TIME, VARIATIONS, JAZZ

The unique character of jazz as a musical genre lies in its immense potential for improvisation and variation and how much can be inserted into its music. That is why jazz gave birth to such a phenomenon as "standards" - generally accepted compositions which should be in any jazz musician's repertoire. It is reckoned that a good jazz musician should know approximately 200 standards. Who decides what is a standard and what isn't? Only time - time and musicians who include whatever jazz composition in their repertoire.

It is difficult to say how many dozens of improvisations were heard in Baku during the Baku Jazz Festival 2014 which is held every year in the Azerbaijani capital. There could have been two hundred or so of the most well-known and wonderful jazz variations. Is it possible to embrace such an immense seam of this heavenly music? There can be no doubt that it gave huge delight to all jazz lovers in Baku. Every autumn Baku is turned into a real jazz capital in all is manifestations. Classical jazz and its modern interpretations, everlastingly sad blues and rousing Dixieland, lingering soul and fast swing - the jazz festival in the Azerbaijani capital was so varied that it could conquer absolutely anyone's heart.

Speaking in the language of jazz

This year the festival brought to Baku famous exponents of jazz music, including the Terence Blanchard quartet, the Anat Cohen quartet, the Craig Taborn trio, the Terri Lyne Carrington quartet, and others. The festival opened with a performance by the American Craig Taborn. This brilliant jazz pianist, organist and composer entered the stage together with the musicians James Bates and Thomas Morgan. Taborn works mainly in jazz, sometimes experimenting with dark ambient and techno. Taborn has four of his own studio albums and about 60 joint releases with other musicians. "There are many ways of approaching classical piano. There is the traditional, and then there is interpretation. I can very quickly change my style of playing from lyrical to more aggressive and back to lyrical, without altering the volume. To me this is a means of conveying a mood through words… Just as people easily talk to one another, so I explain myself through my music," Craig Taborn disclosed the secrets of his work to R+.

The second day of the festival was noted for the performance by the Terri Lyne Carrington quartet. She is one of the world's top female jazz musicians who prefers percussion to all other musical instruments. Justice has been done to her skill and talent, including a Grammy prize, and she has performed with the world's great musicians - Herbie Hancock and Stan Getz. "I tune my own instruments, according to their sound and timbre with the acoustics of the room I'm playing in. We don't travel with standard drum kits any more and I have to play a different drum set every night, so I have to prepare very thoroughly for a concert, The sound of every instrument has to be checked to be confident everything will be OK," Terri Lyne told R+. The 49-year old from Massachusetts has been playing music all her life and was seven when she was given a drum set by her father for her birthday. In the quartet in which she plays solo, Aaron Parks is on piano, Antonio Hart on saxophone and Zachary Brown on bass. Terri Lyne says this is her first time in Baku and she was struck by its European architecture and the hospitable people.

That same evening a concert by the young Azerbaijani musician, Elcin Sirinov, appearing together with the outstanding American musicians Ben Street and Jeff Ballard, was held at the International Mugham Centre. Elcin was not educated at a music school but took lessons from such jazz pianists as Vaqif Sadigov, Aaron Goldberg, Kevin Hays and Yakov Okun. In order to improve his technique he turned to his favourite musicians Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, and Brad Mehldau. Today Elcin is one of the most promising and gifted musicians in Azerbaijan.

This incredible jazz

Also included in the programme was a concert by the Terence Blanchard quintet from the USA. This trumpeter is a modern post-mainstream virtuoso. He started playing the piano at the age of five and took up the trumpet when he was eight. He was taught by Ellis Marsalis and also studied composition at the local university. In 1980-1982 he played in Lionel Hampton's big band, and in 1982 replaced Winton Marsalis in Jazz Messengers. Four years later he formed a quartet with the pianist Mulgrew Miller, and in 1989 a quintet with the saxophonist Donald Harrison. At the beginning of the 1990s he became one of the leading figures on the New York jazz scene.

Another magnificent concert was by the master of Azerbaijani jazz, Camil Amirov. This superb performance by the distinguished musician met with wild applause and an ovation. Camil Amirov, the son of the celebrated composer Fikrat Amirov, is a leading exponent of Azerbaijani jazz. The Savab group, which he created in 2003, has given solo concerts in Turkey and the US, recorded an album and every year plays an active part in jazz festivals in Baku and abroad.

Mention must be made of the performance of the Israeli saxophonist and clarinetist, Anat Cohen. She made her debut album in 2005. In 2007 she was named Best Clarinetist of the Year and Rising Star of the Year by the Jazz Journalists Association. Anat plays three types of saxophone (tenor, soprano and alto) and the clarinet and is assisted by the Anzic Orchestra, a real big band in numbers but a very unusual group - three saxophones, three trumpets, two trombones, three violins and a rhythm section without piano: guitar, double-bass, drums and percussion. Anat plays all kinds of musical genres, from klezmer, Afro-Cuban and Brazilian music to Argentine tango and jazz. Top jazz musicians frequently invite her to joint performances and to record albums. Anat is happy to work with her brothers Yuval (saxophone) and Avishai (trumpet). Incidentally, the Israeli saxophonist appeared on the Baku stage accompanied by her brothers. "They go with me everywhere. We have covered the whole world together and now we've come to Baku," Anat said. This is the first time the Cohens have been to Azerbaijan. "We were particularly impressed by the people - they are open, warm and very musical."

Another concert performed that evening was by the young Azerbaijani pianist Etibar Asadli, a member of the Bakuba band. The audience remembered Etibar Asadli for his own ethno-jazz concert which he performed last year at the World of the Mugham Festival.

The celebrated pianist and composer Michel Camilo performed on the stage of the Muslim Magomayev State Philharmonia. He is well known as a virtuoso, combining bebop with Latin American rhythms. He has admitted that the classical pianists Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson and the Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona had the most influence on him. The audience in Baku then welcomed the incredible Trilok Gurtu. He started playing the tabla when he was five. Drawn to jazz in the 1960s, he joined Wavefront, with whom he visited Europe in 1973 for the first time, appearing with the legendary jazz musician Don Cherry, Ravi Shankar, Zakir Hussain and the Oregon progressive jazz ensemble.

This legendary jazz

The American jazz legend and composer Stanley Clarke performed his concert in one session. He was one of the star guests at this year's festival. He can play several instruments, amazing audiences with his unique style, technical expertise and brilliance. For example, when he plays bass guitar Clarke places his right hand in such a way that the fingers are close to the strings as if they are playing a double bass but turned 90 degrees. The Baku audience gave him an emotional reception. He is the proud possessor of the most prestigious awards, such as a Grammy, Emmy and Jazzman of the Year from Rolling Stone magazine, has a star on Glory Avenue and a number of gold and platinum discs. Clark did not play any of his new numbers. His concert consisted of some well-known compositions and a number of new interpretations. Presenting one of his compositions, he noted that he is often asked to record music for films. "But these films are so awful, they spoil the music. After listening to my compositions away from the films, I hope you will appreciate them," he joked.

The concert also included concerts by the Azerbaijani group "Cangi", Salman Qambarov, Rain Sultanov and the group "Rast". The final day of the festival was marked by a concert by Arslan Novrasli. A winner of numerous competitions, the brilliant exponent of the tar presented classical and traditional jazz standards at the Baku Jazz Centre. Works by Miles Davis, Sahin Novrasli, Dizzy Gillespie, Frank Paparelli and others were also presented during the evening. Arslan Novrasli also performed a work of his own composition Blues and improvised Yalli from the feature film "Dada Qorqut". Baku Jazz Festival 2014 was organized by the Azerbaijani Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Azerbaijani Cultural Fund.