Jazzmen Sound Glad Notes for Glasnost

If recent events are any yardstick, jazz has really been jumping in the Soviet Union--and at the highest levels.

For example, when bassist Eugene Wright appeared as a guest soloist with Dave Brubeck during an appearance at a state banquet for the Reagans and the Gorbachevs during last week’s summit in Moscow, Wright says, “I could tell that Secretary Gorbachev was really digging ‘King for a Day’ (their duet).

“Afterward,” the North Hollywood musician continues, “Gorbachev gave me a nod of approval and a very hearty handshake. Then I said to President Reagan, ‘I’m proud of you!’ He reacted with a big, warm smile and thanked me. I really meant it, too--he took care of business over there and laid some great groundwork for the future.”

Not by coincidence, the summit conference found a number of leading American musicians sounding a major chord for glasnost during their visits to the Soviet Union.

Billy Taylor, Paul Horn and Brubeck and were among those who catered to the intense local interest in jazz. All three had been there before; Horn was still touring there Thursday and, according to his wife, attracted packed houses during a weeklong stand in Moscow.

For Taylor it was, he said on returning home last weekend, “a fantastic experience. Last year I went over as a member of a commission, including Milton Babbitt and other composers, that was established to interface with the League of Soviet Composers. You could tell even then that glasnost was already in action, because negotiations we thought might take up to two weeks were completed in 45 minutes!

“This time I was invited as a composer and performer, with my bassist and drummer, Victor Gaskin and Bobby Thomas. We were in Leningrad for the Third International Music Festival. They had John Cage and several other Americans on hand; unlike what we do here, they include jazz as a regular world music.

“There was also a jazz festival that coincided with part of my visit, but I hadn’t known about this in advance and they were disappointed that I couldn’t stay over to take part in it.

“During the International Music Festival we played at October Hall in Leningrad. We also took part in a jam session at a place called the Children’s Palace.”

Taylor, like most visiting jazzmen, was impressed by the quality of the local talent.

“They are doing all the stuff the young players are doing here; but like anyone else in Europe, they feel the need to play with musicians from the States. They also still suffer from a shortage of instruments--I saw one guy playing a DX 7 that looked as though it must have been the first one ever made. But they’re trying, and I was pleased with what I heard.”

Taylor went on to Moscow in time to take part in an interview with Charles Kuralt on the CBS “Sunday Morning” show for which segments involving Taylor’s interviews with American jazzmen have been a regular feature for six years.

“I met some of the ‘unofficial’ musicians, which means they don’t work at it for a living because the Union of Soviet Composers, the group that invited me over, determines whether or not you are worthy of having your music published and recorded. But at least these unofficial musicians felt free to talk about it--another sign that glasnost was very much in evidence.”

Brubeck, who previously had visited the Soviet Union to play for the public, was on hand this time to provide the music at a state banquet.

“I took my regular group--Bill Smith on clarinet, Randy Jones on drums, my son Chris Brubeck on electric bass and trombone--plus Eugene Wright, the bassist who was with the original quartet in the 1950s and ‘60s.”

Brubeck had only 15 minutes for this occasion, but “it was a strong 15 minutes.”

“There was a pianist working in our hotel who was fantastic; he’s obviously listened to Oscar Peterson, Erroll Garner and maybe Bill Evans. He told me there were two or three guys working at local clubs who are at least his equal, so there must be a lot going on.”

The Soviets evidently are aware of the need to continue learning from the American source. Billy Taylor last year was asked to name some musicians who could go to the Soviet Union to teach improvisation. One of his selections, saxophonist and educator Bill Barron from Wesleyan University, is heading for Moscow in October.

Nor is the public being starved, as it was for so long, in terms of the availability of American jazz on records. “We have a new album coming out called ‘Moscow Night,’ ” said Brubeck. “It was recorded live during our visit in March of 1987. To our delight we heard that Melodiya, the official Soviet label, is putting out a two-record set of the same concert. So you know things are really happening over there.”