The remarkable 'lost' composer/arranger Yuri Chugunov and Scriabiniana

YURI CHUGUNOV

A well-known composer, jazz theorist, teacher, conductor, saxophonist, public figure, he is not burdened with sonorous titles, but if you ask jazz musicians in any city of our country if they know this name, you will certainly hear an affirmative answer. And this is natural, since for over 20 years several generations of Russian jazz musicians have been studying harmony according to his textbook "Harmony in Jazz".

Yuri Nikolaevich is also widely known as the author of a variety of instrumental, vocal and orchestral works. This is the secret of his popularity.
Yuri Nikolaevich Chugunov was born in Moscow in 1938. His father was a universal musician (composer, theorist, conductor, cellist). Parents sent Yura to a children's music school, where he began his musical education in the piano class. However, the child's nature could not stand boring activities, and to everyone's disappointment, Yura categorically refused to study music.
A few years later, having heard for the first time the enchanting sounds of the saxophone, Yura realized that this was the instrument of his dreams. However, in the Stalinist era, the saxophone was considered an alien instrument, which could only be played by “rootless cosmopolitans,” and not Moscow pioneers. Then, on the advice of familiar musicians, Yura enters the music school for the second time in the oboe class. This instrument is closest to the saxophone in fingering. Classes were going well, and in 1957 Y. Chugunov entered the wind department of the music school at the Moscow Conservatory.
And then an irresistible passion fell upon him - to compose music. The dream of his childhood came true - Yura bought himself a huge old baritone saxophone. Now all his free time he enjoyed improvisation on the saxophone, imitating the playing of the famous American baritone player D. Maligan and composing jazz themes.

In 1960, a jazz club began operating in Moscow, on the Raushskaya embankment. This became an epoch-making event for Moscow jazz musicians; it became possible to regularly rehearse, hold concerts and festivals. Yuri Chugunov became one of the most active members of the jazz club. His original ensemble (Y. Chugunov - baritone-sax, S. Berezin - alto-sax, N. Bryzgunov - trumpet, B. Rukingluz - trombone) sounded at many concerts. The ensemble's repertoire consisted of traditional jazz themes arranged by Y. Chugunov and his author's pieces. In the jazz club, fate brought him together with the alto saxophonist, architect and artist Alexei Kozlov, who had a great creative influence on Yu. Chugunov.
In 1965, Yu. Chugunov took part in the first All-Union Jazz Festival in Moscow, where his plays "Waltz" and "Now I am Calm" were awarded a special diploma.
In 1966 the well-known composer and conductor Yu.S. Saulsky created an experimental jazz orchestra with a large vocal group VIO-66 in Moscow, where he invites the best young jazz musicians of the country and, of course, Yu.Chugunov to work.
Acquaintance with Saulsky greatly helped the development of Chugunov's composer's creativity. In the person of Yu. S. Saulsky, he acquired an experienced, educated, benevolent friend and teacher. Yu. Chugunov arranges a lot for "VIO-66", creates his own, more and more mature original works. The famous American jazz expert V. Kanover, being an honorary guest of the III All-Union Jazz Festival "Jazz-67", highly appreciated the orchestral suite by Y. Chugunov "A Journey to Jazz Rhythms".

It would seem that everything was going in the best way. By the age of thirty, Yu. Chugunov had received universal recognition as a saxophonist, conductor, arranger and composer, but careful self-assessment and the highest professional exactingness lead him to the conclusion that it is necessary to acquire systematic and fundamental theoretical knowledge.
Yuri Nikolaevich is preparing intensively for admission to the composer department of the Moscow Conservatory, but does not pass the competition. Then friends come to his aid, young composers A.K.Vustin and B.I.Tobis, who disinterestedly share with him their knowledge, composer experience, support him morally. During this period, Chugunov creates "Sonata for Piano", "Sonata for Violin and Piano", "Quintet of Winds", "Ballad for Trumpet and Orchestra" and many miniatures.
In 1971, Yu. Chugunov entered the composing department of the State Music and Pedagogical Institute named after V.I. Gnesins in the class of People's Artist of the USSR, Professor A.I. Khachaturian. During the years of study at the GMPI them. Gnesinykh Yuri Nikolaevich creates a number of large-scale works "Symphony in three parts", the cantata "In memory of Pablo Neruda", "Concertino for clarinet", "Variations for trumpet and piano", "Quartet for strings", overture "In memory of George Gershwin".
While studying at the institute, Yu. Chugunov leads an amateur big band in the Setun recreation center, which participates in concerts and competitions with constant success.
In the same period, in the jazz studio of the Moskvorechye Palace of Culture, Chugunov organized an experimental jazz vocal ensemble, for which he created many original.

(auto google translator from Russian)


A textbook on arrangements, indeed.  Notice the beginning of the following track, where the guitar plays a suspended arpeggio that descends down two half-tones and the orchestra takes the intro down as the bass plays the same arpeggio, before modulating (!) into a different key for the verse melody:





Truly when I hear music like this I'm reminded of that line in The Man who Planted Trees which I always paraphrase: 'When I think of what this one man has done, it fills me with awe, that one man  can sometimes equal the work of God'.  Equally remarkable in that composition is the way the melody and chords keep changing like the top of a shimmering ocean at a beach with very little of the 'familiar' chord changes we have heard before. Really, the sheer originality is shocking, especially when combined as it is with the deep sense of what is harmonious to human ears.

The Concerto for Tenor Saxophone and Orchestra is absolutely remarkable too, mixing in perfect proportions fusion and modern classical music in the same way for example In Spe did with their unique, sui generis, masterpiece Typewriter Concerto, or Russian band Horizont with Portrait of the Boy, or in the fall when I posted the VA album with the concerto for hammond organ by Lorencs, here:





Notice how the digital keyboard enters to the forefront to dialogue with the sax, very clearly bringing in a progressive rock element.

Overall, musically very similar to Nazaruk's gorgeous Forest Awakens my old favourite, or the superb Igor Brill threesome we posted earlier, or more recently the tenderness of Babayev.

Many thanks to our Russian commenter who pointed this out in relation to its similarity with Claus Ogerman, both emotionally and in the arrangements.  From him:

"all recordings were made in the 70s and 80s with the State Television and Radio Orchestra.
The tenor saxophone is played by the soloist of the orchestra Tovmas Gevorkyan, he lived for 95 years, died in 2015 and of which he worked for more than 30 years in this orchestra (there is a separate collection of his recordings, if you are interested, I will post it)."

I think for sure we are all interested!!
I don't think I've ever seen a case where music of such high quality and professionally done has been to such a degree unknown or unavailable-- as you can see if you try to look for him in the database of discogs.
I mean, this is what I live for, to find or hear lost treasures that don't deserve to be forgotten, like the Peter Wolf album from here.
But this one really takes the cake.  Thanks so much to those who help here, and have the generous spirit to share with all those with ears to hear!!