Amina Figarova- Piano
Biography
On Above the Clouds (Munich Records) one of the most cosmopolitan and accomplished artists in jazz today proves that the music is a natural not a national language. Amina Figarova, the globe-trotting Azerbaijan-born, Rotterdam-based composer-pianist-bandleader with more than a dozen recordings to her credit has created a new album of original songs that refresh the classic post-bop idiom established by labels such as Blue Note, Prestige and Impulse! during the 1950s and 1960s. Far from derivative or concept-conscious, though, Above the Clouds unfolds as a personal, vividly colored, confidently-propelled contemporary soundtrack, satisfying in and of itself.
With her husband multi-flutist Bart Platteau central to the three horn frontline Ms. Figarova arranges for her sextet, she plays compelling, artful and heartfelt changes on the urbane, bluesy lyricism originally developed by the likes of Miles Davis, Horace Silver, Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, et al. Though the recipient of rigorous Russian musical education in the classics, Amina has come to identify her sound with these master mainstream-progressives of recent jazz decades after having explored aspects of the avant garde (in September Suite, her shocked and sad response to terrorists attacks on American soil) and multi-keyboard fusion-oriented funk (on Another Me).
Amina is stylistically wide-ranging, unwilling to be pinned down, but most of her compositions on Above the Clouds continue in the direction she set forth on Come Escape With Me, a 2005 release which reached top 10 status on the Jazzweek radio airplay charts (two tracks preview her next project, a suite for octet). Throughout the entire album Amina's measured, graceful, touching pianism and cooly-controlled ensemble writing demonstrate commitment and ease with a jazz idiom.
Amina made her recording debut with Attraction in 1994, and was accepted into the prestigious Thelonious Monk Jazz Colony in Aspen, Colorado in 1998. By then she had met her husband and together they initiated a routine of international touring. Leading a conventional piano trio or with Bart in her septet and sextet formations,
Butthis program has no other overriding theme than the realization of some beautiful, swinging music. "'A' Dance" is an upbeat opener that sets the tone and tempo for most of the album to come. The title track of Above The Clouds occurred to Amina during an airplane flight, "literally above the clouds, and it was very clear. I was listening to music by Maria Schneider [she is enthralled with Ms. Schneider's album Sky Blue], became inspired and wrote that piece on the plane." She pens a composition for one of her musicians on each of her albums, but for Above The Clouds wrote two, "Ernie's Song" and "Nico's Dream" for her alternating featured trumpeters Ernie Hammes and Nico Schepers. "Sharp Corners" was named "sort of as a joke," she says, since it's a very fast blues in the difficult key of C#.
Amina doesn't provide specific imagery for "Bedtime Story," preferring listeners apply their imaginations, but says that "Summer Rain" is her interpretation of "a very romantic rain, almost like dancing," that she experienced one day in the snug shelter of her Rotterdam home. Amina projects a sense of serenity in "Blue Wonder," and has a story about "Chicago Split": "A good friend split up with his girlfriend at a gig the first time we performed it, and after doing so he became a very happy man. So it was a good thing for him." Another friend supplied the title for her tender ballad "Reminiscing."
The tracks on which Amina added alto saxophone and trombone to her sextet, "Sailing Through the Icy Waters" and "River of Mountains (Muhheakunnuk)," are virtually bonuses to Above The Clouds; they foreshadow her next album, an evocation of Henry Hudson's exploration of North America 400 years ago (as of March 2009). That album awaits completion -- for now enjoy Amina Figarova and company from their soaring, enlightened perspective Above the Clouds.
Discography
Leader:
Amina Figarova – Bart Platteau “Attraction” (1995)
Amina Figarova “ Another me”
Amina Figarova “Firewind”
Amina Figarova “Night Train”
Amina Figarova “Jazz at the Pinehill Vol I”
Amina Figarova “Jazz at the Pinehill Vol II”
Amina Figarova – Kim Prevost “On Canal Street”
Amina Figarova “September Suite”
Amina Figarova “Come escape with me”
Amina Figarova “Above the Clouds”
Amina Figarova “Sketches”
Amina Figarova - DVD - "Live in Amsterdam"
Quotes
"... Above the Clouds confirms that Figarova is among the most important composers to come into jazz in the new millennium..." Thomas Conrad, Jazztimes November 2008
"...Amina Figarova boasts a graceful and erudite piano style, but her second instrument is her band….A first rate jazz pianist, Amina Figarova - with September Suite, Come Ascape With Me and now the excellent Above the Clouds - is staking out her ground as a top level composer-arranger..." Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz.com
"... Excellent solo work, fine production values, and interesting variety would be three ways to describe this outstanding collection of original jazz songs by pianist Amina Figarova. When you listen to her piano work soar through such songs as "Sharp Corners" and "Bedtime Story," you realize you are listening to a new, unique voice in jazz piano. Jazz pianist Amina Figarova is the tops!..." Lee Prosser, jazzreview.com
"…Those who love September but can't handle its weight will welcome Clouds's sunnier disposition. That doesn't mean newcomers to Figarova should stay away from September, but Above the Clouds is a superb introduction to a composer who can do it all and do it magnificently, whether the subject is happy or heavy..." J Hunter, All about Jazz
”…September Suite is Amina Figarova's most striking and fully realized music yet. The compositions and performances alike are full of poignant feeling, with her piano and Bart Platteau's flute setting a tone that the other bandmenbers respond to, and support. The melodies linger, and the lyricism is very evocative. Congratulations on this accomplishment to everyone, and to Amina for her leadership as well as all else….”
Howard Mandel, President Jazz Journalist Association
#5. AMINA FIGAROVA – September (Munich Records)
“…A disc I got early in the year that just stayed with me. Forget World Trade Center and United 93; a native of Azerbaijan had the best take on 9/11 and its aftermatch. With a playing and composing style of Herbie Hancock…” from top 5 CDs of AlbanyJazz.com by J Hunter
“…I've been meaning to write you about how much I enjoyed Above the Clouds. I was impressed by your playing, which takes center stage without making a big deal about the instrument being a flute -- you know I love flutes, but most of all when it's just applied to music, not to showing the instrument off as odd or inherently "flutey". And Amina, your writing and arranging has such confidence and maturity, I thought this album belonged in the Blue Note catalog. Congrats on another fine one. Howard Mandel, President Jazz Journalist Association
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