SAX IN THE BIG CITY

MUSIC LIFE

Igor Butman plays jazz. He loves jazz and sells it. He is like a caring mother who dreams of successfully marrying her daughter to a small oligarch. Butman is sure that such a concentration of emotions as jazz is worth a lot. He brings us big...

Igor Butman plays jazz. He loves jazz and sells it. He is like a caring mother who dreams of successfully marrying her daughter to a small oligarch.

Butman is sure that such a concentration of emotions as jazz is worth a lot. He brings us big jazz names like Billy Cobham and the Brekker brothers, drags them to his small Le club or to the fundamental stage of the Rossiya State Central Concert Hall, hangs up big posters and makes us listen to jazz.

From February 4 to 8, Butman arranges the 4th International Jazz Triumph Festival. In March, his big band and club turns 5 years old.

On this informational occasion, Butman receives me in his apartment on Begovaya in slippers and a T-shirt. A saxophone is drawn on the T-shirt in the region of the heart.

- In the past few years, thanks to your intervention, jazz has become fashionable in Russia ...

“Before, when people heard bad forms or bad performance of jazz, people didn’t go to it, but now stars, masters come, and many begin to appreciate this music, because bad jazz, of course, is worse than bad pop. Because in jazz there is still some kind of claim.

Is jazz the music of the fat, in the sense of the rich?

- At one time I bought CDs of my favorite performers, which cost 50 rubles - this is with a salary of 220.

Art is not for the poor and not for the rich - it is. Naturally, to get to the concert of Billy Cobham or Ray Brown, you have to pay, because they are stars and they have big fees.

- It is ridiculous to assume that foreign stars come to us to earn money ...

“Nevertheless, they come to us to earn money. They get pleasure from the public, enjoy the general atmosphere, from Moscow, from other cities where they visit, but first of all they come here to earn money. We discuss with them the fee and conditions of arrival - for example, that they will fly in business class, which costs 4-5 times more than economy class.

— How do Western musicians evaluate our jazzmen?

— They highly appreciate our jazzmen. Many musicians want to come and play with me, with Anton Baronin, our bass player Vitaly Solomonov, with Vadim Sadikhov.

What is the difference between the jazz situation in America and ours?

- There jazz is an integral part of show business, although this part takes only five percent. There are large jazz clubs, diverse artists.

We have a problem similar to the Western one - we have few permanent teams that develop something together. There is only one such team in our country - this is my quartet. He is very playful. We play together all the time, travel around the country. In jazz, as in hockey, it is very important to have a well-played team.

- You twice spoke in the Kremlin in front of Clinton. Once he came with Yeltsin, then with Putin. I heard that after that Clinton called you the best saxophonist in Russia. Do you agree with him?

- Honestly, Clinton called me the best saxophonist in the world ... I consider myself just a good saxophonist. It is almost impossible to say who is the best saxophonist in the world. I like, for example, Joe Lovano, Michael Brekker. When I was young, I really liked Vitaly Klimov, because he played "like an American". In those years, there was a lot of praise “he plays like an American”, that is, in a proprietary way, as we hear on the records.

- Do you know Putin personally?

- We met when there was a concert with Bill Clinton, then we met at Nikita Mikhalkov's when he was awarded the State Prize in 2000 ... I was sitting, Gorbachev, Putin, the whole Mikhalkov family were sitting. And Putin told how Clinton told him that I was the best saxophonist. It was nice.

— You are friends with the Valley. Wouldn't you like to sit next to her and Kobzon as a member of the presidential council for culture?

- I think that if they need Igor Butman with his advice, they will call me. In the meantime, I'd rather prove something in my field.

— Still, what would you advise the president in the field of culture?

- I do not like that on television on all channels in entertainment programs - the same party. But in order to argue with this, it is necessary to offer something in return.

- By the way, in this party there is a talented jazz singer Dolina in the past. How do you feel about the fact that she went into pop music?

- At one time, Larisa faced a choice - to leave jazz or not, because mass recognition, the love of fans is very important for her, and in jazz then it was problematic to get all this. And she chose pop music, where she has success. I do not presume to judge her, because, for example, Irina Otieva did not go into pop music, but somehow she did not particularly succeed in jazz either.

- Maybe we don’t sing jazz, because the Russian language is not well adapted to this?

- No, it's not about the language, but about how to use it correctly. Do you remember the song "Hey sailor, you swam too long" from the movie "Amphibian Man"? Great song, and sung to an absolutely American jazz melody. Sounds great!

— The Triumph of Jazz festival is part of the Triumph award. As you know, Berezovsky gives money for the entire award. Putin didn't tell you - he has nothing against it?

- Many are afraid to do something with Berezovsky's money and ask if I'm not afraid. But we have been afraid to do what we like for long enough in this life. And then, we still have a free country, our president talks about it all the time. Some relationship of power with a man named Berezovsky is their personal relationship.

- Have you been offered to support any part with your musical abilities?

- Unfortunately no. If offered, I would take the offer as another opportunity to speak. Although not for everyone. I wouldn't play for the communists. Most likely, I would accept the offer from the SPS.

- I was thinking, maybe jazz does not interfere with power, because there are no words there?

- No, I think we just have good relations with America now.