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Музыка советских республик, ВИА и другие - Узбекистан
Music of the Soviet republics, VIA and others - Uzbekistan

Ялла

The group 'Ялла' (Yalla) was formed in 1970 from an amateur ensemble at the Tashkent Theatre Institute. The first artistic director was German Rozhkov, who began to supervise the ensemble, being the director of the educational theater at the institute. Although the name of the group is similar to the name of one of the styles of Uzbek folk music, it appeared at one of the rehearsals from the words of the chorus of the song 'Кыз бола' - 'Озорная девушка'. The arrangement of this Uzbek folk song was the first good luck of the ensemble: in January of 1971, 'Ялла' successfully performed Mark Fradkin's song “На тот большак” alongside Fradkin at the regional qualifying round for the All-Union concert 'Алло, мы ищем таланты!' in Sverdlosk. The ensemble got into the final concert in Moscow where they performed the Uzbek folk song 'Рамазан'and the Russian folk song 'Плывут туманы белые'. The songs were soloed by Ravshan Zakirov, the younger brother of Batyr Zakirov—one of the inspirers of the young group—and Farukh Zakirov—with whose name is often associated with 'Ялла' in recent years. The members of the group became diploma winners of this prestigious beginner’s competitions, the permanent host of which was Aleksandr Maslyakov. The ensemble’s performances of 'Кыз бола' and 'Ялламаерм' were recorded at the All-Union record label 'Мелодия'.

Some of the founding successes of 'Ялла' were: the use of, along with electric guitars and organs, Uzbek folk instruments - the rubaba, doria, etc.; the motifs of Eastern songs in modern (70's) arrangements. The repertoire of the ensemble consisted mainly of songs in Uzbek, also performed in Russian and English.

The compositions of 'Ялла', created on the motifs of Uzbek folk songs, became famous. The group and its leader Farukh Zakirov developed their own approach to the innotation and rhythmic beginning of Uzbek folklore and created famous songs such as 'Маджнунтол' ('Плакучая ива'), 'Бойчечак' ('Подснежник'), 'Яллама-Ёрим', and others. In this period, the musicians often turned to the work of the poet Turab Tula and wrote songs to his poems. By Farukh Zakirov's admission, the first musical director of Yalla—Evgeny Shiryaev, participating in the ensemble since 1972—made a great contribution to the creation of the repertoire and the image of the group itself. For several years, the ensemble has successfully performed at the Tashkent music hall and toured around the Soviet Union. In 1973, they participated in the 10th World Festival of Students and Youth in Berlin, GDR (East Germany), at the firm 'Амига', 'Ялла' recorded 15 songs in the German language, half of which—according to F. Zakirov—reached the top ten of the national hit parade of the GDR. In the USSR, their songs were also occasionally recorded by the 'Мелодия' firm on both vinyl records and flexi-discs for the magazine 'Кругозор'.

In addition to folk and contemporary songs, the repertoire began to include songs of their own composition on the verses of the great poets of the East - Alisher Navoi, Omar Khayyam. But approaching the end of the 70's, the team was in a creative slump. In 1979, the ensemble gained new musicians, who play with them in the present day, except for the music director and bassist Rustam Ilyasov, who after 15 years of creative work in 'Ялла', parted from the group and took on permanent residence in the United States. From the old 1972 lineup, only Farukh Zakirov remains—the artistic director of the VIA, singer, and composer.

In 1980, a new creative success awaited the ensemble—composed by F. Zakirov to lyrics by Y. Entin, the song 'Учкудук' - 'Три колодца' became a super-hit in the USSR (and to this day is the 'calling card' of the ensemble). In 1981-1986, the State Honoured Ensemble of the Uzbek SSR 'Ялла' was a diploma winner of the annual TV festival 'Песня года' held in the Soviet Union. In 1982, the group released their first LP: 'Три колдоца'. Songs performed by the ensemble became popular in various years: 'Последняя поэма', 'Шахрисабз', 'Канатоходец', 'Песенка Насреддина', 'Лицо возлюбленной моей', 'Позвала меня дорога', 'Чайхана', 'Золотые купола Самарканда'. Many albums were recorded, and colourful theatrical performances were shown: 'Создадим праздник, друзья', 'Луцо возлюбленной моей', and 'Чайхана на все времена'.

In 2002, Farukh Zakirov was appointed the Minister of Culture of Uzbekistan, but despite this, remained in 'Ялла', and the ensemble continues concert activities and studio recordings. On 30 Sept. 2002, a solemn jubilee concert of the ensemble was held in the State Central Concert Hall 'Россия'. In the same year, members of the ensemble's first lineup organized the group 'Ретро Ялла' with the repertoire from the beginning of the 70's. It also performed successfully in various concerts and shows, including the anniversary concert for 'Ялла'. As recalled in an interview with Aliaskar Fatkhullin, 'Ретро Ялла' planned to record a disk with the first songs of the ensemble. In 2005, 'Ялла' celebrated its 35th anniversary with a series of gala concerts. On New Year's of 2007, 'Ялла', together with other stars of the 70's and 80's, took part in the concert show 'Легенды Ретро FM', broadcast on the First Channel of RT.