"I AM ONLY AN INTERMEDIARY"

Music exists in every corner of our life but it seldom becomes a part of it. Emil Afrasiyab is the Honoured Artist of Azerbaijan, pianist, laureate of international festivals. He is exactly the kind of person whose life path is intertwined with music. His talent revealed in childhood. When he was a 2.5-years-old kid, he started to repeat his sister’s playing on the piano almost unconsciously. As he grew up, he used to take part at many live performances of world jazz stars while working at the Jazz Club.

Today, Emil Afrasiyab represents Azerbaijan at international concerts and festivals in Greece, Japan, Budapest, the US, Cuba, Mexico, Georgia. His professionalism and emotional performances conquer the hearts of audiences both in Azerbaijan and around the world. It is not surprising, since Emil has grown up surrounded by national music, including the mugham and the best creations of Azerbaijani composers. But he did not stop there. He continued his study at the Berklee College of Music in the United States with one of the outstanding jazzmen, Grammy Award winner Danilo Pérez.

It is not easy to find Emil Afrasiyab in Baku. Due to constant tours abroad, festivals and studies in the US, he spends more time away from home. We caught him at his studio in Baku to get to know the musician and the composer closer...

You met us at your studio. It must be a special place for you...

Yes. It is unique in that it has all the conditions to make high-fidelity sound recordings. It took six years to create it from scratch using the best technological traditions.

I wish to do as much as I possibly can for Azerbaijani music, regardless of the genre. I wish to live and develop. Before the Internet, living a secluded life deprived of information and social activity as opposed to what we enjoy today, we had great difficulties. Today we are trying to share our knowledge and skills for the benefit of our national music. In this context, our studio plays an instrumental role. We are trying to help young performers in their development.

In one of your interviews you hinted at an idea to create a jazz school...

To be honest, I need to finish my studies at the Berkeley College of Music in the US first. It's my fifth year there and I am close to finish my study to return and start implementing that system in our country. We are planning to open this musical school with state support and in agreement with relevant regulatory authorities. The main idea is to introduce the US jazz education system in Azerbaijan, which, I am sure, will be effective.

The future generation should not be deprived of knowledge in this area, as were our predecessors and we. There are many talented people but due to certain circumstances they just cannot put all their thoughts and plans into practice. I do not blame anyone or anything. It so happens that these talents cannot get enough knowledge to reveal themselves.

Unfortunately, there is no jazz school in the Caucasus. I do not mean only Georgia and Azerbaijan. It holds true for almost the entire post-Soviet space up to Europe. I believe that a jazz school in Azerbaijan will be a positive development and will be interesting for many because not everyone can afford education in the US due to financial constraints or moral barriers that prevent them from moving abroad. So, our objective is to facilitate the process of obtaining jazz education in Azerbaijan based on the established and professional standards.

Is there anything in our music that we can pass to Americans? How do they evaluate our music?

Once in my class in the US, I have played a short passage for my teacher. He was shocked by its melisma (moving between four or more notes in one measure, R+). He did not have a clue how this was possible (playing a sample of traditional Azerbaijani jazz). “How nice and sweet it sounds, I don’t know how to do that,” he exclaimed. I explained that one is supposed to be born in Azerbaijan, to eat our bread, and to learn mugham. I mean Azerbaijani music has its weight and status, and we must develop it and show it in appropriate manner. Even if they do not know how to play like that, then at least we can prove that Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor is based on Bayati Shiraz (plays these pieces in consonance). Several years ago, Americans did not know about Azerbaijan. Today they are getting to know us and asking questions. In this context, Eurovision Song Contest, jazz festivals and other international events where Azerbaijan is directly involved play an instrumental role. Many countries represent their culture in the US. When they play a synthesis of their national music with jazz, you start to realise that it does not sound as beautiful as our synthesis. After all, our melodies, written by our brilliant composers, are beautiful. They sound great even without harmony.

You represent Azerbaijan in the US as a student. In Baku, you transfer your knowledge to your students. Where are you in demand most?

Regardless of what we do, teaching or representing a country abroad, we all serve the common cause. I am a teacher at the Azerbaijan National Conservatoire under the leadership of the respected and beloved national artist Siyavush Karimi, who has a great creative potential and moves forward at the speed of light. It is important that he has managed to separate folk music from classical old conservatoire, creating a national conservatoire. He has created all the conditions for young people to be interested in modern music. I don’t mean modern music, fusion or jazz here. Modern music includes both romance and classics, which seemingly has nothing to do with modern times. Yet, as far as my teaching and solo career go, these are completely different things. There are many national musicians in Azerbaijan today, who perfectly represent our culture and country abroad. The more we are, the better. Therefore, it is important that young people receive the right education and develop in the right direction. No matter what we do – play, represent our country abroad or make professionals at home – it will contribute to the development of our country. I can tour the world concerting. It's great indeed! But it is a fairly easy path to success. 'Shaping' future musicians is much more fun.

A person who loves to pass on knowledge and to help others improve is usually far from a sense of competition. But it is the very mechanism that moves people to the top. What is driving you?

Good question. I do not accept competition in its bare sense. Our hands are a machine gun using our fingers as bullets. I think we are supposed to compete for a decent representation of our country. This should be a healthy competition, which is far from jingoism. Practice is the only tool to show our abilities. Just recently, I was explaining to my close friend, who is far from music, the meaning of the word “art” in Azerbaijani. As we know, it is made up of two words, incəand sənət, making a single concept, “subtle creativity”. Therefore, music and culture are subtle concepts. This is not a sport. The rules are different. God gave each of us as much as necessary. I am perfectly aware of who I am and what I can do, so I humbly do my job. After 100 years, no one will be interested in those who represented the jazz culture or was involved in management. They will look at the outcome, which is more important than our common efforts.

