Jazz Articles about Amina Figarova

Amina Figarova Sextet: Golden, CO, March 6, 2013

by Geoff Anderson
March 22, 2013

Amina Figarova SextetMount Vernon Country ClubGolden, COMarch 6, 2013What do “jazz" and “Azerbaijan" have in common? Both have a “z" in their names. And jazz pianist Amina Figarova is from Azerbaijan. That's probably about it. Azerbaijan produces about as many international jazz stars as Cuba produces downhill ski champions. But there are exceptions to every rule. To be fair, Azerbaijan does have a jazz scene, it's just that not many Azerbaijanis break out to the ...

Amina Figarova: Twelve

by Hrayr Attarian
July 29, 2012

Calling Amina Figarova merely a jazz impressionist does injustice to the full breadth of the pianist's vision and does not reflect the uniqueness of her artistry. That said, most of her compositions do have an impressionistic bent. The nocturnal “Shut Eyes, Sea Waves...," for instance, on Twelve (her twelfth release as a leader), uses her cascading piano and Dutch drummer Chris Strik's gentle cymbals to paint a picture of waves crashing against the shore. The salty air is almost palpable ...

Amina Figarova: Twelve

by Dan Bilawsky
July 26, 2012

Change is in the air that pianist/composer Amina Figarova is breathing. While the personnel from her previous outing is still intact, and her personal aesthetic remains largely unaltered, she comes to this album with a different worldview and a new place to call home. The Azerbaijan-born Figarova and husband/band mate/flautist Bart Platteau had been based in Rotterdam for quite some time, but decided to move stateside in 2010. This change of scenery served as the inspiration for the twelve-song suite ...

Amina Figarova: Sketches

by AAJ Italy Staff
October 25, 2010

Tredici brani originali composti da Amina Figarova formano Sketches, il nuovo album della pianista dell'Azerbaijan e residente in Olanda. Un repertorio - nato attraverso i viaggi compiuti con la sua “famiglia musicale," ovvero il sestetto con il quale è poi entrata in uno studio di Amsterdam per registrare questo lavoro - composto da brani che si portano dentro una buona varietà stilistica e una cantabilità che rende scorrevoli gli 80 minuti di durata del CD. La Figarova - impostazione classica ...

Amina Figarova: Above the Clouds

by AAJ Italy Staff
April 9, 2009

Above the Clouds è un disco realizzato con cura e sapienza dalla musicista azera, compositrice tra le più originali del mainstream jazz contemporaneo. Al suo fianco, il marito Bert Platteau al flauto, con le sue raffinate note lunghe e trasognate, per ridare nuova linfa al vivace impianto post-bop di base. È un talento puro quello della Figarova nel dare colori orchestrali alle raffinate filigrane dei suoi temi, facendo ruotare con scansioni armoniche dilatate la notevole front-line - vera punta di ...

Amina Figarova in Concert, La Jolla, CA, Feb. 26, 2009

by Dan McClenaghan
March 9, 2009

Amina Figarova Sextet Athenaeum Music and Arts Museum La Jolla, California February 26, 2009If you can believe pianist/composer Amina Figarova--speaking to the audience after her opening tunes at the February 26, 2009 show at the Athenaeum Music and Arts Museum in La Jolla (San Diego), California--she is ..."just the person who writes the notes." She credits her band with realizing her musical vision. True to an extent, but her self-effacement is reminiscent ...

Amina Figarova: Above the Clouds

by J Hunter
November 18, 2008

On September Suite (Munich, 2005), Amina Figarova's inspiration was one of the biggest events this generation may ever know--the September 11th attacks, and their psychological aftermath. While Above the Clouds's subject matter is both smaller and lighter, Figarova again chooses a large medium and a multi-colored palate to illustrate her vision. And this is all to the good because, in many ways, Clouds is the antithesis of September.

Much of Clouds's emotional foundation comes from the words of Figarova's mother: ...