GOATS NOTES

moscow

The world’s boundless joy / Is given to singing hearts

Мира восторг беспредельный / Сердцу певучему дан

Aleksandr Blok (1880-1921)

Looking to define their place on Moscow’s musical scene, Goat’s Notes opt for ”ethno-jazz-rock-rock-folk-avantgarde.” Anything simpler would be forthcoming from founding member Grigory Sandomirsky. He often explains how several of his projects crisscross with songs or melodies from Sephardic folk and spiritual music.

On a more mundane level, Sandomirsky laments the fact improvised jazz concerts for six people beyond Moscow’s periphery are rare––as are festivals. Yet for all these constraints, he does not romanticize unfettered freedom––in improvisation itself, say. “You soon realize you’re using the same repetitive tricks. So what can you change––in yourself?”

“Sometimes I try giving concrete instructions: defining certain points between which the musicians have freedom. But even if I planned everything beforehand, there would always come a moment when the music itself leads people off…” Bodily, fiscal, and musical limits define liberty. They’re a blessing, not a curse.

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