'Azerbaijan has strong indigenous musical tradition'

Authoritative western agency Deutsche Welle devoted an article to the musical traditions of Azerbaijan on the eve of a prestigious music competition Eurovision-2012 in Baku.

The authors of the article said despite the fact that Azerbaijan won the Eurovision Song Contest with a Western-style pop number last year; it has a strong indigenous musical tradition.

The authors noted that mugam, jazz mugam, and a modern mix of mugam, folk music, jazz and Western pop culture as being the key areas of national musical culture.

The authors informed readers about of the history and development of mugam and its place in the Azerbaijani culture.

'Turning the deepest emotions of the human soul in all their diversity and moods into art is the idea behind mugam, the classical, improvisational music from Azerbaijan', the article says.

The authors noted that the most famous mugam singer in Azerbaijan is 54-year-old Alim Qasimov. He was awarded the UNESCO International Music Prize in 1999. Qasimov is also a master of the ancient folk art of Ashik.

The article also focuses on the history of Azerbaijani jazz culture which originated during the '50s in last century and was banned during the Soviet Union period. The authors said jazz in Azerbaijan has received a special colour resulting in a new direction in jazz - jazz mugam.

The authors referred to Vagif Mustafa Zadeh as one of the top performers of this type of music, followers of whom are his daughter Aziza Mustafa Zadeh - "who is not only a worthy successor but also an exceptional talent in her own right."

Speaking of modern Azerbaijani pop music, the authors mention the singer Sevda Alekperzade, who can combine a wide variety of musical styles, including mugam, folk music, jazz, classical music and Western pop music in her compositions.


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