Kali Zhantleuov, the outstanding traditional musician of the 20th century, the dombera player, the artist of the orchestra of national instruments, the People’s artist of the republic, whose 100th anniversary was celebrated in 2002, has brought to us a breath of a great epoch, the “golden epoch” of Kazakh music – the legacy and live tradition of Kurmangazy and Dauletkerei, Balamaisan, Mamen and Dina. West Kazakhstan instrumental music, the tradition of dombera playing, is one of greatest achievements of the Kazakh culture, its remarkable contribution to the world culture treasure. The art of a Kazakh kyui – a lasting state (the word “kyui” means “state”), sounding vibrations of which are similar to cosmic vibrations, has always amazed a listener by its truly universal philosophic depth. The West Kazakhstan dombera tradition, the peak of which in the 19th century was the Kurmangazy’s and Dauletkerei’s genius art, reached our time in performance versions “from hand to hand”. One of noted representatives of this live performance tradition was Kali Zhantleuov, who took up a thread of succession from hands of Mamen, Kurmangazy’s student.

Kali Zhantleuov was born in Uralsk oblast, the former Bukeyev orda, in the locality of Kisyk kamys/Kamys samar (now Zhana kala). Since 5 years old Kali held on the dombera. The boy’s teachers in dombera art at the beginning of his development were Alabas and Nurtaza kyuishi. Soon Mamen himself, the famous musician, virtuosos dombera player, one of students of the great master took notice of Kali and taught him some kyuis. Sometimes Kali accompanied his teacher on his trips. Since Kali learned by an aul mullah and knew reading and writing, at the age of 25 he became a member of the aul Soviet and in 1929 entered the kolkhoz.
A new period started for Kali in 1934, when he came to Alma-Ata to take part in the Republican gathering of people’s art workers. Here he took the first place and was invited to the orchestra of people’s instruments, where he became the “right hand” of Akhmet Kuanovich Zhubanov – the orchestra’s conductor and artistic head. For many years Kali Zhantleuov was a concertmaster of tenor domberas in the orchestra. Kali used to teach young dombera players the performance skills and kyuis.

When the Alma-Ata conservatory was opened, Kali Zhantleuov received an invitation to be a dombera teacher. His students were outstanding musicians, such as Shamgon Kazhgaliyev and Fuat Mansurov, who later grew as well-known conductors. The classic dombera plying tradition Kali Zhantleuov passed over to Azidulla Eskaliyev, Karshyga Akhmedyarov, Shamil Abiltayev and Tuyak Shamelov.

Kali Zhantleuov’s creative work is many-sided. He was not only the prominent dombera player and the tutor, but also a good singer. Kali’s performance art covers a wide range of styles. He was the unsurpassed performer of Dauletkerei, the people’s professional composer who has deepened the dombera tradition’s philosophical and psychological compass. His performance of “Zhiger” kyui according to A. Zatayevich, “the music of the exclusive depth, pathos and significance” until now remains to be the unattainable height of the dombera art. The performances of Kurmangazy’s and Dina’s kyuis are distinguished by an adherence to the origin spirit and a virtuosos finishing of details. Nowadays we can listen to the kyuis of Mamen, the unique author by the performance complexity only owing to that that Kali himself, as a musician, did not yield to his teacher.
Kali Zhantleuov is, according to A. Raimbergenov, the “last great representative of the Bukeyev dombera tradition”. The life and creative work of Kali Zhantleuov are convincible of the sustainability and strength of the people’s art, its imperishable value for the culture of today’s independent Kazakhstan.

We express our gratitude to Abdulkhamit Raimbergenov for his valuable advices and consultations in compiling of this disc.