Published on: 2026-11-05
Source: Melodiya – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Melodiya released on vinyl a “golden collection of Russian songs” and a recording capturing the peak of the “oriental wave” of Soviet jazz.
The album “Russian Folk Songs” is a carefully restored anthology of great performing traditions recorded on tape from 1961 to 1987. It includes such popular songs as “Kalinka,” “A Birch Tree Stood in the Field,” “Along the Peterskaya,” “I Will Go Out to the Street,” “Peddlers,” “Across the Wild Steppes of Transbaikalia,” “The Ducks Are Flying,” and “The Reeds Rustled.” The main value of this release is its lineup of performers: the recordings feature ensembles and soloists who make up the golden fund of Soviet and Russian art. Among them are Ivan Surzhikov, Alexandra Strelchenko, and Alexander Vedernikov, the Song and Dance Ensemble of the Soviet Army named after A.V. Alexandrov, the Russian Folk Choir named after M.E. Pyatnitsky, and the “Russia” Ensemble under the direction of Lyudmila Zykina. A particularly notable track is a rare recording of the folklore ensemble of the Gnessin State Musical-Pedagogical Institute (“Oh You, Porushka-Paranya”), conveying the authentic sound of the Russian village.
The remastering was done with maximum preservation of the warmth and dynamics of analog sound. The cover of the edition records the names of the sound engineers of the original recordings, whose work is now regarded as the benchmark of musical documentation. The design is based on a painting by Philipp Malyavin, “Whirlwind” (1906) from the Tretyakov Gallery collection, which best conveys the element, power, and beauty of Russian folk song. According to the Melodiya company, the record “Russian Folk Songs” is an essential item for vinyl collectors and connoisseurs of authentic Russian musical culture.
Melodiya also reissued the album “Ornament” by the Kazakh ensemble “Boomerang,” originally released on vinyl in 1984 and becoming a benchmark of Soviet ethno-fusion. The release is dedicated to the memory of the outstanding trumpeter and composer Yuri Parfenov, who passed away in 2025.
The album was recorded during the heyday of the “Central Asian jazz wave,” when musicians from the Soviet republics were searching for a new language, combining the improvisational nature of jazz with the ancient modes and rhythms of the East. The ensemble “Boomerang,” created in Alma-Ata by brothers Tahir and Farhad Ibragimov, skillfully blended Uyghur, Kazakh, and Indian motifs with the drive of jazz rock. The inclusion of trumpeter Yuri Parfenov — a virtuoso who imitated the sounds of folk instruments sato and tanbur — significantly expanded the artistic horizons of the ensemble. In 1984, Parfenov and Boomerang parted ways: the trumpeter moved to the Moscow suburbs and became a soloist with Oleg Lundstrem’s orchestra, later collaborating with “Auktyon,” Sergey Letov, and the German band Embryo. However, it is the album “Ornament,” featuring him, that remains one of the most important milestones in the history of domestic jazz.
Playing from the beginning, 28.10.2026
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