The Azerbaijani jazz ( az, Azərbaycan cazı) is a popular variety of

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

, widespread in

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

. It covers a broad range of styles (traditional, post-pop,

fusion Fusion, or synthesis, is the process of combining two or more distinct entities into a new whole. Fusion may also refer to: Science and technology Physics *Nuclear fusion, multiple atomic nuclei combining to form one or more different atomic nucl ...

, free flexion) and often features a blend with traditional Azeri music. Among modern famed Azeri jazz musicians are

Aziza Mustafazadeh Aziza Mustafa Zadeh ( az, Əzizə Mustafazadə; born December 19, 1969) is an Azerbaijani singer, pianist, and composer who plays a fusion of jazz and mugham (a traditional improvisational style of Azerbaijan) with classical and avant-garde in ...

, who was influenced by

Bill Evans William John Evans (August 16, 1929 – September 15, 1980) was an American jazz pianist and composer who worked primarily as the leader of his trio. His use of impressionist harmony, interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, block ch ...

and

Keith Jarrett Keith Jarrett (born May 8, 1945) is an American jazz and classical music pianist and composer. Jarrett started his career with Art Blakey and later moved on to play with Charles Lloyd and Miles Davis. Since the early 1970s, he has also been a ...

, Rain Sultanov,

Isfar Sarabski Isfar Rzayev-Sarabski ( az, İsfar Aydın oğlu Rzayev-Sarabski; born 2 November 1989, Baku, Azerbaijan) is an Azerbaijani pianist and composer, winner of the Solo Piano Competition of the Montreux Jazz Festival in 2009, Honorary Artist of Azer ...

, Shahin Novrasli.

History

20th century

Jazz first appeared in Azerbaijan at the beginning of the 20th century. During the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

period,

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...

was one of the three cities best known for jazz, along with

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

and

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

. The Eastern Jazz Band, whose performances in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

were advertised in 1926, included

Huseyngulu Sarabski Huseyngulu Sarabski ( az, Hüseynqulu Sarabski), born Hüseynqulu Malik oğlu Rzayev (20 March 1879 – 16 February 1945), was an Azerbaijani opera singer (tenor), composer, playwright, stage actor, theatre director, and musician (tar). Early life ...

as a soloist. In 1930s,

Niyazi Niyazi Zulfugar oghlu Taghizade Hajibeyov ( az, Niyazi Zülfüqar bəy oğlu Hacıbəyov) (1912–1984) was a prominent Soviet Azerbaijani conductor, and composer of the renowned symphonic mugham "Rast". Early life Niyazi was born on August 2 ...

and

Tofig Guliyev Tofig Alakbar oglu Guliyev ( az, Tofiq Ələkbər oğlu Quliyev, tr, Tevfik Elekber oğlu Guliyev; 7 November 1917, Baku – 4 October 2000, Baku) was a Soviet and Azerbaijani composer, pianist, and conductor. Biography Tofig Guliyev was born in ...

Vagif Mustafazadeh Vagif Mustafazadeh ( az, Vaqif Mustafazadə; March 16, 1940 – December 16, 1979), also known as Vaqif Mustafa-Zadeh, was a Soviet- Azerbaijani jazz pianist and composer, acclaimed for fusing jazz and the traditional Azerbaijani folk music known ...

created the first local

jazz band A jazz band (jazz ensemble or jazz combo) is a musical ensemble that plays jazz music. Jazz bands vary in the quantity of its members and the style of jazz that they play but it is common to find a jazz band made up of a rhythm section and a ...

. However, jazz in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

faced prohibition and censorship from 1920 and 1953. By the 1950s, jazz musicians from many Soviet cities, looking for a safe harbour, gradually gathered in Baku. In the late 1960s, the Azerbaijani jazz music was boosted by such composers as

Gara Garayev Gara Abulfaz oghlu Garayev ( az, Qara Əbülfəz oğlu Qarayev, russian: Кара́ Абульфа́зович Кара́ев (Kara Abulfazovich Karayev), February 5, 1918 – May 13, 1982), also spelled as Qara Qarayev or Kara Karayev, was a pr ...

and Rauf Hajiyev. In 1969, the first jazz festival was held in Baku.

