- Alex Vydrin began playing jazz when he was 14.
- He used to listen to the radio and the records. Later
the famous Willise Conover's radio program Time the Jazz Hours became one
of the main sources of basis musical education of the musician.
- - "When 16, I decided to
do jazz professionally and to devote my life to it", says the musician.
"I do not view myself as an all-around musician, I focus exclusively
on jazz, and love only jazz, jazz of any kind, style and trend."
This is true, and we can see the musician playing
different styles, varying from Stride piano to modern mode compositions.
Since the age of 6 Alex was trained according to a classical scheme, but
he always felt uncomfortable about the classical music.
- "When playing the works
by the great composers, I always hobbled and couldn't play steadily. No
other music could stir in me such overwhelming feelings as jazz did. Deep
inside my heart I envy and rival only those who play jazz, and when I hear
beautiful performance of classical or any other kind of music, I am almost
indifferent to them as there is no interest. Jazz for me is more than one
kind of music or a phenomenon. There is Jazz - and there is Music. Jazz
with all its trends, and music with all its trends and genres. Of course,
I exaggerate, but this is the way I think, and I like this way of thinking."
Alex Vydrin started playing jazz professionally after
his military service when he was 21. Every day he worked to improve his
technique and enriched the repertoire, participated in festivals and gave
first concerts. In 1987 he organized a trio, that took part in Minsk festival
From Rock to Jazz. The first solo concert took place on November 1, 1989
in the concert hall of the University of Culture and made a good start
for eight year series of solo concerts. Vydrin traveled through out all
the Soviet Union giving concerts and participating in festivals. I admire
and worship every jazz player, the ones I know personally, and the ones
familiar to me through records. I love them, and they are very dear to
me.
In 1989 Alex became a prize winner of two international
(there were musicians from Europe) festivals held in Livow and Kremenchug.
In 1990 - 92 he performed his solo program at the Piano and Jazz festival
organized by the Belarusian State Philharmonic, and on the 7th of April
1992 gave his two part solo concert in the Belarusian Concert Hall. The
first part was the classical jazz compositions, the second one presented
mode compositions.
- "I appreciate musicians
fully devoted to what he/she is doing. In jazz there cannot be any competition;
the continuous debates about who is better and who is worse kill me. I
fancy jazz as a vast colourful carpet, in which each jazz payer makes a
special color, and all of them together create this beautiful world called
Jazz."
In 1994 Alex Vydrin became a soloist of the Belarusian
State Philharmonic and took up teaching Jazz-piano playing in the Minsk
Musical College. In two years two of his students were awarded the highest
mark. The total number of students he had is seven.
- "Teaching never thrilled
me. I am an artist by nature. I need to be on the scene every day. I accepted
the offer to teach at the College for the sake of experiencing a new activity.
But I profited from teaching my students ten times more than I expected,
and the students say the same to me. Still, I think studying is similar
to working at the kitchen where you only process the food. But the product,
the product itself, is given by God. On the other hand, you can hardly
find product that needs no processing. The same with jazz, jazz musicians
by nature are exceptions. First it is Thelonious Monk. As you might have
noticed, his name is not mentioned in my repertoire. I play his music for
myself, but I shall never dare to perform it for the audience. Following
are Duke Ellingtone, Charles Mingus, and John Coltrane. First and foremost
they are outstanding personalities, and the energy they convey, the great
truth of love, originates from Good.
Alex
Vydrin's proposals
Alex Vydrin's
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