VAGIF, AS I KNEW HIM

The hall of the Nizami Cinema is full of société. The connoisseurs of art, jazz, and social events are gathered here for a presentation of full-length documentary about Vagif Mustafazadeh, a brilliant jazz musician. At the first glance, it seems that everything about this great man is said already in countless films, television and radio programs, and publications made so far. But most of them are a bunch of memories and conversations collectively known as an intimate glimpse into the life of Vagif Mustafazadeh. The documentary Vagif, As I Knew Him, however, is the first ever project accumulating the memories of various musicians, musicologists, critics, and foreign personalities, who knew the jazz genius personally.

Geography of Vagif Mustafazadeh

The British company BP has provided the financial support for the film. The company’s spokesperson, Tamam Bayatli, has shared her comments about the contribution of BP: “Our contribution is part of our investment in social projects in Azerbaijan. It is not the only contribution of BP. So far, we have provided financial support for the filming of a documentary about the Karabakh horses, as well as the printing of book about all the samples of Tabriz miniatures. One of the most critical directions of our activity is the study of the Azerbaijani cultural heritage and its promotion to the whole world.”

According to screenwriter Fuzuli Sabiroglu, they have managed to accomplish a difficult job. The films covers a vast geography. The filmmakers had to contact many well-known people and arranging interviews with them was not an easy task. All of them expressed great respect, love and reverence about the works of Vagif. “There are people who have worked with him for many years. Those who knew him for only a few hours, of just heard his performance on the radio”, said F. Sabiroglu.

“I was very impressed with this touching film and I had a fresh look at Vagif and his life. I feel proud that this man was my compatriot. I am sure you will also feel his power of personality after watching the film”, said Tamam Bayatli.

Evaluation of his work

Vagif Mustafazadeh is a rare example of creative accomplishment of a human being outside the Soviet Union. Yet today, his music accompanies us almost everywhere, including the television and radio. If he were alive, perhaps we would have seen him topping the list of the ten greatest jazzmen of the world. Foreign musicians, musicologists, critics appreciate his works and do this much better than we do.

According to Fuzuli Sabiroglu, thanks to his contributions, Vagif Mustafazadeh is among such outstanding composers as Uzeyir Hajibeyov, Gara Garayev, and Fikret Amirov: “Back in the 40s, Maestro Niyazi, Tofig Guliyev created jazz music and jazz ensembles, but Vagif is the first one who had managed to synthesize jazz and mugham.” At the event, a well-known radio host Rahib Azeri spoke about “his own Vagif”: “I think the title of the film, Vagif, As I Knew Him, is very well chosen; each of us has an individual notion of Vagif. Each of us has a privilege to benefit from his oeuvre differently.”

No one can perform better than Vagif

He was born in an intellectual family. His maternal grandfather, Aghasef, was an oilman. Vagif's mother received an excellent education, was one of the first pianists coached by Uzeyir Hajibeyov. His father was a military doctor. The famous musician was born in such an educated and intellectual family on March 16, 1940.

“... He had a phenomenal memory. He could remember any song, a story, a poem by heart since his childhood.” says Rahib Azeri.

The most prominent composers of Azerbaijan are proud that Vagif was their contemporary. Although he was not a member of the Union of Composers, Vagif created over thousands of jazz compositions during his lifetime. “He was constantly sketching, his notebooks were covered with a set of characters, lines, letters, numbers, but unfortunately most of them have gone with him.”

In 1967, the first International Jazz Festival was held in the Soviet Tallinn. Vagif was living and working in Tbilisi, but returned to Baku at the invitation of the then Minister of Culture, Rauf Hajiyev.

At the festival in Tallinn, he met Willis Conover, a legendary host of the Jazz Time radio program on Voice of America. Conover was deeply impressed by his work. He presented Vagif vinyl records with his autograph and repeatedly put his songs on the radio. “His music is resembles One Thousand and One Nights. He is the most lyrical of all jazzmen I knew,” said Conover about Vagif Mustafazadeh.

Everyone in the former Soviet Union has known Vagif by name. Each of his performances was a music festival. In 1976, Vagif wrote a piece, In the Union of Composers, which he was supposed to perform at the festival in Moscow.

Fourteen participants from fourteen republics have already taken the stage. Vagif was the fifteenth to perform. He played his four-minute song and left the stage with applauses. But the audience was raging, asking him to play the part again. He was back and performed the part for seven more times. In total, he performed eight songs on that day.

Georgy Garanian and his ensemble had to close the concert with their own performance. But after Vagif’s performance, the director of the ensemble came on stage and said that Vagif had said everything we could imagine and declared the concert closed.

The number of stories and memories about Vagif Mustafazadeh is not enough. The film aims to fill the voids that the jazz lovers have in connection with him.

Vagif as part of a grand heritage

BP Regional President for Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, Gordon Birrell, said: “I love the Azerbaijani culture, but I was deeply impressed by the Tabriz miniatures, the talented masters of Lahij, and the Azerbaijani music.”

Mr. Birrell said that in addition to the investments in the development of the oil and gas sector, his company was known for supporting numerous projects related to the Azerbaijani art, and culture. One of the main objectives of his work considers the promotion of the grand heritage of the Azerbaijani culture.

Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism, Adalat Valiyev, said: “Today, at the Baku Jazz Festival, we celebrate the contributions of a person, who has become a part of the Azerbaijani culture in the middle of the 20^th century. At all times, in all civilizations the people are known for the legacy they have managed to leave. Vagif in his short life has left us more than a thousand pieces of music and passages.”

This forty-minutes film literally takes the viewer to another world. Excerpts from Vagif concerts, his photographs are interspersed with memories of people, who still live under the influence of his genius. He is spoken of with nostalgia and genuine admiration; there are many interesting stories and incidents that occurred with Vagif and the people surrounding him. It is obvious that the filmmakers have tried hard to fill the film with love and admiration for the great musician.

Vagif Mustafazadeh was the winner of the festival Tallinn-66, Tallinn-67, Baku Jazz Festival-69, the All-Union Jazz Festival held in Donetsk in 1977, the Tbilisi Jazz Festival-78, all of which brought him the title of the best pianist. In 1979, at the International Competition of Jazz Compositions in Monaco, Vagif Mustafazadeh won the first prize, a white grand piano.