21st century

As of 2000s, the country saw increase in jazz festivals, the music festivals such as

Baku International Jazz Festival The Baku International Jazz Festival is an annual jazz event organized by saxophonist and Baku resident Rain Sultanov. The festival aims to showcase Azerbaijan's long-running attachment to jazz, a connection established in the country during th ...

and

Gabala International Music Festival Gabala International Music Festival is an annual festival of classical music held every summer beginning in 2009 in Gabala, Azerbaijan. The festival is organised with the support of Heydar Aliyev Foundation at the initiative of the rector of the ...

are held annually. The Baku Jazz Center has been created for development and support of jazz culture in Azerbaijan. Baku Jazz Festival has been held since 2005; it was founded by the Azerbaijani musician Rain Sultanov and has proved itself as one of the biggest events of the Azerbaijan for more than a decade. Baku Jazz Festival is a celebration of music and a forum, which will include areas such as education (seminars, workshops), contests (young talents International Baku Jazz Competition "I am Jazzman!"), art and photo exhibitions, jam sessions, jazz film days and jazz concerts. Baku Jazz Festival was attended by such artists as Al Jarreau, Joe Zawinul, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Joshua Redman, Charles Lloyd and Diana Krall. Baku Jazz Festival is advertised and covered on the Euronews channel, in 2006 the festival joined the list of the world largest jazz festivals, and each year the festival is attended by over 200,000 spectators. Jazz Dunyasi magazine is the first printed edition of jazz in Azerbaijan. It has been published since 2004 and founded by its chief editor Leyla Efendiyeva. The Jazz Dunyasi magazine talks about the world of jazz, jazz in Azerbaijan. It contains information on the new CD, jazz festivals, young talent and stars of jazz. The Jazz Dunyasi magazine has its annual pavilion at the international exhibition Jazzahead! Artists such as

Aziza Mustafa Zadeh Aziza Mustafa Zadeh ( az, Əzizə Mustafazadə; born December 19, 1969) is an Azerbaijani singer, pianist, and composer who plays a fusion of jazz and mugham (a traditional improvisational style of Azerbaijan) with classical and avant-garde in ...

, Rain Sultanov, Amina Figarova,

and

Shahin Novrasli Shahin Novrasli (born February 10, 1977) is an Azerbaijani jazz and classical pianist, and composer Early years Childhood Born in Baku, Azerbaijan, on 10 February 1977, Shahin is a descendant of celebrated 19th century Azerbaijani poet Mirza Ales ...

achieved worldwide success, who returned triumphant from

Montreux Jazz Festival The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annual ...

in 2007.

Derivatives and offshoots

The most known type of Azerbaijani jazz is Jazz mugham, which includes a sultry combination of

Mugham Mugham ( az, Muğam) or Mughamat ( az, Muğamat) is one of the many classical compositions from Azerbaijan, contrasting with tasnif and ashik. It is a highly complex art form that weds classical poetry and musical improvisation in specific l ...

and traditional

American jazz American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

. The style reached its full fame in the 1950s and 1960s under the influence of composer

Rafig Babayev Rafig Farzi oglu Babayev ( az, Rafiq Farzi oğlu Babayev, 31 March 1937 – 19 March 1994) was an Azerbaijani jazz musician, composer, conductor, arranger, author of scores for films, and People's Artist of Azerbaijan (1993). Biography Rafig Baba ...

and his

Gaya Quartet “Gaya“ ( az, Qaya) were an Azerbaijani vocal quartet consisting of Arif Hajiyev, Teymur Mirzoyev, Lev Yelisovetski and Rauf Babayev. Quartet was active from 1972 to 1988. They sang in multiple languages, including Azerbaijani, Spanish, Polish ...

and jazz pianist and composer

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but addi ...

, the legendary American jazz trumpeter, reportedly lauded Mustafazadeh for creating "the music of the future."

Notable performers

Individuals

Female

* Amina Figarova *

Male

* Tofig Ahmadov *

* Salman Gambarov * Rauf Hajiyev *

* Rain Sultanov * Elchin Shirinov

Groups

References

Inna Naroditskaya, “Azerbaijani Mugham Jazz,” Jazz Worlds/World Jazz, ed. Philip V. Bohlman and Goffredo Plastino, Chicago, London: University of Chicago Press, 2016, 98-124.

External links

* https://www.bakujazzfestival.com * https://www.jazzdunyasimagazine.com/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Azerbaijani Jazz