State Jazz Orchestra of the USSR explained
The USSR State Jazz Band (or the State Jazz Orchestra of the USSR,[1] Russian: Государственный джаз-оркестр СССР) was a Soviet jazz band that existed in 1930s–1940s.
After it was auditioned by Joseph Stalin in 1938, a number of similar state-sponsored musical ensembles were created across the country.[2]
Critical analysis
S. Frederick Starr comments in his book on the Soviet jazz that the band "played with a polish and precision any Western pop orchestra might have envied". But then he adds:
Boris Schwarz's book Music and Musical Life in Soviet Russia, 1917–1970 describes The State Jazz Orchestra of the USSR as "essentially" a "„light“ music" (easy listening) orchestra.[3]
Selected discography
Notes and References
- Web site: Review: Back in the USSR. 129489 . grandiosely named "The State Jazz Orchestra of the USSR." When it played, even Stalin approved, as Dr. Starr vividly narrates in one of the most amusing ....
- Web site: SOVIET JAZZ HAS SURVIVED POLITICS. The New York Times.
- Book: Boris Schwarz. Music and Musical Life in Soviet Russia, 1917–1970. 1972. Barrie and Jenkins. 978-0-214-65264-6. In 1938, an official State Jazz Band of the U.S.S.R. was formed which absorbed some of the best players from Tsfasman's band and other organizations. In essence, it was an estradnaya orchestra—an ensemble playing “light” music—and the .... 361.