What is driving me? I have seven sons - white keys, and five daughters - black keys. Their compound effect is my main motivation to go forward, analyse and compose in the style of our traditions, and help others to perceive the Azerbaijani classics, jazz and culture in a proper way. This is my biggest dream. It is not a dream per se because dreams are more connected with something cherished. For me, a dream is a job, a goal. If you follow your dreams thinking that you'll achieve the goals set then sooner or later they will come true.

What problems do you notice in the development of our culture and music?

First and utmost, I must admit that we are socially passive. After all, we don’t know well the creators of our masterpieces such as Uzeyir Hajibeyov, Gara Garaev, Fikret Amirov, Tofig Guliyev and many others. Unfortunately, we cannot use social networks or certain applications to get reliable information about their works. This is our anthropology! We are still to find Garayev's symphony listed in the world-famous application, Shazam music search engine. It's very sad indeed.

Like it or not, but the culture has moved into social networks, and I urge my fellow nationals to be more active in social networks. This is necessary in order to get accurate information about our music. Another point is the distorted tastes of the audience. This is a big problem indeed. People listen to music and do not distinguish it. You can also blame me for the kind of music heard in Azerbaijan. This means that I am supposed to sleep not six, but four hours a day. Radio stations and television are supposed to be the main drivers of high-quality music. When I was 13 years old, I was working at the jazz club. Back in 1995. I have seen and heard the performances of famous musicians such as the American pianist Herbie Hancock, the legendary Al Gerro, composer and producer Marcus Miller, etc., who then visited Azerbaijan. But being children at that time, we never rushed to perform on the stage, because we knew that we were not sufficiently prepared unlike, for example, Salman Gambarov, Vagif Garayzadeh, Jamil Amirov, Eldar Rzaguluzadeh. I still feel insufficiently prepared, hence I do not consider myself a professional musician. I have no right to call myself something, for I fear that God will punish me.

You mentioned Salman Gambarov. As far as we know, he helped you a lot to take your part at the Montreux Jazz Festival. How has this trip changed you?

I have changed even before the trip. For me, Salman Gambarov is a professional musician. I do respect him with admiration. He is not a pianist or composer for me, rather a musician of the highest level. I am proud of him indeed. Recently, our representatives invited him to the States, where he gave a master class after the concert. I was very pleased to read about the event and I am sure that people has really enjoyed Salman's performance. He has helped me in my development. Thanks to him, I have relaxed and gotten into the music completely. He has taught me a lot, including self-esteem - personal and professional. It really changed my life. With these feelings, I went to perform in Montreux.

What can you tell us about your Two Worlds?

I composed it long ago, between 2007 and 2008. It is about a relationship between the two worlds: the one we live in and the one after death. It's a sort of an interview made into a melody. For example, this is the question (he plays, R+), and this is the answer (continues playing, R+). And then we can see the God, who gives tranquillity (plays again, R+). In fact, when I wrote this tune, I was not thinking of any particular format. It emerged out of the blue, the music began to flow by itself. Now, when I analyse it, I am surprised to see how big it turned to be. When I composed the melody, I was not emotionally and psychologically mindful because my life had less adrenaline at that time. It was a quiet, stable, peaceful life. I am not a genius to know all the answers, so we learn from life gradually. Letter to My Father was made after that...

Please, go on...

It is a letter addressed to my father. I must admit the incredible role of my father in this creation. Actually, it's his child! At the heart of it is a little story. When I was 14, my teacher asked me to analyse Beethoven’s Sonata No. 14, which is better known as the Moonlight Sonata. Back in those days, we used to live in a small two-room apartment. When I finished playing, my father told me: “When I leave this world, please play it for me at my funeral.” I was only 14 years old. I did not enjoy hearing these words, of course. I was thinking that nothing could happen to my father, and I did not his words seriously. I could not even imagine that my father might cease to exist someday. I soon forgot this unpleasant story. But there are inevitable things in our life. I lost my father one day. When they buried him, I was standing by his grave with a melody playing in my head (plays, R+). It was just this set of notes constantly sounding inside my head, non-stop. I got angry - my father died, and a melody plays in my head. But then I completely forgot it. I have tried to remember it to no avail. Exactly a year later, on the day of the death of my father, I had a dream. He appeared and this melody was following him. He asked me: “You tried to recall this melody, didn't you?” It made me wake up. I rushed to piano, pressed the record key and played it. In the morning, when I woke, I could not distinguish between the dream and the reality. The melody vanished again. Still doubted, I quietly pressed the play button to listen to my recording… This melody was born after a certain break, the culmination of my feelings. After that, I began to be wary and cautious about everything.

You once said that the sound of silence is “the most ideal sound”. Where do you find this silence?

It lives inside, because today no one has created a sound as perfect as silence. God said that if you want to see how beautiful I am, look at everything I created starting from the nature and ending with the people we meet on our life path. The point is not how to play. The point is where you find more silence. This does not mean that you should play; it means where you should play. It makes a big difference: did you need to play or listen to the perfect silence?

We feel the divine beauty in every creature and creation. What do we feel through your creations?

Who am I? I am nobody. It is Him Who creates all my melodies. I am only an intermediary who transmitted to people Two Worlds, Letter to My Father, etc. We only reproduce. We are the ones who are supposed to reproduce His creations in a timely manner and then let the creation take its own course. It is up to people to figure out what is right and what is not.