Vladimir Tarasov

*2023 stock* "Russian-born percussionist Vladimir Tarasov is sort of the “old man” of jazz in Lithuania – he’s called Vilnius home since 1968, and achieved international renown as an improviser with the Ganelin Trio (1971-1986). In addition to work as a sound installation artist and solo percussionist, he has also worked with American composers like Anthony Braxton and drummer Andrew Cyrille. Thinking of Khlebnikov, a dedication to Russian Futurist poet Velimir Khlebnikov, is Tarasov’s first disc to be released on Lithuania’s No Business label and a follow-up to the eleven-volume Atto solos (released as a boxed set in 2005). There is something comparable to Cyrille. Tarasov’s movement from rumbling toms to large gongs, bells, and smaller tuned gongs recalls the Afro-Asian mini orchestra of Cyrille and Milford Graves’ Dialogue of the Drums (IPS, 1974).

The rapid twists of manipulated skins on “Having Saddled a Herd of Sounds” approach electro-acoustic textures, a fierce upset to the tense delicacy of its “Introduction.” Modern classicism, in the vein of ensemble percussion music, shows up on “Bi-chiming Dreams,” a spacious and metallic exploration of metal, air, and resonance. Concentrated action and small sounds take up “Pin, Pin, Pin! Rumbled Zinzeever,” a piece for muted bells and shakers far less rackety than its Futurist title would suggest. With tambourine and brushed patter, “Poles and Poles and Poles” is elegantly swinging. Though creating a sound environment is certainly part of Tarasov’s modus operandi, Thinking of Khlebnikov is just as much an intricate and joyous solo percussion disc." - Clifford Allen