Music
Jazz is an art form, a musical art form which has been originated in America but it's deeply rooted in African culture.
Music
Jazz came to Europe in the late 19th and early 20th century.
Surprisingly enough, an Azerbaijan jazz developed from the second decade of the 20th century as well.
Music
What brings together jazz and Azerbaijani music is the unique form of improvisation.
Azerbaijan jazz is deeply rooted in a Mugam form. It's a form of an improvised Azerbaijani music.
So when we look at the Azerbaijani jazz and when we look at the Mugam, we will see a lot of similarities between jazz and Mugam.
And I think this is what really prompted jazz itself to be developed, to be cultivated and to be loved by Azerbaijan and Azerbaijani people.
Music
Since Azerbaijan became independent in 1991, the jazz form has been reinvented and further developed.
Although Azerbaijan has always been a center of jazz, especially during the Soviet years or the last 20-25 years,
a lot of Azerbaijani musicians have taken jazz and a lot of them have integrated the Mugam into jazz form.
For us, as Aries, jazz is not only the form of expression, it is also a form of reinventing our cultural heritage.
Because as we know in the modern Azerbaijani jazz, we have a lot of influences of the folk and traditional Azerbaijani music.
Music
One interesting fact about jazz in Azerbaijan, this art form is almost as popular as pop music.
We have numerous jazz radio channels, we have regularly jazz concerts on TV, we have a jazz orchestra, we have a few jazz clubs,
and we have a lot of musicians nowadays, new young musicians who pick up jazz.
Music
Jazz musicians, most of them come from classical music background, which brings them a very solid and very good technique,
which has probably been an interesting fact where the audience and the jurors of the competition have noticed while they are listened to Azerbaijani jazz musicians.
Music
Baku is also a host of International Jazz Festival, where we hosted fantastic musicians and big stars of the jazz world,
which have been an inspiration to a young generation.
We have also facilitated a few trips of jazz musicians and scholars back to Azerbaijan,
so they can share the experiences, so they can listen to Azerbaijani young performers,
and establish some bridges between the West and Azerbaijan.
Jazz and Azerbaijan is both art forms, Azerbaijani jazz and traditional jazz.
It's about freedom of spirit, it's about emotion, it's about immediate feelings,
it's about a little bit of spur-of-the-moment feeling and about impulse,
and this is what really Azeri people are about, so it's all about the warm soul,
about open the doors for everyone and about really warm, immediate feelings,
and this is probably why Azerbaijan is so popular and so dear to us.
Jazz
First, I think we can say that France loves music, and then France loves jazz.
In 2014, I think there were about 469 jazz festivals in France,
which allowed to touch 600,000 people, it was huge.
It was indeed a French specificity, and for us, Théâce-France seemed natural to us
to put ourselves in these frames to promote the dialogue of cultures
through Azerbaijani jazz, which is very specific and which I think is quite appreciated.
Jazz
Théâce-France was opened in 2012 in Paris.
Since 2013, we started promoting one of these jazz artists, a pianist,
who now has a nice name, Isfar Zarapski.
He had the opportunity to produce at the Jazz Club of Duke des Lombards in Paris
thanks to our support in 2013, and also as part of our first collaboration
with the Jazz Festival of Saint-Germain-des-Prés in Paris in May 2014.
Then, on the basis of this success, we decided to continue in 2015 and in 2016.
In 2015, we worked again with the Jazz Festival of Saint-Germain-des-Prés in Paris
by making the quartet Emile Afraciabe, a quartet composed of three French artists.
This quartet was also produced in other festivals in France with our support.
Arrin, first of all, as part of a festival that had just been created,
with our participation, especially the Sunnyside Festival,
and also in Colmar in September, as part of the Jazz Festival of the City.
In 2016, we continued again with the Jazz Festival of Saint-Germain-des-Prés in Paris,
which made us honored to continue our collaboration.
This time, we made another Azerbaijani pianist come,
and his trio, Elchin Cherinov.
This trio was also produced once again in Arrin, as part of the Sunnyside Festival.
For us, it is important to maintain partnerships annually with these festivals,
to bring together a multitude of Azerbaijani artists to make them know them.
We also try to get out of Paris, to go to other cities.
We hope to be able to go to more varied cities in the coming years.
And above all, for us, it is important to promote these artists.
