Azerbaijan - The South & Nagorno-Karabakh

 Before leaving Baku we stop in the neighbourhood of Surakhani where singer Aygün Beyler (sometimes transcribed as Baylar) was born in 1975. Sadly she died last year of breast cancer.  She was another child prodigy, joining the Azerbaijan State Children's Philharmonic at the age of 13.  She was known for her powerful and emotional style of Mugham singing and her characteristic grey suit and flat cap.  Here is one of her more upbeat songs called Qarabağ, set in a traditional style wedding presumably in the disputed Karabakh region. You can hear more on her one 2006 international release for a Spanish label, Entre El Cielo Y La Tierra. Mugam De Azerbaiyán. Betwen Haven And Earth. Mugam De Azrbaiyán 

Next we are heading to the far south of Azerbaijan to the region of Lerik near the Iranian border.  The remote mountainous area is famous for the exceptional longevity of its mostly ethnic Talysh population.  According to the Guinness Book of Records, the oldest person ever to have been recorded came from there, dying at the age of 167 in 1973.  Grammy award winning American music producer Ian Brennan has made it his mission to make field recordings of some of the most marginalised people in the world, and went in the middle of the Covid pandemic to visit the area and record traditional and original songs from ordinary people, mostly over 100 years old.  He published the music in 2023 as The Oldest Voice in the World - Thank You for Bringing Me Back to the Sky.  It's never going to be a chart topper, but it offers a fascinating glimpse into the lives of people who are marginalised not only as an ethnic minority, but as old people too.  None of the singers wanted to have their names mentioned, none of them are professional singers, but shepherds and farmers, telling their stories in song.  They live without indoor plumbing and only intermittent electricity.  Here is the opening song from the album called My Life Is Good, It Is Like A Flower:

Next we are heading into the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, which was taken by Armenia during a 1993 war and re-taken by Azerbaijan in 2020.  Nowhere is the futility of this conflict more evident than in the ghost city of Jabrayil, which had been completely destroyed by Armenian forces during the  1993 war and still abandoned to this day, bar a military installation.  Mugham singer Zahid Quliyev (sometimes spelled Guliyev) was born here in 1963.  He performs solo as well as part of a trio, the Mugam Ensemble of Jabbar Karygdy.  His music is difficult to obtain internationally, but here is a TV performance of his:

Mugham singer Gochag Askarov was born a few miles further north in the village of Ghouchahmedli in 1978.  His family had to flee the area following the Armenian invasion and he has now settled in Baku.  He sings in the traditional style, but also mixes it up sometimes with some jazz as on the collaboration with French Jazz singer Pierre de Trégomain on their 2017 album Mugham Souls.  Here is a short live concert of the 2 of them:

Another few kilometres to the north is Fuzuli, where the first of 2 musicians swapping the tar for the electric guitar comes from.   Rəhman Məmmədli was born there in 1961.  The arrival of Czechoslovakian Jolana guitars in the country in the 1960's and 70's transformed the music scene, with many young musicians combining traditional styles with psychedelic surf sound.  He earned himself the nickname "The Man With the Singing Fingers".  Here's a song from the 2024 album Azerbaijani Gitara volume 2 called Qoca Dağlar:

Recognised as one of the best tar players Ramiz Guliyev was born in the village of Karakend in Nagorno-Karabakh in 1947.  At the age of 7 he was gifted his first tar by his uncle, who could no longer play due to an injury he suffered during World War II.  He went on to become a master of this traditional instrument and passed on his talent to his son Ayub, with whom he often duets.  He plays both traditional improvisational style as well as adapting the tar to play western classical music combining with piano or symphony orchestras.  Here he plays a tune from his 2013 album Dialogues With the Tar called Xaric Segah:

Mugham singer Nezaket Teymurova was born in the village of Alimaddli in 1972.  Another honoured artist of the Republic of Azerbaijan, she has won multiple awards.  Here is a song featuring on her 2012 album Mugham called Tasnif and Chahargah:

Finally we are heading for the village of Kosalar, where another artist who swapped the tar for the electric guitar to play Azerbaijani folk.  His music has also recently been reissued by Belgian label Les Disques de Bongo. Rüstǝm Quliyev, was born in 1969, and sadly died prematurely of lung cancer in 2005.  Here's a song from the 2020 album Azerbaijani Gitara called Baş Sarıtel:

That's it from Azerbaijan, next we are heading over to Armenia.  As usual, you can follow my virtual travels on my Tripline Map.

Azerbaijan - Baku

 

Picture credit: By Sefer azeri - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=122625891

We arrive in Azerbaijan's capital and commercial hub Baku on the shores of the Caspian Sea.  Here the traditional music styles of the country often get blended with other influences.  

First we meet Folk fusion band Rast, who combine their traditional Mugham with Jazz, pop and sometimes rock. They were established in 1992 with lead singer Sevdah Alekperzadeh.  The name Rast refers to a musical modal system in Mugham music.  Here is a cut from a concert for their 20th anniversary.  For more check out their 2014 album Rast Dünyası.

Jazz pianist, singer and composer Aziza Mustafa Zadeh was born in Baku in 1969.  She came from a musical family, her father also being a pianist and her mother a singer.  They discovered her musical talent when she was only 8 years old.  Her style is more pure jazz with only some hints of Mugham, which mostly shows when she is singing.  She is now based in Germany.  Here is the instrumental title track to her 2016 album Dance of Fire:

More traditional is singer Sevda Alekbarzadeh, who was born in Baku in 1977.  She is classically trained including in opera and jazz.  She incorporates some of the latter into her Mugham compositions.   She is known for her powerful voice.  Here is the opening track from her 2012 album Worlds of Love called Ele deme (Don't talk that way):

The career of singer Azerin began at the tender age of 5, when she became a soloist of the Azerbaijan State Television and Radio.  She was born in Baku in 1971.  She combines tradtitional mugham with elements of pop and Jazz.  Here is a song from her 2015 album Yüreklerde Biriz called Küçelere Su Serpmişem:

Finally another female singer called Aygün Kazımova, born 1971 in Baku, who veers more towards Azerbaijani flavoured pop with some Latin thrown in as well as, like in the video below, a sprinkling of Riverdance.  She is one of the bestselling artists in the country, hence her inclusion here.  Here is a song called Я и Ты from her bestselling 200 album Aygün:

That's it from Baku for the moment, we'll explore the rest of the country next.  Meanwhile you can follow my virtual tour on my Tripline map.