Horonko Orchestra

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History of Нoronko-Band started in 1988, when Dmitry Нoronko, a student of Leningrad State Institute of Theatre, Music and Cinematography, got an idea – to write and stage a play, based on one song of Alexander Vertinskiy, The Yellow Angel. Moreover, to make it “real”, since he believed the great chansonnier was “far too distant from modern generation”. During the first years of his student life in Leningrad, the young performer and his friends attempted to conquer the music Olympus. Нoronko himself, a violinist, and a bass-guitarist went to Nizhniy Novgorod to take part in a contest of singing actors. The trio presented a new, alternative version of Russian folk song Shumel Kamysh (Cane Whisper) a-la Bobby Mc Ferrin. That version was born at one of the drunken nights in their student dorm. The jury was quite impressed, though not enough to award the trio with a prize – the young people only received a wooden spoon (a.k.a. reward), and a piece of advice – to go and learn to sing better. After a year long break, Horonko starts gathering another band. That time he took great interest in Jacque Brell, who breached traditional French chanson, and made it absolutely wild. Horonko adopted the style of jazz bands of 50s and 70s, but spiced it with his own, unbelievable, amazing ideas. They would replace one instrument with another, sublimate the sounds, and generally do everything that would strike their mind. “It was like exaggerating the reality”, remembers Horonko. “Hyperbolization Sur”. And there it came - there was their first night in 1995, on the small stage of Lensovet Theatre. “The audience was shocked by our insolence and absolute inability to play musical instruments”, says Dmitry. “We played very clumsily, but it had a blast!” The band themselves call their work of that period an “art-rustle”. However, all that “rustle and squealing” rendered the musicians too undergroundish, while they yearned to play music. Horonko decided to leave the theatre. The theatre period was over. Now was time for music. By 1997 Horonko joins in with professional musician. Hence, they start using musical notation and applying jazz harmony. Time went by, and the band changed. Instead of the double bass, they god a bass-guitar – Rinat Safargaliev ; a clarinet (Sergei Ushakov) and a saxophone (Alexander Goureev) took the place of the violin. Members of the today’s band are all bright and professional individuals. Alexander Goureev (soprano, saxophone) – one of the most talented delegate of jazz-mainstream. He preferred to be a member of the Band than to work in St.Petersburg’s Academy of Culture. The jazz guitarist (Ildar Khazahanov) – winner of numerous jazz-contests, the accordionist (Sergei Yanson) used to make his living street playing in Poland, so he knows exactly how accordion should sound. Each of members used to work with a Russian legendary musicians, like Zhanna Agouzarova, Kolibri band, Laima Vaikule. Each musician has an original personality, and adds some spice to the music of the band. According to the musicians themselves, Horonko-Band is a modern cabaret on the verge of foul. It is hooliganism carried to absurdity, or absurdity carried to hooliganism. The music component of Horonko-Band unites the tragedy and jeer of Jaque Brell, psychedelic shade of Alexander Vertinskiy, and cool-jazz that Bruebeck, Piterson, and Monk played in late 50s and early 60s of the last century. Listening to the band one gets the impression that no one has performed music like this for the last 50 years here. It is the long forgotten orchestral drive. Horonko-Band sounds just like a little jazz-band would in a small café for taxi-drivers called something like “Green Light”. At the same time, the band is quite modern. The musicians go clubbing, listen to the latest music styles, and know today’s euro exchange rate. In the performances they merge symphony jazz with rap, Latino with punk, the lyricism of French chanson of the 60s with rock of the 80s. The band can even play the old trivial “Murka” song for 12 minutes – they start at A minor, go through 5 keys, while citing the Leningrad Symphony by Shostakovich, and popular song of Tarkan – a Turkish pop-singer –, plus using rhythm breaks. This last trick Horonko learned in Kharkov, where he would often listen to old ladies sing folk songs. Sometimes one of them, singing in a regular 4/4 rhythm would suddenly choke on an apricot-pit, and continue in 5/4. Others, who listened to her, would sing the song that way afterwards. The musicians carry on a provocative conversation with the audience; make them think of the serious, while letting them laugh at the funny part. “We are not simply amusing the audience, we are having fun with them, - states Horonko. – I clearly understood that at one of our performances. So I said: Now it’s not 7, but 45 people I have in my band. Come on and get your pay checks.”

Member Since:

March 22, 2008

Members:

Dmitriy Horonko – vocal, guitar
Sergey Ushakov – clarinet
Ildar Kazahanov - guitar
Sergey Yanson – accordion
Aleksey Denisov – drums,percussion
Rinat Safargaliev – bass

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