Vinogradov Valery Armenakovich - Russian musician: family, creativity. Group "Center"

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Valery Vinogradov is a famous Soviet and Russian rock musician, a contemporary of Viktor Tsoi and Boris Grebenshchikov, a virtuoso guitarist who performed compositions in various rock styles. Unfortunately, in Soviet times, his work did not receive public recognition, but later, after the collapse of the USSR, the albums of various bands, in which Valery took part, became quite popular both in Russia and in the CIS countries.

Biography

Valery Armenakovich Vinogradov was born on May 26, 1956 in Moscow. There is practically no reliable information about his parents. It is only known that Valery has two brothers, Eduard and Yuri, whose activities are also related to music. The musician almost does not talk about his childhood, starting the story of his biography from the moment the Center group was founded. There are many interesting facts about musicvirtuoso activities. However, none of them are directly related to his personal life.

Early years

The early years of the musician Valery Vinogradov passed in an atmosphere of constant search for himself and ways of creative self-expression. Having learned to play the guitar, the young man decides to create his own band, but at this stage of life, this is impossible for a young musician.

Vinogradov begins his career as a session musician, alternately being part of one or the other group, actively trying himself in various genres of rock music. For several years of this lifestyle, Vinogradov wrote more than a dozen songs in the style of art-rock, jazz-rock, funk and soul. Also, the young musician gained vast experience in improvisation sessions, learned how to perform in front of an audience and finally overcame stage fright.

Nickname

Valery believed that his real surname - Sarkisyan - was not quite harmonious for the stage image of the musician, so he decided to use a new surname - Vinogradov - as an artistic pseudonym. This choice was partly influenced by the sound of the artist's name. The new name - Valery Vinogradov - was indicated among the members of the group on all album covers, harmoniously fitting into the general list of names of the band's musicians. Since the end of the eighties, the musician was known only under a new name, which brought him some popularity due to his beautiful and romantic sound.

Center team

The group "Center" appeared in the late seventies and immediately headed for a then still completely unknown genre - freerock (English free - "free" and rock - "rock music"). The works performed in this musical direction were distinguished by bright melody and a large improvisational component.

In his interviews, Valery Vinogradov said more than once that the first Center albums were a unique phenomenon for the Soviet Union, since no one played such music in those years, not only in Russia, but also in the CIS. Unfortunately, contemporaries did not appreciate the work of the Center collective, and the recordings did not become widespread, becoming quite popular only after the start of the so-called “second wave of rock and roll popularity in the USSR.”

Valery Vinogradov's work within the group can be called truly unique, as the musician has always worked in an atmosphere of close cooperation with other members of the group, which led to the creation of incredibly original compositions that have become classics of improvisation in Russian rock music.

In 1986, Vinogradov left the group and devoted some time to developing his own solo projects, but in the late nineties he decided to return to the team.

Solo work

In the period from 1986 to 1998, Valery Vinogradov managed to try to realize himself in many areas of the music business. First of all, the virtuoso found a new band, Central Russian Upland, which performed melodic hard rock withelements of the author's song. The band urgently needed a guitarist, and the virtuoso musician Vinogradov became an incredibly valuable find for them.

Together with the Central Russian Upland, Valery recorded several full-length albums, after which he decided to move to the USA, finding work in the national team of the famous Joanna Stingray, who was delighted with the skills of the Russian guitarist.

The musician began to receive offers from other foreign bands. However, poor knowledge of English and homesickness prevented Vinogradov from settling in America and fully engaging in the music business. Valery also considered the main thing in creating music - improvisation and the process of composing, and not making money, which has long become the basis of Western show business.

Work in the USA lasted for two years, after which Vinogradov, not satisfied with the quality of the game, which was demonstrated by other musicians, left the project. Several months passed in search of a group that could provide Valery Vinogradov with the same level of free high-quality improvisation, which for a long time was characteristic of the sound of his last project, Center.

The terms of cooperation, more or less similar to those required by the virtuoso, were able to offer the Sheriff group. At first, the guitarist was just a session musician in the band, but later accepted the offer to become a permanent member, actively creating new material for the project. Soon the rest of the group began to express dissatisfaction with the fact that ValeryVinogradov creates too many high-quality compositions, thereby limiting the participation of other musicians and interfering with their self-expression. Valery decided to leave the group, remaining with most of its members in good friendly relations.

Producer career

The next step in Vinogradov's search for himself was producing. Using his authority and wide connections in the world of domestic show business, he begins working with the Moscow rock band Super Duper, not only creating new songs for it that instantly become popular, but also actively promoting the team on the rock scene in Russia and the CIS countries.

Private life

Little is known about Valery Vinogradov's family. The musician jealously guards his happiness, not letting annoying journalists into his personal life. It is only known that the musician has a wife, Vera (a linguist by profession) and a son, Alexei, who for some time played in the Center group on a synthesizer.

Music Views

Vinogradov differs from other performers in his field with an original opinion about rock music and music in general. The virtuoso believes that the main aspect of creative self-expression in any field will always be complete freedom of action, thanks to which boundaries and boundaries will disappear in the process of creating something new. Vinogradov believes that only by putting this principle at the forefront, one can achieve certain success in the field of art.