THIS IS TOTAL JAZZ

The 4th International Jazz Festival in Baku kicked off with a magnificent performance by the famous American jazz singer Rachelle Ferrell. The opening of the music festival, organized by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Friends of Azerbaijani Culture Foundation and the company Sweet Production, was held on 15 October at the Heydar Aliyev Palace.

Spectators filled the main concert hall of the capital, greeting the American singer with enthusiastic applause. From the first minutes of the concert, the extraordinary Rachelle Ferrell won the listeners with her incredibly powerful and beautiful voice. She did not disappoint anyone - her incredible vocal capabilities, often compared to those of Mariah Carey, give Rachelle unrestricted freedom and allow her to speak with the audience in the language of freedom and revelation that is peculiar only to her.

During her short stay in Azerbaijan, Rachelle Ferrell learned the words "cox sag ol" and "Baku". But this was enough to dedicate an entire song to words of gratitude to the audience and our capital. Rachelle also demonstrated professional piano skills. Bakuvians heard songs in the R & B style, classic jazz and tunes with African motifs. In between the songs, Ferrell shared her impressions of the Baku spectator and our city.

"I really enjoyed the concert and the intelligent Baku audience. I believe that holding such festivals of true music, which bring together professionals and collect full houses of music lovers, is a great thing in cultural development. Such festivals bring people together, because the language of music is common to all. It erases boundaries and belonging to any race or nation. Music allows us to temporarily forget about our problems and plunge into the world of beauty, and this is the true delight," Rachelle Ferrell told our R+ correspondent.

During the festival, which lasted until 29 October, concerts of world-renowned jazz artists were also held at the International Mugam Centre, the Azerbaijan State Philharmonic Hall and the Jazz Centre. The well-known French composer and guitarist, Marcio Faraco, and Azerbaijani jazz artists Elcin Sirinov, Zaur Mirzayev, Sahin Novrasli and Amina Figarova made a brilliant display of their skills before Baku jazz fans. Azerbaijani viewers became acquainted with the jazz project "Yeni Adlar" (New Names) and watched the performance of popular jazz bands - Aleksandr Mashin and Friends, De Phazz, the group of Salman Qambarov and Yuriy Kuznetsov, Camil Amirov, the group Savab, the winner of the International Music Festival in Montreux, Isfar Sarabsky, Afqan Rasul, Ahmad Misirli, Rahin Sultanov, Vaqif Sadixov, the group Jazzanova, Sonny Emory and Duke Ellington Orchestra, who performed popular jazz improvisations of world-famous composers, as well as their own compositions.

During the festival, the jazz project "Yeni Adlar" (New Names) was presented. Its aim was to identify talented youth and help novice performers in their first steps on the big stage. The performances of the young singers, Suada Alakbarova, Tamilla Yaqubova, Orxan Agayev, Laman Abbaszada, Camal Eminli and Zulfinas Nacafova, at the concert were greeted with applause.

One of the central events of the festival was the evening in memory of the legendary jazz pianist, composer and arranger, one of the leading figures of Azerbaijani jazz, Rafiq Babayev, at the International Mugam Centre.

Isfar Sarabski told R+ that jam sessions of the Baku festival allow musicians to show off their skills and give full freedom to various experiments, which, of course, can only make the sophisticated Baku jazz fans happy. Aleksandr Mashin, who said he previously visited Baku "ten times", dedicated his performance at the Jazz Centre to the memory of Emil Ibrahim. Together with Isfar Sarabski, he revived Emil Ibrahim's tradition of jam sessions at the festival. Mashin promised that he would visit Baku once again, because it's his favourite jazz city.

The traditional jazz festival has been held in Baku since 2002. Musicians from 10 countries, including Azerbaijan, perform on four stages of the capital. On the final day of the festival, 29 October, jazz fans were given a surprise - a meeting with Duke Ellington Orchestra. After his death in 1974, Ellington's orchestra was managed by his son - Mercer Ellington, and 15 years ago, the orchestra was taken over by the grandson of the "King of Jazz" - Paul Mercer Ellington. The orchestra still has several musicians who played with Duke Ellington himself. The founder of the orchestra was recognized by critics as "the greatest jazz talent of the last 50 years". Ellington's music had an impact on all the main currents of jazz. He wrote music for music halls, musical theatres, concerts, jazz festivals, radio, television, films and performances. Melodies that are simple and easy to remember became popular in just a few days. Ellington was the first to start using the human voice as an instrument. Only the best and great musicians always played together with the orchestra, including Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, John Coltrane, Ella Fitzgerald, Glenn Miller and many others.