Azerbaijani jazz music captivates Austrian music lovers

Azerbaijani jazz music has captivated Austrian music lovers.

Organized by Azerbaijani Cultural Centre in Vienna, the concerts themed "Jazz in Azerbaijan" were successfully held in jazz clubs Frau Mayer and Porgy & Bess, Azernews reports.

Musicologist Turan Mammadaliyeva, Ph.D. in Art History, welcomed the guests to the event. She spoke about the history of Azerbaijani jazz, the main directions of development, genres, leading figures, groups, and orchestras, in particular jazz mugham, which is an integral part of Azerbaijani music.

Musicologist Christoph Huber stressed the importance of the project in the further development of cultural bridges between countries and acquaintance with the Azerbaijani national jazz culture.

Next, People's Artist of Azerbaijan Salman Gambarov was invited to the stage.

Salman Gambarov's performances were accompanied by Fuad Jafarov (bass guitar), Nijat Bayramov, Eyvaz Gashimov (drummer), Fakhraddin Dadashov (kamancha), Klara Kaltenbock (vocals), and Daniel Vebor (saxophone).

Note that Salman Gambarov is the artistic director of the Bakustic Jazz group and the Rashid Behbudov State Song Theater.

The concert programs included original compositions and works by Azerbaijani composers Telman Hajiyev, Rauf Hajiyev, Tofig Guliyev, and Emin Sabitoglu, as well as jazz improvisations and interpretations were presented.

One of the interesting moments was the presentation of the Latif project based on the 1930 silent film of the same name, directed by Mikail Mikailov, with an improvised soundtrack in the style of ethno-jazz.

This project was created by Salman Gambarov in 2001 and is still successfully demonstrated in various countries around the world as part of international festivals.

The project idea was proposed by Honored Artists, art historians, Jahangir Selimkhanov and Ayaz Salayev, who proposed creating an interesting synthesis by dubbing a silent film from the beginning of the last century in a modern style. The initiative aroused great public interest.