OCTOBER 2016: Featured Artist
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Jazz Pianist and Composer:
Amina Figarova
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Amina Figarova is an internationally-known jazz pianist and composer who was born in Baku, Azerbaijan. Amina took classical lessons as a young girl, but found that she loved improvisation. She grew up listening to jazz at home, and in the late ‘80s decided to pursue this complex music genre at Rotterdam Conservatory in the Netherlands. She then completed her formal education at Berklee College of Music in Boston.
For decades, she has played with musicians from across Europe and the U.S. The Amina Figarova Sextet (which includes flutist, Bart Platteau, Amina’s partner and husband of 25 years) has triumphed at the main stage of the Newport Jazz Festival. The sextet has been invited repeatedly to the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and has won critical and popular acclaim in Chicago, Detroit, Paris, Amsterdam and New York. Thomas Conrad of Jazz Times says, “Figarova is among the most important composers to come into jazz in the new millennium.” |
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Blue Whisper is Amina’s 13th album since her 1994 debut titled Attraction. Figarova's deeply personal responses to social turmoil and universal life transitions were inspirations for the compositions in Blue Whisper. Moods range from the hauntingly beautiful title track, "Blue Whisper," to "Hewa" (which features lyrics in Swahili by Sarah Elizabeth Charles). Throughout the work, Amina's classically-founded touch and luminous harmonies are accompanied by star soloists.
Amina currently resides in Manhattan with her husband, where they enjoy the jazz-rich culture that surrounds them. |
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Listen to additional recordings by the Amina Figarova Sextet: 
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Want to know more? Myrna Beth Haskell, managing editor, interviewed Amina and asked about her life as a jazz composer and the inspiration behind her work.
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