"Mainz and Baku are sister cities on the same meridian - it's destiny" - Exclusive interview with Aziza Mustafazadeh

Today is a special date for jazz lovers. April 30 marks the International Day of Jazz, one of the most intellectual trends in music, which has played a great role in the culture of Azerbaijan.

Jazz was born in America in the early 20th century, but in a few years it became popular in Europe. In Germany, the first jazz concert was held in 1919, and a year later the jazz record “Tiger Rag” was presented to listeners. In the same 1920 in Baku the first jazz band under the leadership of Mikhail Rolnikov was created, which delighted with a new musical style.

Mikhail Rolnikov’s ensemble

Newspaper articles of that time say that restaurants in Baku played “very interesting music under an unfamiliar name - jazz”. In 1927, American singer Coretti Arle-Titz even performed in the capital, singing in the famous sextet “Jazz Kings” of Frank Withers with Sidney Bechet during their tour in the USSR.

Coretti Arle-Titz

We will tell more about the history of jazz in Azerbaijan...

Many years have passed since then, but this genre of music, which has enriched the peoples of the world, has also found its fulfillment in the cultural exchange between Azerbaijan and Germany.

Held since 2005, the Baku International Jazz Festival (part of the European Jazz Network EJN) has become one of the most popular events among residents and guests of the capital. It traditionally features musicians from Germany, including Christof Lauer, Uwe Steinmetz, Jazzanova Live & DJ Amir, Simin Tander Trio and others. The guests of the festival invariably greet the German musicians with applause.

Christof Lauer

Azerbaijan has been traditionally represented at the main event of European jazz - the international Jazzahead exhibition held in Bremen (Germany) since 2006.

“Thanks to annual participation at Jazzahead, Azerbaijani jazz has become recognizable in Europe and other countries. Jazz Dunyasi magazines, booklets, books on the history of Azerbaijani jazz, CDs of Azerbaijani jazz musicians are distributed to visitors of the exhibition,” says Leyla Efendiyeva, director of the Baku Jazz Festival.

At Jazzahead 2017, Rain Sultanov's vinyl record “Inspired by Nature”, released by German label Ozella Music, was presented and became the first Azerbaijani record of the post-Soviet period. And at Jazzahead 2022, Isfar Sarabski's “Planet” was nominated in the category “Best Foreign Debut Album of the Year” as one of the three best among hundreds of new projects presented.

Jazzahead

Jazz culture between Azerbaijan and Germany occupies a great place in the work of Salman Gambarov, who, together with his band Bakustic Jazz, has repeatedly performed in Germany. In 2024, a joint project of young musicians from Azerbaijan and Germany “Morgenland meets the Land of Fire” was presented at the international music festival Morgenland Festival Osnabrück. Project leader Salman Gambarov has been participating in this festival since 2009.

“The festival has been bringing together representatives of different musical cultures on one stage for twenty years. Every year Osnabrück becomes a city of the world for ten days - the Morgenland Festival builds bridges between the music of East and West. Participants combine exotic sounds of ethnic instruments with traditional music, avant-garde, jazz and even punk rock, art of duets, master classes for young people are held,” Salman Gambarov noted.

Morgenland meets the Land of Fire

One of the brightest representatives of Azerbaijan in Germany is pianist and composer Aziza Mustafazade, who has been living in this country since 1990 and has achieved world recognition. Aziza Mustafazadeh's creativity is a mixture of classical, jazz and Azerbaijani folk motifs.

In 1991 Aziza recorded her debut album, Aziza Mustafazadeh, in Germany, and her next album, Always, has already earned her the ECHO Award and the German Jazz Recording Association.

Aziza Mustafazadeh

Her albums Dance Of Fire, Seventh Truth, Jazziza, Shamans, Contrasts and others have sold millions of copies. In Europe she has been called “Oriental Diva”, “Scheherazade at the piano”, “Princess of Jazz”, and after a 1997 concert at Queen Elizabeth Hall she was honored with the title “Queen of Jazz”. Her name is also included in the World Encyclopedia of Jazz. Successful tours in many countries around the world only emphasize her natural talent. She is the daughter of an outstanding pianist, founder of Azerbaijani jazz-mugham, composer Vagif Mustafazade. If the founder of German jazz, different from American jazz, is composer Utah Heep and the band he created, then for Azerbaijan it is connected with the name of Vagif Mustafazade.

This year is the 85th anniversary of the birth of Vagif Mustafazade, who lived a short (only 39 years) but bright and meaningful life. He was a laureate of jazz festivals in Monaco, Georgia, Estonia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, musical director of the Georgian ensemble “Orero”, founder of “Kavkaz” at the Georgian State Philharmonic and vocal quartet “Leyli” and VIA “Seville” at the State Radio of Azerbaijan, the collective “Mugham”, successfully toured the cities of the USSR and Latin America. He won the love of millions with his originality, virtuoso technique, original harmonic language of music. The composer wrote more than 1,300 works, including symphonic and chamber music and piano pieces. The master synthesized jazz music with Azerbaijani mugham, creating unique works that entered the treasury of world musical pearls. His name is included in the World Encyclopedia of Jazz. The House-Museum of Vagif Mustafazade operates in Baku.