The jazz festival “Jaunystė ’68“, Elektrėnai
By Rūta Skudienė
On 26 and 27 April 1968, the jazz festival Jaunystė ‘68 (Youth ’68) was held in Elektrėnai. It was organised by Lithuanian jazz enthusiasts, the Komsomol Central Committee, and the Elektrėnai House of Culture . It had been decided to organise the festival in Lithuania at the end of 1967, when it transpired that the Tallinn festival, which had become a mecca for jazz, was banned.1 Many musicians had experienced the exceptional significance of this festival, the opportunity to realise their creative ambitions, break out of the club environment, perform on a big stage, and communicate more freely. For Lithuanian musicians, the event opened the door to international recognition.2 The closure of the Tallinn festival was a big blow to the development of jazz throughout the Soviet Union until the late 1970s. Following the events of the 1967 festival, which received wide coverage in the world and gained a political dimension, there were alarming rumours about repressions in Tallinn, and the fate of its organisers was unknown.3
Organising a festival in Lithuania was not so easy. It was feared that the central government in Moscow would ban it. Fortunately, jazz music was still officially assigned to youth audiences, so the Komsomol took over the “patronage” of the event, but on two conditions: to invite exclusively Soviet performers, and to organise the festival outside Vilnius or Kaunas. The town of Elektrėnai, a symbol of energy, was chosen: it was founded in 1961, together with the construction of the biggest Lithuanian power plant at that time. The town's inhabitants, young engineers and workers who had come for its construction from all over the Soviet Union, were the proposed audience. It would have been difficult to find a more suitable venue for the event.4
The initiative was also supported by the city government and the manager of the power plant Pranas Noreika. According to Viktor Voronov, a saxophonist, arranger, leader of the Volta ensemble and a jazz quartet, and the director of the Elektrėnai House of Culture , who was also one of the festival's organisers, a miracle happened: the first jazz festival was held in Lithuania. Its winners later performed in the Lithuanian State Philharmonic Hall.
The festival, with ten bands participating, lasted for three days, with musicians from Vilnius, Klaipėda, Kaunas and Elektrėnai, and guest performers from Riga and Moscow. Vilnius was represented by Viačeslav Ganelin's trio, Viačeslav Ganelin and Aleksandr Gilman's quartet, Oleg Molokoyedov and Algirdas Vizgirda's quartet, Oleg Molokoyedov's trio, the soloist Stasys Povilaitis, and Vincas Žilionis' quartet. The Žėrutis ensemble led by Teodoras Kareckas came from Klaipėda, and Litauras Bielionis' sextet came from Kaunas. Viktor Voronov's quartet was from Elektrėnai. Raimonds Raubiškis and Gunars Rosenbergs' quartet was from Riga. Evgenii Gevorkian's trio came from Moscow.5
The performances were skilled and original. The concerts were recorded by the Vilnius recording studio.6 Original compositions by Ganelin's and Žilionis' bands were immortalised in recordings and covered by the press. The music style of the Raubiškis and Rosenberg quartet was compared to the style of the American saxophonist Ornette Coleman. Viktor Voronov's quartet was the discovery of the festival: it performed a programme similar to free jazz.7 The best instrumentalists, the best jazz compositions, and improvisations on the themes of Lithuanian folk songs, were awarded prizes.
Viačeslav Ganelin's trio won the grand prix. Eugenijus Kunickas was voted best saxophonist. Raimondas Milkevičius of the Žėrutis ensemble was the best double-bass player. Vincas Žilionis of the Žilionis quartet was the best violinist. Aleksandr Melnik of the Ganelin trio was the best drummer. The festival’s most outstanding flautist, Algirdas Vizgirda, won a prize for the best composition, “Viskas priklauso nuo nuotaikos” (Everything Depends on the Mood, with Oleg Molokoyedov's quartet). Povilas Jaraminas, the festival’s youngest performer, also achieved recognition. Before the performance, the participants in the festival drew lots, and had to improvise on the theme of the Lithuanian folk song they drew. Ganelin's and Gilman’s improvisation on the theme of “Kas bernelio sumislyta” (What the Boy Thought of) was recognised as the best composition. The festival was crowned by a jam session.8
The Jaunystė festival did not become a regular event. There was lack of support and experience, and enthusiasm faded. A year later, in 1969, a jazz festival was held at Vilnius State University, but interest in this kind of music was waning. The large Lithuanian stages were dominated by popular music, and the restaurant and cafe stages put on theatricalised entertainment programmes. In the rest of the world, the “youth music bomb” had exploded: the hearts and feelings of young people were in rock.9 The end of the 1960s in Lithuania was turbulent: relatively liberated young people longed for change (the Hippie movement, the popularisation of rock, the political events of 1972 in Kaunas).
Underground big band groups playing home-made instruments were formed. They were officially semi-professional vocal-instrumental ensembles at various educational institutions, factories and production associations. The disappointment with the political thaw was followed by years of stagnation, which were especially unfavourable for those who posed at least the slightest threat to Soviet ideology.
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1 Šaltenis, Liudas. Mūza su mikrofonu (The Muse with the Microphone). Vilnius: Mintis, 1983, p. 4.
2 Viačeslav Ganelin's trio took part in the Tallinn festival, and was awarded diplomas. A radio show about Ganelin was made by Willis Conover, the jazz commentator with the Voice of America. In 1966 and 1967, Oleg Molokoyedov's quartet and quintet took part in the festival; in 1967 the quintet won a diploma for arranging a folk song, and in 1966 Algirdas Vizgirda was recognised as the best flautist of the festival.
3 See the chapter on Tallinn’67.
4 Šaltenis, Liudas. “Lietuvos džiazo saulėtekis“ (The Dawn of Lithuanian Jazz), Literatūra ir menas, 19 March 1988.
5 Suslavičius, Vytautas. Džiazas ir miestas (Jazz and the City), Elektrėnų miesto savivaldybė, 2018, p. 193.
6 In 1968 a record was released: the competition “Vilniaus bokštai ‘68“ (The Towers of Vilnius) and the Jaunystė ‘68 festival were recorded, Melodiya, 33Д-025706, mono.
7 Molokoyedov, Oleg. “Džiazo kūrimasis ir raida Lietuvoje“ (The Establishment and Development of Jazz in Lithuania), Džiazo istorija. Vilnius: Kronta, 2001, p. 220.
8 Suslavičius, op. cit., p. 28.
9 Šaltenis, op. cit.
