Vyacheslav Ganelin

Vyacheslav Ganelin
Vyacheslav Ganelin (2008)
Background information
Born	(1944-12-17)December 17, 1944 Kraskovo
Genres	free jazz, symphonic and chamber music, film and theatre music
Occupation(s)	bandleader, composer, pianist, pedagogue
Instruments	piano, synthesizer
Website	http://www.ganelin-music.com

Vyacheslav (Slava) Ganelin (Hebrew: ויאצ'סלב (סלבה) גנלין ‎‎, Lithuanian: Viačeslavas Ganelinas, Russian: Вячеслав Шевелевич Гане́лин; born 17 December 1944, in Kraskovo near Moscow) is a Lithuanian–Israeli jazz musician, composer, and pedagogue.

Primarily a pianist, he also plays other keyboards (organ and synthesizer) as well as bass, guitar, and percussions. He was the leader of the Ganelin Trio, described by critic Chris Kelsey as "arguably the world's greatest free jazz ensemble" of the 1970s and '80s.

Ganelin was born in Kraskovo, near Moscow. In 1948 his family moved to Lithuania, where he learned to play piano in the music school. Later he studied piano and composition at the Vilnius Conservatory where he graduated in 1968. He debuted as jazz pianist in a 1961 concert, during the Khrushchev Thaw.

For many years, Ganelin taught composition at the Vilnius Conservatory, and was music director of the Vilnius Russian Drama Theatre. He wrote music for numerous movies, including the musical Devil's Bride, and an opera, The Red-Haired Liar and the Soldier.