Yuri Vikharev / Juris Āķis / Einārs Raibais THE LOST LATVIAN TV STUDIO SESSIONS 1967 // Teaser

Yuri Vikharev / Juris Āķis / Einārs Raibais THE LOST LATVIAN TV STUDIO SESSIONS 1967

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Yuri Vikharev - Piano
Juris Āķis - Upright Bass
Einārs Raibais - Drums

The second release of historical Latvian jazz recordings. Russian pianist Yuri Vikharev together with Latvian rhythm section - double bassist Juris Āķis and drummer Einārs Raibais. Recorded in the Latvian TV Studio back in 1967.

Yuri Vikharev/Juris Āķis/Einārs Raibais "The Lost Latvian TV Studio Sessions 1967" is a unique historical testament to Soviet and Latvian jazz in the 1960s.

Yuri Viharev (1936 - 1994) was a vibrant figure of the Soviet jazz era. He was a collector of jazz records, a lecturer, a jazz journalist, and one of the leaders of the 60s Leningrad jazz scene. A pianist who taught himself jazz. In the introduction to his autobiography, "Something to Remember – The Story of One Soviet Jazz Man" he writes that "...jazz came to my body and soul, and directed my choices and goals. Jazz is not simply music, but a lifestyle and a way of thinking."

Jazz bridged the gap between the Soviet reality and the free world. It was part of a much wider cultural space. Those who listened to Miles Davis also read the poetry of Osip Mandelstam. It was a form of internal emigration. Non-violent and creative. In the pages of his autobiography, Yuri Vikharev literally tastes his meetings with conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein, jazz producer George Avakian, Willis Conover and Charles Lloyd. Those were incredible encounters. Today, it seems even more unbelievable that for several years Yuri Vikharev was also a journalist for DownBeat magazine, who wrote about the life of jazz in the Soviet Union. He received payment for his DownBeat articles in the form of records because obviously a Soviet citizen could not cash paycheques from a US publisher.

Yuri Vikharev's recordings were never issued during his lifetime. The session recorded at the Rīgas Āgenskalna Television Studio will finally reach its audience only now. It is the first official Yuri Vikharev recording ever released.

Bassist Juris Āķis recalls that on August 21st, 1967, a concert was scheduled for Latvian Television, with pianist Yuri Vikharev, drummer Einārs Raibais, and two upright bassists – himself and Georgiy Gavorgian. This concert recording has unfortunately been lost to time yet, miraculously, a recording of the previous day's rehearsal has survived. Gennady Goldstein once sent Juris Āķis a copy of this recording from St. Petersburg as a gift. He recalls that the musicians weren't even aware that the rehearsal session was being recorded.

Juris Āķis (1938) is also a key figure in many events in the life of jazz in Latvia. He was one of the founders of Latvia's first jazz festival KIKOK, he organized important jazz concerts, and was present at the Tallinn Jazz Festival in 1967. Thanks to his recollections and his personal archives, it is possible to restore many events from jazz history in Latvia from the latter half of the 20th century.

Among this recording's stand-out moments is the play of drummer Einārs Raibais (1941-1972). His contemporaries remember him as an energetic and technically powerful drummer whose creative path and life, while short, shone brightly. He has left his mark not only on the history of Latvian jazz — at the end of the 60s, he joined one of the founders of original rock music in Latvia, the rock group Katedrāle [Cathedral]. Unfortunately, no Katedrāle recordings have survived. As a result, this recording is also important in the wider context of popular music in Latvia.

So What and Milestones composed by Miles Davis
Well, You Needn't composed by Thhelonius Monk
Lover Man composed by Jimmy McHugh
Znakomstvo - Delo Sluchaja composed by Yuri Vikharev

Recorded on August 20.1967 at Latvian TV Studio, Āgenskalns, Riga, Latvia. Recording Engineer: Pauls Dambis
Producer of the recording session: Viktors Levites
Digitally restored and remastered from analogue tapes
Audio restoration and remastering by Mārtiņš Krastiņš
Vinyl lacquers were cut on a Neumann VMS70 cutting lathe using a Neumann SX74 cutting head. Lacquers cut at duophonic by Moritz Illner.
Original tapes property of Juris Āķis
Sleeve Design: Edgars Ameriks
This compilation produced and supervised by Mareks Ameriks.

JRD005

℗ 1967 Juris Āķis
This compilation ℗ & © Jersika Records 2023

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