At the end of the year

Extravaganza by Sergey Zhilin in the Cultural Centre "Mir"

One of the Sunday evenings in November at the Cultural Centre "Mir" was filled with the indescribable energy of jazz, in which both the notes and the mood were on top. And all this thanks to the concert programme "Rhythms of the New World", presented by People's Artist of Russia Sergey Zhilin and the Phonograph Jazz Band.

The audience was presented with the top of jazz piano Olympus. And this is truly an unforgettable musical event. The whole concert was an absolute extravaganza of music, vocals, humor and delight of the audience. After the performance, we talked to the pianist, conductor, composer and director of the music groups united by the common name "Phonograph".

Sergey Sergeevich, thank you for the concert, to fill hearts with music - how did you learn to do that?

My colleagues and I are faced with the task of compiling programmes in such a way that they have a special message and meaning. Both in a single composition and in a concert as a whole, there has to be a beginning, development, culmination and an ending. I believe that a concert is also a work of art: like an exciting book, an interesting film or a profound performance.

One of the recent successful performances that I have seen, I would call "The Sailor's Silence" with Vladimir Mashkov in the title role. I was fascinated by what was happening on the stage as if spellbound. When the performance was over, I looked at my watch and I could not believe that two hours had passed - I was so enthralled by the performance.

Concert performances should be like that - this is our ultimate goal. We launch our concert ship and over time, we capture the attention of the audience more and more and fill their hearts with music. If we succeed, the concert is a great success, as it was in Dubna. We work to keep it that way.

You also performed your own composition "After the Rain". When you write music, is it more about thoughts or feelings?

Composing music is not my professional activity. I have no education as a composer, yet I have a theoretical basis, I have a concept of composition. Therefore, most often, I do not compose the way professional composers do: they are given a task and they compose this or that piece of music. It's a little different with me: I start from a certain phrase or some small fragment, a harmonic progression and then I refine the piece.

As for the composition "After the Rain", it was born, strangely enough, from a small fragment that was at the end of the bass guitar solo. This fragment was written quickly and then I had to sit, work and consider different options. The piece took quite a long time in terms of form, solo moments and instrumentation. As a result, we came to the conclusion that it should sound as part of a quartet along with a string group that can be replaced by a synthesizer in a small band.

Your piano style is a symbiosis of perfect performing technique and skillful improvisation. Is the musician always on the way of perfecting his own musical style?

Thank you for this definition! I would not say my performing technique is flawless, but I am working on it.

Sergey Zhilin - at the keyboard.

Proper improvisation is the fruit of a theoretically trained composer's mind. Naturally, any true jazz musician is always on the path of seeking and improving his vocabulary, performance skills and style. This path is endless, it has neither end, nor edge. There can be many different variations and approaches to improvisation and it all has a direct impact on the result. The same piece can be played in hundreds of different ways.

Sergey Sergeevich, you can talk about the role of music in your life for a long time, but can you tell us about the role of silence?

Silence is needed in order to rest before listening to the next compositions and in order to form the basis for composing new music.

It's a real talent when an artist produces a positive energy effect on the audience with his skill. And what effect does this have on you in life?

I also draw my energy from the audience - it's a reciprocal process. The artist goes on stage and gives some of his energy and soul to the public and in return he receives the same from his listeners. This is how energy is exchanged.

Interviewed by Eleonora YAMALEEVA,
photo by Igor LAPENKO