Russians are not only the world's toughest people but also the most talkative, which explains why this exotic 12-piece ensemble didn't take the stage until 11pm. (And probably why, America having recruited Germany's H-bomb experts slightly faster than they did, we are not all speaking Russian today.) On last night's evidence Muscovite jazzmen also love free-improv, perhaps not surprisingly after decades of artistic and political repression, whereas we in the affluent West have learned to distrust notions of absolute freedom, being conditioned to living under a massive and ever-increasing number of laws and regulations each year.
The musicians performed in a variety of small groups. Best were the melodious trio of pianist Vladimir Miller, violinist Alexei Volkovsky and Tuvan throatsinger Sainkho. The others, notably including altoist Vladimir Tarasov, double-bassist Vladimir Volkov and singer Sergei Starostin, combined free improv with the mournful strains of Eastern European folk music.
When the full orchestra finally came together, their arrangements continued to divide into sub-groups. Rough-hewn but heartfelt, the music's closest US reference point was early Charles Mingus. What the full ensembles lacked in precision they made up for in emotion.
The brass-choir moments were particularly stirring, but only trumpeter Yuri Parferov hinted at the mainstream excellence of such world-class emigres as bassist Boris Koslov and trumpeter Alex Sipiagin, both star members of the Mingus Dynasty Orchestra.