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Eldar Djangirov: Re-Imagination
by Jim Santella
Painting scenes from his experience, pianist Eldar Djangirov puts a virtual paintbrush to his third SONY album. Featuring his outstanding keyboard technique and a contemporary look at jazz's thrills, the twenty year-old prodigy delivers with emphasis.His wizardry at the piano becomes immediately apparent with one listen to his interpretation of Oscar Peterson's “Place St. Henri, which is done in an up-tempo trio format along with double bassist Carlos Henriquez and drummer Ali Jackson. Fast and clean, the pianist ...
read moreEldar Djangirov: Live at the Blue Note
by Jim Santella
Intimate and sparkling with effervescent joy, Eldar's appearance at the Blue Note in New York clearly brought a persuasive force to his audience. He's spontaneous and personable for this program of six standards and four originals, steering his acoustic trio through lovely straight-ahead territory with class.Trumpeter Chris Botti guests with the trio on “You Don't Know What Love Is, waxing romantic with a heartfelt reading of this romantic evergreen. He's in top form, giving jazz's mainstream a winning ...
read moreMarian McPartland's Piano Jazz with Eldar Djangirov, 1st Show
by Ken Dryden
Fans of Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz may have read the program synopsis with reservations when 12 year old Eldar Djangirov made his U.S. broadcast debut on her program a few years ago, but he quickly proved that he deserved the national exposure. A polite young man who was still getting used to living in a new country, Eldar doesn't seem overly infatuated with his budding talent, though he clearly impresses his host with formidable chops for someone so young.
read moreEldar Djangirov: Eldar
by George Harris
Eldar more than lives up to the hype. If the opening Tatum-esque “Sweet Georgia Brown" doesn't bowl you over with his demonstration of articulate talent, try his head-spinning version of “Maiden Voyage" that makes the original sound absolutely archaic. Don't think this teen is simply some trained freak show. He is able to demonstrate speed with plenty of emotional depth. His incredibly insightful take on “Nature Boy," as well as his own deeply Debussy-influenced “Raindrops," demonstrate maturity far beyond his ...
read moreEldar Djangirov: Eldar
by AAJ Staff
You can't really blame the media for heaping hype upon the young piano prodigy known simply as Eldar, because his story is pretty remarkable. Eldar grew up in remote Kyrgyzstan, where there are far more goat herders than jazz musicians, but he revealed enough early talent that he attracted both local and international attention. After moving to Kansas City around age ten, he picked up a few admirers like Benny Carter and Dr. Billy Taylor, who contributed liner notes to ...
read moreEldar Djangirov: Eldar
by Jim Santella
He's only eighteen, but he's making quite an impression everywhere he goes and in every corner of the world where his music can be enjoyed. This album, his third, is a straight-ahead collection of favorite songs with several originals. His acoustic trio interprets each of them with sensual passion.Eldar, who has chosen not to use the last name Djangirov, is from Kyrgyzstan. The Sony Classical label has captured his superb grand piano leaps admirably as he improvises at ...
read moreEldar Djangirov Trio: Handprints
by J. Robert Bragonier
It was the summer of 1996, and Charles McWhorter, a jazz aficionado from New York, was attending a jazz festival in Novosibirsk, the largest city in Siberia, Russia. He could scarcely believe his eyes: the youngster creating the remarkably sophisticated piano jazz to which he was listening was only nine years old! McWhorter immediately invited Eldar Djangirov (pronounced John-GEAR- off) and his parents to the United States from their home in Kyrgyzstan in the former Soviet Union, and in 1998 ...
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