Music
Press
The stage-name "Pervoe Solnce" translates as "First Sun[light]" and, in a musical context, refers to a Moscow jazz ensemble founded three years ago by vibraphonist Vladimir Goloukhov. With six colleagues on stage, he aims to foster an untroubled, fundamentally harmonious air to match that sunny moniker: "Our style involves careful arrangements and an improvisational ease, too. There's an accordion, vibraphone, cello, guitar, double-bass, and drums. Together they make tiny sketches or drawings, inviting listeners into a veiled world of cinematic daydreams."
That parallel with cinema is extended elsewhere, and again in the same good-natured tones. Pervoe Solnce's elegant instrumentals, sometimes name-checking film directors in person (like Fellini) are together dedicated to the "creation of bright, radiant feelings in all kinds of people. After all, we believe that music has a genuine ability to make the world a better and kinder place."
What's especially interesting here is that Mr. Goloukhov's enthusiastic invocation of feature films occurs increasingly within catalogs of the past. By way of illustration, one sentence in the brief promotional materials from Pervoe Solnce hopes explicitly to extend the "traditions of Soviet filmmakers" - and Goloukhov's vibraphone certainly recalls the light, escapist jazz of Georgian/Armenian composer, Mikael Tariveridev (d. 1996). Tariveridev's lounge melodies - also on a vibraphone or xylophone - graced all manner of small-scale TV and movie melodramas under Brezhnev, granting viewers a little privacy in a grossly public world.
That backwards glance, away from an unromantic present, endeavors to help "the young musicians of Pervoe Solnce build things of beauty. Their melodies can fill surrounding actuality with a disarming atmosphere of love and joy."
Such qualities are apparently seen rarely nowadays, and - in order for amity to triumph - one needs first to be pried from the threatening "arms" of a defensive stance. Lest we need more objective proof of how gratefully that same, "sunny" worldview is received by browbeaten Russian audiences, here are some recent comments, all recorded at Pervoe Solnce's festival gigs. Some wantonly sentimental, apolitical, and lyrical melodies - inspired by Soviet cinema of the 1970s - also work well today:
"Thanks so much for the positive mood of your music! Your recordings would be perfect for the soundtrack of some kind-hearted movie"; "I'm genuinely amazed by the sense of [philosophical] balance and optimism in your catalog"; "I've got a few phrases in my head [for praising your output]... but I'm afraid they'd pale in comparison with how I feel in reality..."
It's that same gap between the silver screen and normality that led one Russian newspaper not long ago to speak of the "sadness and yearning" that underlies the constantly upbeat registers of Pervoe Solnce. Something in everyday existence refuses to orchestrate a happy ending. Genre cinema and life work according to different scripts. - farfrommoscow.com
The stage-name "Pervoe Solnce" translates as "First Sun[light]" and, in a musical context, refers to a Moscow jazz ensemble founded three years ago by vibraphonist Vladimir Goloukhov. With six colleagues on stage, he aims to foster an untroubled, fundamentally harmonious air to match that sunny moniker: "Our style involves careful arrangements and an improvisational ease, too. There's an accordion, vibraphone, cello, guitar, double-bass, and drums. Together they make tiny sketches or drawings, inviting listeners into a veiled world of cinematic daydreams."
That parallel with cinema is extended elsewhere, and again in the same good-natured tones. Pervoe Solnce's elegant instrumentals, sometimes name-checking film directors in person (like Fellini) are together dedicated to the "creation of bright, radiant feelings in all kinds of people. After all, we believe that music has a genuine ability to make the world a better and kinder place."
What's especially interesting here is that Mr. Goloukhov's enthusiastic invocation of feature films occurs increasingly within catalogs of the past. By way of illustration, one sentence in the brief promotional materials from Pervoe Solnce hopes explicitly to extend the "traditions of Soviet filmmakers" - and Goloukhov's vibraphone certainly recalls the light, escapist jazz of Georgian/Armenian composer, Mikael Tariveridev (d. 1996). Tariveridev's lounge melodies - also on a vibraphone or xylophone - graced all manner of small-scale TV and movie melodramas under Brezhnev, granting viewers a little privacy in a grossly public world.
That backwards glance, away from an unromantic present, endeavors to help "the young musicians of Pervoe Solnce build things of beauty. Their melodies can fill surrounding actuality with a disarming atmosphere of love and joy."
Such qualities are apparently seen rarely nowadays, and - in order for amity to triumph - one needs first to be pried from the threatening "arms" of a defensive stance. Lest we need more objective proof of how gratefully that same, "sunny" worldview is received by browbeaten Russian audiences, here are some recent comments, all recorded at Pervoe Solnce's festival gigs. Some wantonly sentimental, apolitical, and lyrical melodies - inspired by Soviet cinema of the 1970s - also work well today:
"Thanks so much for the positive mood of your music! Your recordings would be perfect for the soundtrack of some kind-hearted movie"; "I'm genuinely amazed by the sense of [philosophical] balance and optimism in your catalog"; "I've got a few phrases in my head [for praising your output]... but I'm afraid they'd pale in comparison with how I feel in reality..."
It's that same gap between the silver screen and normality that led one Russian newspaper not long ago to speak of the "sadness and yearning" that underlies the constantly upbeat registers of Pervoe Solnce. Something in everyday existence refuses to orchestrate a happy ending. Genre cinema and life work according to different scripts. - farfrommoscow.com
The universal language of music is an unexplained miracle of the cosmos. Never is it more apparent after listening to the instrumental jazz offerings of Pervoe Solnce. This seven piece ensemble hailing from Moscow will cast their spell and you will become transfixed by their musical magic. Music that paints a picture on the canvas of our lives is always memorable. Give this band a listen and see what they create for you. It's musical chicken soup for the soul!
Keith "MuzikMan" Hannaleck-Founder MuzikReviews.com
January 11, 2013 - http://www.muzikreviews.com
Discography
Pervoe Solnce CDs:
- "Collage" 2010
- "Point Of View" 2011
- "Moments Of Joy" (2CD) 2012
Photos
Bio
Pervoe Solnce determines their style as "music cinematograph."
Pervoe Solnce first appeared on stage in December 2010 at the International JAZZ BEZ Festival. According to the opinion of most music critics at the international Jazz BeZ 2010 Festival, the performance of the musicians became one of the most memorable, outstanding and professional debuts in the history of the festival.
The author of the Pervoe Solnce project, composer & vibraphonist Vladimir Goloukhov has performed with Edison Denisov, Ravi Shankar, Mark de Clive, Vanessa Freeman, Rudolf Baumgarten, Alex Rostotsky , Anatoly Gerasimov, Sergei Letov, Alissid Jazz, etc.
Still the music performed by the band is not inspired by jazz only – it is a very new and nontrivial vision of contemporary music that originates in such styles as third stream, jazz and new age.
The idea of the project is in the combination of poles and polarity of diverse music styles into a single harmonious shape. Jazz-rock drums and jazz bass, classical guitar, cello and bop trumpet, melancholic accordion and a handful of vibraphone harmonies create a unique atmosphere of melody, grace and drive.
The Music by Pervoe Solnce creates chamber style drawings, inviting the listener into the world of dreams and cinematic gaze. But the most surprising thing in the project is the passion and enthusiasm of the young musicians, who create beauty and fill all around with the disarming atmosphere of love and joy.
They create music that can affect different people and evoke the warmest of feelings.
Pervoe Solnce plays in clubs of Moscow and have performed at several jazz festivals in Russia, Ukraine, Poland and Scotland.
Local and National rank #1 (Jazz ) on Reverbnation.com
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