The Ganelin Trio - 15 Year Reunion: Live at Frankfurt (CD)

In 2002, Lithuania was the honorary guest of the Frankfurt Book Fair. Opening the event was the Ganelin Trio playing its first concert in 15 years -- and it was down to the month since the trio's last concert together took place in October 1987. The short set -- 34 minutes plus an encore -- unfolds as a typical Ganelin Trio concert (i.e., very atypical for any other group), like the bastard son of a suite and a collage. Styles (free, folk, and be-bop) and emotions (tenderness and humor) clash yet make sense in the trio's traveling circus of human expression. All three members contribute snippets of themes, and the yin and yang relationship between Slava Ganelin and Vladimir Chekasin remains the motor that propels the music. For instance, toward the end, the saxophonist sends the pianist's delicate bop ballad crumbling down with a few vocal shouts and sax grunts, as if he had blown at a house of cards. The set begins on tutti punches, Ganelin on synthesizer and Chekasin simultaneously blowing his alto and tenor saxes. The synth remains present almost throughout, often used for a walking bassline, while Ganelin improvises chord changes at the piano. Vladimir Tarasov's flowing drumming holds the bits and pieces together with almost the same energy as before. The main set lacks some of the untamed wildness and urgency of the trio's past performances, but the encore makes up for it. Chekasin barks out a melody while piano and drums engage in a tarantella-like tune, fast-paced and relentless. Yes, the Ganelin Trio has aged, but it has aged well. ~ Fran‡ois Couture