Sergey Kuryokhin
Sergei Anatoljevich Kuryokhin (also Sergey Kuryokhin, Russian Сергей Анатольевич Курёхин; born June 16, 1954 in Murmansk, † July 9, 1996 in Saint Petersburg ) was a Russian pianist, multi-instrumentalist, bandleader, and composer of avant-garde jazz. He scored with his bands like Pop Mechanics of the most prominent representatives of Russian and Lithuanian jazz scene of the 1980s and 1990s.
Life and work
Kuryokhin 1971 came to Leningrad, where he an independent spirit and a nonconformity showed at an early age, which meant that he flew from both the Leningrad Conservatory and from the Institute of Culture. During his school years he played in rock bands, but turned under the impression of the music of McCoy Tyner and John Coltrane, which he had heard on Radio Free Europe, to jazz. According to him, it was also the saxophonist Anthony Braxton, Evan Parker and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Tschekassin and Anatoli Wapirow, who influenced him considerably.
Kuryokhin became known in 1977 for his roles in Wapirows band; then he worked with Tschekassin and was keyboardist Boris Grebenschtschikows rock band Aquarium, with which he recorded from 1981 to 1985, the albums Treugolnik (triangle), taboo, Radio Africa and Deti dekabrja ( December Children). Later he also founded a first own band, the Crazy Music Orchestra, which was similar to the group of Arkhangelsk, Vladimir Rezitsky, subversive and directed against the cultural establishment in the late Soviet Union. Kurjochins operation at his concerts had the character of happenings; S. Frederick Starr, in his book on jazz in Russia, the theatricality of the Soviet free jazz groups, which - in contrast to the aggressive, angry rock bands - shows with subtle humor and a " droll Surrealism " offered; " He needed a circus with all the offerings, lively animals. For an appearance he demanded 18 motorcycles, a military band and a lot of singers from the Middle East (...) ". He also began to jackhammers; his performances were - for the first time in the USSR - Mixed -media events. The tape recordings were smuggled as audio cassettes in the West; Leo Feigin she published in the 1980s in London on his label Leo Records. His first solo album was released in 1981 under the title The Ways of Freedom before that ( the only one of his recordings ) on Melodiya in the Soviet Union. From 1984 he chose the name Pop Mechanics (Russian Поп-механика/Pop-mechanika ), enjoyed the cult status in the late Soviet underground for his band projects. Main actors were Valentina Ponomareva, Sergei and Sergei Belitschenko Panassenko. Regularly were individual musicians of the rock groups aquarium, cinema, AuktYon on, inter alia, with Pop Mechanics.
In 1986, his album Introduction to Pop Mechanics, then pop Mechanics No. appeared. 17; In 1989 he had his band a Dadaist -style appearance in Liverpool, then toured the U.S. and played with John Zorn and Boz Scaggs. Kuryokhin then became an international star, which consists of - stood out Russian jazz scene - relatively closed; He later worked with Alfred Schnittke and the Kronos Quartet.
In addition to his pop -Mechanics project Kuryokhin worked with Vladimir Tschekassin and Boris Grebenshchikov ( Exercises, 1982) and the Anatoli Wapirow Quartet ( Invocations, 1983) together. In 1982 the solo album Popular Zoological element, followed by Some Combination of Fingers and Passion 1991, a concert recording from London. In his piano playing is heavily Kuryokhin showed by his classical training influenced and played without strong jazz imprint. In his solo album Some Combinations ... he proved Dave Brubeck, the high reputation enjoyed in the USSR, with Blue Rondo a la Turk reverence.
Kuryokhin admitted himself that his tremendous vitality, which was fed by the spirit of opposition, was affected by glasnost and perestroika and the end of cultural oppression.
Sergei Kuryokhin also wrote the music for a number of films and appeared in some as an actor or as he himself.
Disco Graphical Notes
Its in the 1980s appeared on Leo Records records were re-edited by Leo Feigin the late 1990s. The new edition of Kurjochins first album The Ways of Freedom appeared in the series The Golden Years of Jazz (GY 14) on the label. The main work of the bandleader and pianist will be published in a 4- CD box set titled Divine Madness, which also includes previously unknown material from his solo work and the Pop Mechanics project. The edition contains two longer piano improvisations, a title in 1980 with the Creative Ensemble and the Opera piece with Vladimir Tschekassin big band; further material from the solo LP from 1986, Popular Zoological element as well as the complete album Pop Mechanics No.. 17, the Cook and Morton described as the " key work " Kurjochins multimedia theater; an appearance by the singer Valentina Ponomareva with Sergei and Sergei Belischenko Panassenko. The last CD contains the album Introduction to Pop Mechanics, which was recorded live in Leningrad in 1986.