Violinist's album honors the underground effort to keep jazz alive after Stalin's ban
Before the days of digital photography, X-rays were developed onto a thick plastic-like material. Doctors would view them by clipping them to tables that projected light through the back of image, revealing ghostly images from inside the body.
But during the Cold War, X-rays were used to illuminate something else.
From 1946 to his death in 1953, Joseph Stalin banned jazz and many other forms of western music in the former Soviet Union. But bootleggers found a clever way around the ban. They sold copies of records on the black market that were etched into the surface of old X-rays.
Recordings of artists like Elvis Presley or Ella Fitzgerald were inscribed over pictures of rib cages, skulls, or thigh bones. The used X-rays were an excellent stand-in for an actual for vinyl records, and hospitals were overflowing with them at the time due to World War II. So there was no shortage of supply or demand.
There's a website dedicated to preserving these recordings. A violinist named Nataly Merezhuk has found another way to remember them.
Merezhuk is a Russian-born, classically-trained violinist. She's released an album of jazz violin music to honor the the X-ray recordings of jazz sold in back alleys in the Soviet Union. Her album is titled, "Jazz on Bones."
She spoke with Morning Edition's Leila Fadel about her album and the history of Jazz in Russia.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Interview highlights
On the Soviet ban on Jazz
Initially I found out about this history by hearing different slogans that existed in the Soviet Union. Like there's one: 'First, he's listening to jazz, and next thing he's going to sell the motherland.'
It's fascinating that when my grandparents were my age, they would not have been allowed to listen to this music or they would have been sent, you know, to prison for that. And currently, I'm able to make a career out of it.
On how the X-Ray recordings were made
Recording studios had [store] fronts usually, and at the time it was popular to record voice memos on little postcard records that you could send to your family or something like that. So, during the daytime, that's kind of the fronts that they would have. During the night, usually they would take an x ray and they would cut a circle out of it. And then they had these machines that would cut the record into the X-ray.
On the links between Russian Jazz and Ukrainian folk music
I discovered that many people at the forefront of Soviet jazz were Ukrainians, and one person among them was Leonid Utyosov. He was actually a Jewish man from Odessa. And I think it's really important for Russian people to look clearly at the important people in our history and understand their backgrounds. Many different cultures and people have contributed, and it's important to respect their identities.
On how Merezhuk chose the music for Jazz on Bones
In the beginning of my exploration of this history, I chose songs that spoke to me as a Muscovite but were popular during that Soviet era. And also, there's a sprinkling of tunes by Django Reinhardt in there as well. But it was basically a blend of my love for Moscow, longing for it and exploring its history.
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Transcript
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Before the days of digital photography, X-rays were developed onto a thick, plastic-like material. Doctors clipped them to tables that projected light through the back of the image, revealing the inside of the body. But during the Cold War, X-rays were used to illuminate something else.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LULLABY OF BIRDLAND")
ELLA FITZGERALD: (Singing) A lullaby of birdland, that's what I always hear when you sigh.
FADEL: That's a bootlegged recording of Ella Fitzgerald. It was etched into the surface of a discarded X-ray and sold on the black market during a time when jazz was illegal in the former Soviet Union. This recording was on the image of a rib cage.
NATALY MEREZHUK: The hospitals at the time were actually overflowing with used X-rays because of World War II.
FADEL: That's Nataly Merezhuk. She's a Russian-born, classically trained violinist. She's been studying the period in the 1940s and '50s when Joseph Stalin outlawed jazz and other forms of Western music.
MEREZHUK: Initially, I found out about this history by hearing different slogans that existed in the Soviet Union. Like, there's one - first, he's listening to jazz, and next thing, he's going to sell the motherland.
FADEL: Oh, wow.
MEREZHUK: Yeah. It's fascinating that when my grandparents were my age, they would not have been allowed to listen to this music or they would have been sent, you know, to prison for that. And currently, I'm able to make a career out of it.
(SOUNDBITE OF NATALY MEREZHUK'S "TURN AROUND")
FADEL: Nataly Merezhuk has just released an album of violin jazz that pays tribute to the underground effort to keep the music alive in Russia. It's called "Jazz On Bones."
MEREZHUK: Recording studios, they had fronts, usually, and at the time, it also popular to record just voice memos on little postcard records that you could send to your family or something like that. So during the daytime, that's kind of the fronts that they would have. And during the night, usually, they would take an X-ray, and they would cut a circle out of it. And then they had these machines that would cut the record into the X-ray.
FADEL: And they're incredible to look at. And your album is named for them, "Jazz On Bones," right? How did you go about choosing the music that you have on this album?
MEREZHUK: In the beginning of my exploration of this history, I chose songs that spoke to me as a Moscovite that were popular during that Soviet era. But it was basically a blend of my love for Moscow, longing for it and exploring its history.
(SOUNDBITE OF NATALY MEREZHUK'S "WINDOWS OF MOSCOW")
FADEL: You have a tune called "Windows Of Moscow" on there. Can you tell me about that one?
MEREZHUK: Yeah. So it was composed in 1960, and it was originally an instrumental tune. And then it became a tune with lyrics. And it talks about a person walking through the streets of Moscow and looking up into the windows and making up - thinking about what are these people up to? And I wish I knew them.
(SOUNDBITE OF NATALY MEREZHUK'S "WINDOWS OF MOSCOW")
FADEL: You're a classically trained violinist. Let's talk about when you discovered jazz.
MEREZHUK: I've known about jazz all my life. I did not have any interest in playing it until about 2017, when I found a really friendly jam session centered around Django Reinhardt's music. And it opened up the possibilities that I could see, the sounds that I could make. And I have always loved improvising. So I was really excited to find something new.
(SOUNDBITE OF NATALY MEREZHUK'S "CROCODILE SONG")
FADEL: You mentioned Django Reinhardt. If you could talk about his jazz arrangements and maybe how that inspired you.
MEREZHUK: Sure. So Django Reinhardt was an incredible guitarist. He was born in Belgium. He was the initial person that allowed me to discover violin in jazz.
(SOUNDBITE OF DJANGO REINHARDT AND STEPHANE GRAPPELLI'S "J'ATTENDRAI")
MEREZHUK: One of his musicians in this band was called Stephane Grappelli, who was an incredible violinist. And so if you explore the catalogue of music that Django produced, you can see that there are many tunes that are inspired by classical compositions. And in my album, I included one - it's called "Liebesfreud," or "The Joy Of Life."
(SOUNDBITE OF NATALY MEREZHUK'S "LIEBESFREUD")
FADEL: You talk about your love of Moscow, the city where you were born, and you're also Ukrainian. And this is a really difficult time, the Russian invasion of Ukraine. And since the war started, you've been looking in to the links between Soviet jazz and Ukrainian folk music. Could you talk about what you learned?
MEREZHUK: Yes. I discovered that a lot of these people at the forefront of Soviet jazz were Ukrainians. And one person amongst those was Leonid Utyosov. He was actually a Jewish man from Odesa. And I think it's really important for Russian people to look clearly at the important people in our history and to understand their backgrounds and to understand that a lot of different cultures and people contributed. And it's important to respect their identities.
FADEL: Nataly Merezhuk's debut album is titled "Jazz On Bones." Thank you, Nataly.
MEREZHUK: Thank you.
(SOUNDBITE OF NATALY MEREZHUK'S "WINDOWS OF MOSCOW") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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