Azernews.Az

Laman Ismayilova

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Azerbaijan's much-loved musical comedy "The Cloth Peddler" is set to take on a new sound as the Gaya State Ensemble prepares to present a concert programme built around a fresh musical interpretation of Uzeyir Hajibayli's classic work.

The new programme will feature the main solo and choral numbers from the musical comedy in a polyphonic pop-jazz style. The project has been one of the creative directions the Gaya State Ensemble has been developing for some time.

The new "The Cloth Peddler" fantasy was created by People's Artist of Azerbaijan Rauf Babayev, a former soloist of the legendary Gaya Quartet, and Nazim Ahmadov, an artist of the Gaya State Ensemble, composer and arranger.

The new arrangements retain the musical material of Hajibayli's work while presenting it through a contemporary pop-jazz approach. The project brings together the composer's well-known melodies and the vocal and ensemble traditions for which Gaya has long been known.

The Gaya State Ensemble has played an important role in the development of Azerbaijani popular and jazz music.

Founded in 1956 by four students of the Asaf Zeynalli Music School - Teymur Mirzayev, Arif Hajiyev, Rauf Babayev and Lev Yelisovetski - the ensemble was granted State Ensemble status in 1972.

Gaya became known for its broad repertoire, which included Azerbaijani folk songs, works by leading national composers and popular international songs.

The ensemble also performed jazz and estrada music, often presenting familiar melodies in modern vocal arrangements. Its programmes featured works by composers such as Tofig Guliyev, Gara Garayev, Fikrat Amirov and Rauf Hajiyev, alongside international repertoire, giving Gaya a distinctive place in Azerbaijan's popular music scene.