Rain Sultanov: Two From The Baku Jazz Festival Vaults

Since the 1990s Azerbaijani saxophonist Rain Sultanov has forged an increasingly high-profile international career, collaborating with musicians of the caliber of Bobo Stenson, Enzo Favata, James Cammack, Tord Gustavsen, Simin Tander, Arild Anderson and Anja Lechner, to name but a handful.

His own albums, such asVoice of Karabakh (Ozella, 2015), which features the outstanding singer Alim Qasimov, Inspired by Nature (Ozella, 2017) and Cycle (Ozella, 2018)—for soprano saxophone and church organ—are the works of a sensitive composer and a fine improvisor.

As the founder and artistic firector of Baku Jazz Festival—which celebrated its 20th edition in 2025—Sultanov has served the dual role of providing a major platform for Azeri jazz talent and of bringing top-notch international jazz to Azerbaijan's capital city. It has been an exercise in perseverance and faith (for further insight, read this 2018 interview), but Sultanov will not be bowed.

These two historical releases—seeing the light of day for the first time—find Sultanov in very different settings. From the Baku Jazz Festival 2005, an acoustic set dominated by standards in the company of Kenny Wheeler. And from the BKF 2015 the Rain Sultanov Syndicate—a heart-on-sleeve fusion homage to the music of Joe Zawinul. Taken together, they whet the appetite for possible further releases from the BJF vaults.

Kenny Wheeler/Rain Sultanov Quintet
Jazz Standards Live
Second Records
2025

Recorded at the inaugural Baku Jazz Festival in 2005, Jazz Standards Live marked a rare occasion for Kenny Wheeler to play a standards set. In fact, apart from Billy Strayhorn's "A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing," which the Canadian/British trumpeter recorded on Dream Sequence (Psi, 2003), it is hard to think of another jazz standard in his discography. Wheeler was not a man of many words ("I don't say much, but when I do, I don't say much"), but judging by his expansive playing on trumpet and flugelhorn across 70 minutes, we may assume that he enjoyed himself.

Wheeler and Sultanov—on tenor saxophone—are joined by two of Azerbaijan's finest jazz musicians in double bassist Bobo Stenson and pianist Shahin Novrasli. On drums is the ludicrously versatile Paul Clarvis. As might be expected from a one-off group, individual solos rather than keen interplay dominate, but the interventions from Sultanov, Wheeler and Novrasli on the trumpeter's "Canter No.2" set a high bar. It is a standard—and a format—maintained throughout the set on Wheeler's originals and standards alike.

The quintet visits the blues on a leisurely version of Thelonious Monk's "Blue Monk" and on "Kenny's Blues." Two blues in one set was an unusually high ratio for Wheeler, who was never entirely comfortable playing this idiom—not that you would know it judging by his emotive solo on the latter. Sultanov sits out "Kenny's Blues" while Wheeler does likewise on a sultry, brushes-steered "Body And Soul." The latter features delightfully judged solos from Sultanov and Novrasli

Trumpet and saxophone unison heads followed by strings of solos harken back to bebop's heyday, notably on a barnstorming version of John Coltrane's "Mr. P.C." That said, Wheeler's sunny calypso "Tango," with its jaunty Caribbean vibe and sing-song solos, and a mellifluous reading of the Beach Boys' "Don't Worry Baby" both strike a very different chord. Pick of the bunch, however, is Wheeler's "Canter No. 1," which underlines the credentials of Sultanov and Novrasli as soloists par excellence.

Rain Sultanov Syndicate
Mr. Joe
One World Records
2025

Rain Sultanov brought the Joe Zawinul Syndicate to the Baku Jazz Festival in 2005. Two decades on, the concert and the man are still fondly remembered by BJF's Artistic Director. Long an admirer of Zawinul's and Weather Report's music, Sultanov named his jazz-fusion group in Zawinul's honor. This live recording from the BJF 2018 saw Sultanov recruit bassist Linley Marthe, drummer Paco Séry and local keyboardist Elchin Shirinov.

If imitation is the greatest form of flattery, then Sultanov in no way hides his admiration for Zawinul's music. His two originals, the lively "Crazy World"—where Marthe's flashing quicksilver lines evoke Jaco Pastorius at his mercurial best—and "Last Moment" could easily have come from Zawinul's pen. Undoubtedly, the presence of former Joe Zawinul Syndicate members Sery and Marthe is central to this homage—the bassist's solo on Zawinul's "This Is This" should slacken a few jaws—but Shirinov's box of synthesizer colors also informs the music greatly.

The relentless cycle of recording and touring inevitably took its toll on Weather Report, whose latter-day recordings were generally met with lukewarm reviews. Sultanov, for one, finds much to admire in this period, with two compositions on this set culled from Weather Report's final album, This Is This! (Columbia Records, 1986). In this re-examination of Weather Report's end days, Sultanov and company strike an especially rich seam with "Processing" (sic)—a brooding jazz fusion classic. Ignoring Zawinul's oft-quoted maxim that "everybody solos and nobody solos," Sultanov stretches out to scintillating effect. On Sery's rhythmically vital "Miles In The Jungle," Elchin takes the honors.

Rounding out the set are the atmospheric ballad "Last Moment"—a Sultanov original—and a fairly faithful rendition of Zawinul's wonderfully cheering "Birdland." Overall, a vibrant, brilliantly executed homage to a one-off figure.

Tracks and Personnel

Jazz Standards Live

Tracks: Canter No.2; Blue Monk; Lennie; Tango; Kenny's Blues; Body & Soul; Canter No.1; Don't Worry Baby; Mr. P.C.

Personnel: Kenny Wheeler: flugelhorn, trumpet; Rain Sultanov: tenor saxophone; Shahin Novrasli: piano; Ruslan Huseynov: double bass; Paul Clarvis: drums.

Mr. Joe

Tracks: Mr. Joe; I Will Never Forget You; This is This; Processing; Miles In The Jungle; Last Moment; Birdland.

Personnel: Rain Sultanov: tenor saxophone EWI; Elchin Shirinov: keyboards; Linley Marthe: bass; Paco Sery: drums.

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