Azerbaijani jazz musicians perform in France
By Sabina Idayatova
Azerbaijani jazz band gave a performance at the Azerbaijani Cultural Center in Paris on November 7.
Speaking at a ceremony prior to the performance which was part of an international Jazz&Colors festival, Azerbaijani Ambassador to France Elchin Amirbeyov talked about the history of jazz in Azerbaijan.
He also praised the Azerbaijani government's attention to culture and arts, including jazz.
Deputy Director of the international festival Valerie Giler gave
a brief account of the history of the festival, highly appreciated
Azerbaijan`s participation in such a magnificent event for the
first time, and expressed her gratitude to Azerbaijan for
facilitating the trip made by young jazz musicians.
Amirbeyov noted that in the last 15 years, Baku had hosted
international Jazz festivals which brought together many renowned
jazz musicians, including Marcus Miller, Bob James, David Sanborn,
Kenny Garret, as well as Azerbaijani jazzmen Salman Gambarov, Isfar
Sarabski, Shahin Novrasli, and Elchin Shirinov.
Azerbaijan`s jazz trio Elchin Shirinov (piano), Selim Mammadov (bass guitar), and Elvin Bashiriov (drums) performed works by great Azerbaijani composers Fikrat Amirov, Rafig Babayev, and Elchin Shirinov, as well as Western composers.
The concert was attended by French public, art, and culture figures, Azerbaijani MPs, the members of Azerbaijan's delegation to UNESCO, Diaspora members, and students.
In the framework of the festival, young Azerbaijani jazz
musicians also gave a concert in Grenoble, a city in south-eastern
France, on November 9.
The concert was held in the city's "Art Cafe" jazz club, and
Azerbaijani jazz trio performed the works of both Azerbaijani and
Western composers.
The performance of the Azerbaijani jazzmen was met with great interest by the choosy French music lovers, and they were invited to the stage several times.
Attending the festival as guests, famous saxophone player Babi
Clavel and singer Fred Kazak also performed a number of jazz pieces
in accompaniment with Azerbaijani musicians. Clavel expressed his
satisfaction at performing with Azerbajani musicians for the first
time, and highlighted their professionalism.
Remembering his several visits to Azerbaijan, Kazak said that he
was proud of listening to musicians that came from his father`s
homeland -Azerbaijan.
At the end of the concert, the audience expressed their desire to organize such concerts repeatedly in their cities.