Melody

1973: Creating a Melody Ensemble for Record Recordings

And in January 1973, one of the best Soviet orchestras was disbanded, which was delighted, among other things, by the American musician Duke Ellington - the Concert Pop Ensemble of the State Radio and Television under the direction of Vadim Ludvikovsky. The galaxy of virtuosos, the "cream" of the jazz generation of the 1960s remained without work: Georgy Garanyan, pianist and arranger Boris Frumkin, trumpeters Vladimir Chizhik and German Petrov, saxophonist Alexei Zuev and others. Adding to them several more outstanding musicians - in particular, bassist Igor Kantyukov, Georgy Garanyan, at the suggestion of Melody, forms and heads a pop-jazz ensemble, whose main task was studio recordings released on records.

The very first disc "Your favorite songs are played by the ensemble" Melody '"sold an unprecedented circulation of 4 million copies. And in just 9 years of Garanyan's leadership, 16 large albums were released - not counting small records, the so-called "minions," which contained 2-3 compositions. Citizens of the country hungry for high-quality stage and jazz instantly swept them off store shelves.

The orchestra's recordings consisted of two parts: instrumental pieces and accompaniment to vocalists. Garanyan used both of these spheres to realize his main mission: the popularization of jazz. The ensemble recorded: Lyudmila Gurchenko, Iosif Kobzon, Lev Leshchenko, Andrei Mironov...

Composer David Tukhmanov, who wanted to attract Garanyan's ensemble to record the album "By the Wave of My Memory," waited for months for a chance to wedge himself into the "Melodies" schedule, which was packed to capacity.

A separate epic in the history of the team was the recording of forty songs by Vladimir Vysotsky. Released only 7 years after the death of the artist, it became the only one in the USSR where he sang accompanied by an orchestra.

Composer Alfred Schnittke and conductor Gennady Rozhdestvensky invited Garanyan and his colleagues to participate in the world premiere of Schnittke's First Symphony in Nizhny Novgorod, performing improvisational fragments indicated in the score - the sound of "Melody" was at that time a trademark, a symbol of jazz and pop music.