VLADIMIR MILLER - KEN HYDER - COUNTING ON ANGELS

Slam Productions, 2003
[free improvisation]

Most of the playing Vladimir and I have done together has been in Russia - a country where day-to-day living is an improvisation more challenging than in most countries. In life, Russians are accomplished improvisers. For every obstacle, they devise a solution. They have had many obstacles in their lives - therefore they are excellent improvisers. So being on the road as a musician in Russia is always - interesting. So being on the road as a musician in Russia is always - interesting. Experience teaches you not to panic when the drumkit for a concert has no cymbal stands. You know that they'll find a way round it. In Leningrad a stage hand who used to take rock bands to perform in nuclear submarines, actually made a couple of cymbal stands between the sound-check and the gig. The Siege of Leningrad track is dedicated to the resourcefulness of the Russian people. Indeed, all the music on this CD is inspired by the people and situations we encountered touring Russia over the last dozen years. In most countries there's a close link between, the place and the music the people produce. You can hear the essential Russianess especially in the music of Mussorgsky, Stravinsky, and Shostakovich.
So you shouldn't be surprised if our music sounds Russian too. Vladimir is Russian, and for me, Siberia has become a second home, after Scotland Flying over the snowclad Sayan mountains in the depth of winter in a tiny plane to the magical Land of Eagles stays crisply in the mind. The fifth track is an evocation of the sensation of gliding into Tuva blissfully unaware of the revelations in store. And in Kyzyl, the capital, we waited spellbound In the wings as four shamans did the warm-up to the concert. Russia is carpeted for thousands of miles by a dense forest - the taiga where it's easy to feel absolutely alone and isolated, and afraid. Angel’s Son is a portrait of Vladimir Rezitsky, a musician who also improvised his way through the Soviet bureaucracy to present one of the most northerly international jazz festivals in his home town, Arkhangelsk. We played with Vladimir in the trio Nothern Lights. Sadly he died in 2001 and we dedicate this album to his memory.
The last track celebrates Obshennia - the Russian word for the atmospheric banter when friends get together. These sessions can be fuelled by intellectual discussion and arguments over toasts - as much as by the consumption of vodka. The music here simultaneously combines a feeling of welcome and goodbye. There is a suggestion of the bear-hug embrace when you meet old friends. And the bear-hug when it's time to go.
Ken Hyder

1. Hear The Fear In The Dark Forest 5:48
2. Angel's Son 13:03
3. Siege Of Leningrad 7:06
4. Russian Dolls 5:25
5. Sayan Flying 4:27
6. Russian Rivers 7:16
7. Obshennia 6:44

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