Baku to celebrate International Jazz Day with concert
By Laman Ismayilova
Throughout history, Azerbaijani jazz music has touched the hearts of many music lovers all over the world.
Baku Academy of Music will hold a Jazz Festival and a scientific and creative conference on May 7 dedicated to the International Jazz Day, Trend Life reported.
Acclaimed jazz musicians Isfar Sarabski (piano), Ruslan Huseynov (bass guitar), Elvin Bashirov (drums) will delight the audience with their performances.
There are certain musicians that had profound impacts on the jazz music in the country. The foundation of Azerbaijani jazz is associated with the name of the legendary musician Vagif Mustafazade. He was one of the founders of the national jazz music and the new jazz trend called "jazz mugham".
By merging two musical genres - Western jazz and Eastern mugham, a type of traditional improvisational modal music, he created "jazz mugham", a new music style. The style reached its full fame in the 1950s and 1960s under the influence of composer Rafig Babayev and his Gaya Quartet.
Nowadays, Azerbaijan sees growth in the number of talented jazz artists, including Aziza Mustafazade, Isfar Sarabski, Salman Gambarov, Nurlan Novrasli, Rain Sultanov, etc. National jazzmen successfully perform at international music events.
In addition, many jazz festivals are held across the country bringing together internationally acclaimed Jazz musicians from all parts of the Earth.
Every year the world community celebrates the International Jazz Day on April 30. The UNESCO-organized annual event features the historical, cultural, and educational contribution of this popular genre of music. The day aims to spread international awareness about this unique musical style and to promote the cultural and social values that jazz stands for.
Nearly 200 countries celebrate the Jazz Day worldwide, including Azerbaijan.
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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova
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