Azerbaijani jazzman bewitches Parisians

By Amina Nazarli

Leading Azerbaijani jazz pianist Emil Afrasiab gave an incredible music evening to 380 jazz aficionados in Paris on May 29.

With his dexterity and innovation, the talented jazzman performed as part of the prestigious 15th Festival Jazz à Saint-Germain-des-Prés, held from May 21 to June 1.

The concert brought together Elchin Amirbayov, the Azerbaijani ambassador to France; bass guitarist Kyle Eastwood, son of legendary film star Clint Eastwood; author Michel Contat, a leading literary and jazz critic; and Alain Kassimatis, the renowned jazz producer.

The French office of The European Azerbaijan Society (TEAS) sponsored the concert, as it did last year, when the festival hosted Azerbaijani pianist and jazzman Isfar Sarabski.

The set began with Emil's self-penned 'Two Worlds'. After a delicate and rhapsodic solo introduction, Emil increased the tempo, running up and down the piano keyboard, his music incorporating the Eastern harmonies and microtones found in the national music -- Mugam, being carried along by the propulsive polyrhythmic drumming of Raphaël Pannier. The improvisations even included a brief nod to J.S. Bach and his 'Air on the G String'.

This was followed by a version of Azerbaijani jazz-mugam pioneer Vagif Mustafzadeh's 'March', which included Alexandre Madeline on tenor saxophone. This began with Emil's rhapsodic introduction, after which Coltrane's disciple Alexandre gave an exploration of the main theme prior to its deconstruction. Emil and Raphaël then took up the challenge, daring each other on to more tangential improvisations. Emil held the transfixed audience in reverent silence following his delicate conclusion to the piece.

Then Emil performed his own composition 'Aziza', dedicated to Vagif Mustafazadeh's daughter, who is a world-famous jazz singer/pianist. The tempo of this piece gradually speeded to dizzying levels, and provided Raphaël with the chance to demonstrate his full range of percussive techniques.

Emil regards all musicians in his quartet as equals, his piano remaining silent as Raphaël and bass guitarist Antoine Katz coaxed each other into new, unchartered waters of improvisation. Emil then returned, upping the tempo to an exciting and devastating level. As he wiped the perspiration from his brow, the rapturous audience shouted "Bravo", hoping for another piece.

They were rewarded with variations on the main theme of the Azerbaijani traditional dance 'Shalakho', written in the challenging time signature of 6/8. This saw Alexandre's saxophone take on the role of the traditional balaban flute, before wildly entering the realms of free jazz and call-and-response dialogue with the percussion of Raphaël.

Born in Baku in 1982, Emil is a major artist amongst the new generation of Azerbaijani jazz performers. He specializes in the synthesis of jazz with Azerbaijani Mugam, both of which feature a high degree of improvisation and provide great scope for personal expression.

In 2012 he went to study performance and composition at the Berklee College of Music in the US. Young, talented and astonishing Emil won the heart of his teachers at Berklee College, with his skills. One of the best musical colleges of the US included him to the list of its best students. He took this honorable title for the third time.

Emil is a permanent participant of jazz festivals both in Baku and abroad. With great success, he has represented the Azerbaijani art of jazz in Germany, Hungary, Great Britain, Czech Republic, Cuba, Russia and many other countries.