautiful melodies came out and I decided that I could make a good songs. That's how it all started. The first few songs were sung by JD Walter, a very good singer from NYC. My father had a big tour with him in Finland and later we invited him to the Jazz Province festival. On one of his visits to Russia, we started working in the studio of Evgeniy Sharikov, an excellent bass player and sound producer. Evgeniy made a great contribution to the creation of this album, the disc became our common brainchild!
A few more songs were sung by the amazing singer strong energy and a wonderful timbre - Eve Cornelious (she is known for her performances in the group of Roy Hargrove, Chucho Valdes and many others). Eve Cornelius is also from New York, and I got to know her closely at the Jazz Province festival, because we were the first to invite her on tour to Russia!
And the third participant in the recording is the famous Kim Nazarian, lead singer of the famous group NY Voices, Grammy Award winner! Meeting her was unexpected. My father and I performed in the USA at the Hampton Festival, giving daytime master classes. After our performance, famous trombonist Jay Ashby suddenly came up to us and asked how busy we were the next morning. We were free, and he asked us to take part in his master class, which he was going to give together with trumpeter Claudio Roditi. In the morning we took part in this amazing master class, where we talked about the Brazilian bossa nova, how to play it correctly and how to accompany it (a piano and three wind instruments took part). After class we started talking, I told Jay that I was currently working on an album of songs. And then he says that his wife is a singer, and he’s always interested in vocalists new material, so he would like to listen to some of our compositions. A little later in the day, Jay Ashby invited us into a room with a piano, where my father and I played my tunes, including the one that later became the Vive Lamour song. It was on this that Jay focused his attention, noting that he had to show it to his wife. Then I asked what her name was and, hearing “Kim” in response, asked if she was from the group NY Voices? And indeed, that’s how it was!
Later, we had a joint tour with Kim & Jay in Russia, where Kim showed the first sketches for this song. Then we recorded it at their cool studio in Pittsburgh! Jay Ashby played percussion and co-produced. And the fantastic Joel Taylor played drums, father played keyboards, Evgeny Sharikov and Kip Reed played bass. The song VIve Lamour in 2012 lasted two months in the TOP 10 in the state of Colorado (USA) on Aspen Beat Public Radio: it was at number three in April and at number eight in May!!! The album turned out strong, and the songs Vive Lamour and Maybe became real Hits!!!
- What are you most grateful to your family for? What does it mean to you to be part of a famous musical dynasty? This is both a responsibility and an inevitable framework - both in life and in creativity... How do you get along with this and what are your future plans?
I am glad that I was born into this family, into a family of musicians! I fell asleep on my father’s lap while he practiced the piano, spending hours learning Rachmaninov’s concertos. Since childhood, the best musicians of the country have visited the house from Oleg Lundstrem to Igor Butman! I think almost everyone has visited us))) Not in life, not in creativity, there are no limits yet, I hope - and there won’t be. There are disagreements, even serious ones, but in a dispute the truth is born. This is exactly what happens in our case.
A month ago, Butman music released our new album "Russian Ornament", recorded with our regular musical partners, drummer Joel Taylor and bassist Kip Reed, with whom we have been playing together for more than 7 years. The album was made together with the folk choir "Rostan", the disc contains tracks with both the quartet and the choir, the result is such an ethno-fusion!
Now we are working on a new album in the spirit of "Vive Lamour", with amazing musicians taking part in the recording: vocalist Kim Nazarian, guitarist Mike Miller (known for working with such titans as Chick Corea Electric Band 2 and Gino Vanelli) and, of course, my father Leonid Vintskevich, Joel Taylor and Kip Reed! And there is another very famous name of a person who took part in the recording of this album. But you will find out about it later, it’s a surprise!)))
Vintskevich - Taylor quartet "Groto"s Pillow"
Nick and Leonid Vintskevich: 7 years Butman Music
