A rather nice example of traditional music from Bashkortostan, a Turkic Republic inside of Russia. Unfortunately, there isn’t much information available on the artist, Gata Sulejmanov.
Melodiya
[Music] Melodiya Ensemble – Vashi Lyubimye Pesni Igraet
Funky Jazz from the house band of the Soviet state record label, the Melodiya Ensemble. There’s almost no info on the band, but there is an article on Soviet Funk, so enjoy.
[Video] Мурад Кажлаев (Murad Kazhlaev) - Крутые Повороты (Sharp Turns)
Before Dagestan, in southern Russia, became a worthless subsidiary for radical Islamists, it was producing some rather amazing musicians and composers of note. Murad Kazhlaev (sometimes transliterated as Murad Kajlayev) hailed originally from Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, from a Lak family. He moved on to Dagestan, and would work with the Melodiya Records Orchestra, churning out great jazz like this.
If anyone from Dagestan could give me information on more interesting artists, I’d be indebted.
[Music] Melodiya rereleases classic Russian albums on vinyl
Russia was rich with good music, even during the Soviet Era. It’s nice to see so many classics, even the cheesy metal ones, getting reissued in wonderful packaging by Melodiya.
Many thanks to Vladimir Kozlov, who wrote this article for the Moscow Times.
A Miscellany Of Tasteful Music 