Amina Figarova: Road To The Sun

Pianist Amina Figarova, born in Baku, Azerbaijin, experienced one of the United States' darkest days—the 9/11/2001 terrorist attack—up close, from the vantage point of a friend's apartment in Brooklyn. The experience resulted in the creation of perhaps the most poignant and heartfelt artistic representations of the event, Figarova's sextet recording September Suite (Munich Records, 2005), an "Ode To Mourning" of sorts for America.

Figarova has stayed busy since then, releasing Above The Clouds (Munich Music, 2008), Twelve (In + Out Records, 2012), and Blue Whisper (In + Out Records, 2016), recordings on which she shows a consistent genius for composing and arranging for her ensemble. Additionally, she and her band have toured, constantly.

With Road to The Sun the pianist has expanded her sound on five of the disc's eleven compositions with the addition of strings—a violin, a viola and a cello. Figarova's music always—and especially here with the string players—displays a cerebral feeling, a refinement and sophistication drawn from her early classical studies. But it also veers into soulful, up-from-the-gut moments, especially in her use of saxophonists Marc Mommaas and Wayne Escoffery, who appear on alternating cuts.

The deft and beautiful employment of strings begins with the title tune/opener, full of tempo shifts and intricate charts—the cool sweetness of Bart Platteau's flute giving way to the sting of Alex Pope Norris' trumpet. Solos lean toward concise side—improvisational perfection in small doses—with splendid integration into the whole.

"All We Dance," a ballad with a gently surging rhythm, slips into one of Figarova's gorgeous, serpentine piano solos. It is tune that sounds as if it could be converted to a vehicle for an orchestra—though topping the rich beauty of this sextet-with-strings (with an additional percussionist) effort would be difficult.

"Snow Mess" is one of the "jazzier," more Art Blakey-esque moments, during its first two minutes. Then the band shifts tempo and lets saxophonist Escoffery lay down an anguished, time-stands-still lament, before the band cranks things up into a high energy mode again.

Road To The Sun competes with September Suite as Amina Figarova's finest recording. Her incorporation of strings into her sound is brilliant. Those year-end polls that put the spotlight on Best Arrangers are usually reserved for writers of the larger ensembles. Figaravo, writing for her sextet plus three, should be given that consideration.