Birthday of jazz legend to be marked at Mugham Center

By Azernews

By Laman Ismayilova

The 79th anniversary of jazz legend Vagif Mustafazade will be marked in Baku.

The concert will take place at International Mugham Center on April 1, Day.Az reported.

Children's Arts School No. 2 named after V. Mustafazade will take part in the event.

The concert starts at 19:00.

The entrance to the event is by invitations, which can be obtained from the Vagif Mustafazade Art School No. 2 or Mugham Center.

Mustafazade conquered the millions of hearts with his dazzling virtuosity.

He is the founder of Azerbaijani jazz mugham movement that emerged in the late 1960s and 1970s in Baku, as a result of the mixture of these two styles.

Throughout years, he wrote numerous jazz compositions, including fugues, preludes, ballads and scherzos, many of them written in the 1970s. He released a total of eight albums, all with different line-ups, mood and style.

By the beginning of 1960s, Vagif was gaining recognition outside of Azerbaijan.

Winner of numerous jazz festivals such as "Tallinn-66", "Tallinn-67", Baku festival "Jazz 69", Donetsk 1977 festival, and "Tbilisi-78", Vagif Mustafazadeh always fascinated listeners with his originality and virtuosity.

Musician's death was a shock to many people. He was only 39 years old when he died on stage while performing in Tashkent (Uzbekistan) in 1979.

Jazz schools around the world have recognized Vagif Mustafazadeh as a phenomenal musician. His works represent a unique combination of eastern and western schools, of tradition and innovation.