Amina Figarova and Gilad Alzmon
"...Many of the strongest composer-arranger-orchestra leaders in jazz are women. Think Toshiko Akiyoshi, Carla Bley, Maria Schneider. Amina Figarova has a chance to join their company. All she needs is an orchestra. Figarova's compositions for small ensemble have been brilliant since at least 2005, when she released September Suite, still the deepest, most powerful jazz response to the events of 9/11..." by Thomas Conrad for Stereophile Magazine
"Whether he’s blowing up a storm of notes or gently caressing a ballad, there’s a luminous vitality at the heart of Atzmon’s playing that’s irresistible to the ear." - Record Collector...
read more
Amina Figarova and Gilad Alzmon
"...Many of the strongest composer-arranger-orchestra leaders in jazz are women. Think Toshiko Akiyoshi, Carla Bley, Maria Schneider. Amina Figarova has a chance to join their company. All she needs is an orchestra. Figarova's compositions for small ensemble have been brilliant since at least 2005, when she released September Suite, still the deepest, most powerful jazz response to the events of 9/11..." by Thomas Conrad for Stereophile Magazine
"Whether he’s blowing up a storm of notes or gently caressing a ballad, there’s a luminous vitality at the heart of Atzmon’s playing that’s irresistible to the ear." - Record Collector
A new, interesting development of the artistic dialogue between the New York based pianist Amina Figarova (originally from Azerbaijan) and the saxophone player Gilad Atzmon that began a few years ago in Luxembourg and was destined to further, surprising developments. Gilad and Amina were invited for a special concert at the Jazzclub L'Inoui, and they had an amazing experience playing together. Recently they decided to do a duo project with concerts in the UK and the USA.
Jazz duets are tough and demanding, they require maximum soloing and support skills without any safety net.
They will perform as well as jazz standards as original compositions from Gilad and Amina, exploring all the side roads but never losing track of the final destination. No grandstanding, no coasting -- just two masterful musicians playing together and taking the listener along for the ride.
Composer and pianist Amina Figarova has released 12 albums. Her latest, titled Twelve, is her debut release on the renowned independent German label In + Out. It celebrates jazz is an international music, and New York City as a locale where jazz gypsies may feel most at home.
Amina has toured extensively, developing a tight-knit ensemble that, despite inevitable personnel changes, has attained a distinctive and inimitable voice by concentrating on all-original repertoire for almost 18 years. During that period, having collaborated with musicians residing in both the U.S. and Europe and having built up a circuit of welcoming venues, the Amina Figarova Sextet has triumphed at the main stage of the Newport Jazz Festival, been invited repeatedly to New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, won critical and audience acclaim in Chicago, Detroit, Paris, Amsterdam — and of course New York.
Amina's pieces strike a perfect tone, employing genuinely beautiful harmonizations, to capture fleeting thoughts that accompany those precious moments when the puzzling jostle of daily existence comes into unexpected but deeply satisfying sync.
Playing over 250 dates a year in Britain and around the world, Gilad Atzmon has been called "the hardest-gigging man in British jazz." His albums, of which he has recorded thirteen to date, often explore the music of the Middle East and social themes. Atzmon is also a best selling author. His books have been translated into 26 languages.
8 pm show: $15 advance/$18 door/$10 full-time students with ID
9:30 pm show: $10 advance/$13 door
show less