The world of music is a world that is complicated, that is difficult to access,
and these Azerbaijani artists are young artists who try to get to know each other beyond their country,
and especially in Europe, since Azerbaijan is a country that looks a lot towards Europe,
and especially towards France.
Theas wants to promote these Azerbaijani artists beyond their country
so that they can be known more widely internationally.
By helping these Azerbaijani artists to produce themselves in festivals,
it gives us the opportunity to reach and invite a certain number of participants in the world of music,
whether it be the labels or the specialized journalists,
or the programmers of other festivals,
perhaps they will accept to welcome the Azerbaijani artists in their program.
The first time I met this country was in July 2001,
when I arrived in Baku for a residence of a month near the embassy of France.
And the purpose of this residence was to make a state of the places
and a panorama of life in music.
The first time I met this country was in July 2001,
when I was out of the plane, I passed the controls with the passport.
It's impressive, they still have big removable caps,
so I'm getting closer to the cleanましょう to see how the two pas Israeli touring 와서
So when I got out of the plane, I passed the controls with the passport.
So it's impressive, they still have the big casquettes in the customs.
I approach you near the U.T. of Guérite.
And I see two customs officers who speak, well, who don't speak, who sing.
And I say to myself, it's quite improbable, like that.
And finally, the customs officers were on the train,
the person next to me explained to me,
told me they were talking about the mode that was used,
the Mugam mode.
And I asked myself, do I see a stage or two customs officers in France?
So it's not against the customs officers I have, it's just to talk about the cultural phenomenon.
Are the two customs officers able to have a discussion to say,
are you sure it's a Lydian mode? No, no, it's a Lydian mix.
No, no, because you heard the little difference.
No, that's a Lydian mix. No, no, it's Lydian, I assure you.
Anyway, it was from that order.
And that instrument was like a premonition of a pretty phenomenal discovery.
And I was lucky enough to find a composer called Ryan Mirzazade
and he makes me discover everything, all the areas of music,
whether it's classical, popular, folk music, jazz, dance, opera.
And I discover a gigantic musical universe.
Fifteen years later, I always discover things.
I still discover composers, works, performers, musicians.
It's something quite fantastic.
The big surprise is to go from a world that I thought was far from the great Western capitals
and finally to meet people who have great pride in their culture,
who have survived it.
I don't know of Azerbaijanis who don't know.
A Mugam sang a popular song from his country.
I know very little French people who can sing
the popular songs, typically French.
And over there, everyone knows. It's part of life.
We learn alphabets, we learn themes.
If someone sings his regaline, everyone knows.
Suddenly, if there are 10,000 people,
we have 10,000 people who listen to this land,
which is quite fascinating.
And I mostly discover a culture that is endless,
with influences so good,
let's say from the Persian side, from the southern side,
from the Middle East,
also from the north side with the Russian influences,
mainly from the Central Asia.
I discovered jazz by the daughter of the great genius of jazz in Azerbaijan.
I discovered jazz by a work by Aziz Amoustafazadeh.
And then suddenly, I was told,
you know my father, Vajif.
And we said to ourselves,
but he is the precursor of jazz in the Soviet Union.
I wasn't a jazz enthusiast.
And it was in Azerbaijan where I started
to really get interested in jazz,
discovering that these people had been able to unify everything.
The folklore, the popular, the sacred,
whatever, we can't really talk about sacred music
for Azerbaijan because it's something
that has been a little lost by the force of things,
from the occupation of the Soviet Union.
But in jazz, we also find their passion
for western music with an admiration without borders for Bach,
but a fulgurant technique,
a practice of ancestral modes,
traditions,
whether it's Mugam or Washi music,
for example, we find formats,
archaisms that have become very modern things
and very contemporary.
And I find from that point of view
that a country that is able to preserve its culture,
to make it evolve,
and above all, to open up to anyone,
since there is a very chameleon side.
They are able to enter any universe
and settle with their culture
without it being embarrassing.
That is to say, for me, it is the absolute success
of using something,
of being able to say it with the language of the other,
what we have to say,
that means that we can communicate.
And from that, it is people who have an opening culture
and they are trained to go towards others.
One of the magical things I discovered in Azerbaijan
is the ability to go towards the other,
among others by music,
music is something like soul,
it's almost sacred.
Once you hear this music,
I think you want to go talk to people.
It's not just music that makes you want to go talk
to someone.
