Vladimir Tarasov (b. 1947) is an advocate of free jazz, a drummer, percussionist, composer and video artist, and a member of the Lithuanian Composers’ Union. A patriarch of Lithuanian jazz, he laid the foundations of the Lithuanian school of jazz as part of the legendary Ganelin-Tarasov-Chekasin Trio, for which he received the country’s top prize, the Lithuanian National Prize for Culture and Arts, in 2017.

Tarasov is a conceptual artist who collaborates with the world’s giants of improvisational music and participates in a wide-ranging creative life. He performs on jazz stages as part of various projects, composes for film and theatre, works on visual art and interdisciplinary projects, and collaborates with a diverse pool of artists, writers, painters, and masters of dance and the visual arts.

Tarasov was born in Arkhangelsk (Russia), but has lived in Lithuania since 1968. Between 1971 and 1986, he was a member of the Ganelin-Tarasov-Chekasin Trio. In 1984, he was one of the first drummers in Europe to start playing solo percussion (Atto). In 1991, he created yet another platform for expression, by gathering the most outstanding jazz musicians in the country into the Lithuanian Art Orchestra (LAO), a variable group that periodically revives and realises the most interesting creative visions of its leader. That same year, he became involved in the visual creative world, and began to create conceptual installations in which sound plays a key role.

Tarasov still performs around the world. Alongside his work with the LAO, he plays solo and creates installations. He plays free jazz with Jones Jones, an international trio established in 2006 with the American saxophonist Larry Ochs and the bassist Mark Dresser, and also teaches at various art universities in Europe and the USA.

His discography comprises over 100 albums and creative partnerships, with artists such as Andrew Cyrille, the Rova Saxophone Quartet, Anthony Braxton, Kazutoki Umezu, Lauren Newton, Saincho Namchilak, Bill Laswel, Josef Nadj, Tomasz Stanko, Sonny Murray, and many others.

www.vladimirtarasov.com;  www.facebook.com/VladimirTarasovOfficial

Stream/download this: ATTO III, Drumtheatre

Vladimir Tarasov’s music is available at: www.pakartot.lt/project/vladimir-tarasov