Violinist's album honors the underground effort to keep jazz alive after Stalin's ban

 

Violinist's album honors the underground effort to keep jazz alive after Stalin's ban

Transcript¹

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 illuminate² something else.

From 1946 to his death in 1953, Joseph Stalin banned jazz and many other forms of western music in the former Soviet³ 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.

Recordings⁵ of artists like Elvis Presley or Ella Fitzgerald were inscribed⁶ over pictures of rib⁷ cages, skulls⁸, or thigh⁹ bones. The used X-rays were an excellent stand-in for an actual for vinyl records, and hospitals were overflowing¹⁰ with them at the time due to World War II. So there was no shortage of supply or demand.

There's a website dedicated¹¹ 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 alleys¹² in the Soviet Union. Her album is titled, "Jazz on Bones."She spoke¹³ 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.

Initially¹⁴ 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

Recording⁴ studios had [store] fronts usually, and at the time it was popular to record voice memos¹⁵ 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 musicI 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 BonesIn 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 tunes¹⁶ by Django Reinhardt in there as well. But it was basically a blend of my love for Moscow, longing¹⁷ for it and exploring its history.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 illuminate   

vt.照亮，照明；用灯光装饰；说明，阐释

参考例句：

• Dreams kindle a flame to illuminate our dark roads.梦想点燃火炬照亮我们黑暗的道路。
• They use games and drawings to illuminate their subject.他们用游戏和图画来阐明他们的主题。

3 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

4 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

5 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

6 inscribed   

v.写，刻( inscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；内接

参考例句：

• His name was inscribed on the trophy. 他的名字刻在奖杯上。
• The names of the dead were inscribed on the wall. 死者的名字被刻在墙上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 rib   

n.肋骨，肋状物

参考例句：

• He broke a rib when he fell off his horse.他从马上摔下来折断了一根肋骨。
• He has broken a rib and the doctor has strapped it up.他断了一根肋骨，医生已包扎好了。

8 skulls   

颅骨( skull的名词复数 )； 脑袋； 脑子； 脑瓜

参考例句：

• One of the women's skulls found exceeds in capacity that of the average man of today. 现已发现的女性颅骨中，其中有一个的脑容量超过了今天的普通男子。
• We could make a whole plain white with skulls in the moonlight! 我们便能令月光下的平原变白，遍布白色的骷髅！

9 thigh   

n.大腿；股骨

参考例句：

• He is suffering from a strained thigh muscle.他的大腿肌肉拉伤了，疼得很。
• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。

10 overflowing   

n. 溢出物,溢流 adj. 充沛的，充满的 动词overflow的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The stands were overflowing with farm and sideline products. 集市上农副产品非常丰富。
• The milk is overflowing. 牛奶溢出来了。

11 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

12 alleys   

胡同，小巷( alley的名词复数 )； 小径

参考例句：

• I followed him through a maze of narrow alleys. 我紧随他穿过一条条迂迴曲折的窄巷。
• The children lead me through the maze of alleys to the edge of the city. 孩子们领我穿过迷宫一般的街巷，来到城边。

13 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

14 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

15 memos   

n.备忘录( memo的名词复数 )；（美）内部通知

参考例句：

• Big shots get their dander up and memos start flying. 大人物们怒火中烧，备忘录四下乱飞。 来自辞典例句
• There was a pile of mail, memos and telephone messages on his desk. 他的办公桌上堆满着信件、备忘录和电话通知。 来自辞典例句

16 tunes   

n.曲调，曲子( tune的名词复数 )v.调音( tune的第三人称单数 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• a potpourri of tunes 乐曲集锦
• When things get a bit too much, she simply tunes out temporarily. 碰到事情太棘手时，她干脆暂时撒手不管。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 longing   

n.（for）渴望

参考例句：

• Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
• His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。