Aziza Mustafa Zadeh
{{Short description|Azerbaijani singer, pianist, and composer (born 1969)}}
{{pp-pc}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Aziza Mustafa Zadeh
| native_name = Əzizə Mustafazadə
| image = Aziza BakuJazz2007.jpg
| caption = Aziza plays her "Shamans" song at Baku Jazz Festival 2007 - Final Concert
| image_size =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1969|12|19|df=y}}
| birth_place = Baku, Azerbaijan SSR
| instrument = Vocals, piano, mugham
| genre = Jazz, jazz fusion
| years_active = 1988–present
| website = {{url|www.azizamustafazadeh.de}}
}}
Aziza Mustafa Zadeh ({{langx|az|Əzizə Mustafazadə}}; born December 19, 1969) is an Azerbaijani singer, pianist, and composer who plays a fusion of jazz and mugham (a traditional improvisational style of Azerbaijan) with classical and avant-garde influences.
Biography
Aziza was born in Baku to musical parents Vagif and Elza Mustafa Zadeh (née Bandzeladze).{{cite magazine |last1=Baku |first1=Zohra |title=AND AFTER HIM…JAZZ |url=http://regionplus.az/en/articles/view/2292 |access-date=3 April 2024 |magazine=Region Plus |issue=376 |date=15 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190115181914/http://regionplus.az/en/articles/view/2292 |archive-date=15 January 2019}}
Aziza's parents first noticed their daughter's sensitivity to music when she was eight months old. Aziza recalls the story{{cite news|last1=Asadzadeh|first1=Ulviyya|title=Əzizə Mustafazadə atası haqqında xatirələrini danışır|url=http://www.azadliq.org/content/article/267746.html|newspaper=Azadlıq Radiosu|date=16 December 2011 |access-date=25 July 2014|language=az}} as her mother tells it: {{Cquote|Once, my father was improvising at the piano playing in the mugham mode known as 'Shur', which creates a mood that evokes very deep, sad emotions. As my father was playing, I started to cry. Everyone wondered what was happening to me. Why was I crying? And then mother realized the correlation between my feelings and the music. 'Vagif, please,' she told my father, 'change the scale. Go to Rast. Play Rast.' And he did. Now 'Rast' is characterized by its joyfulness and optimism. And sure enough, with tears still running down my cheeks, I started to make dance-like movements. And Mom pointed out, 'Look, look what she's doing! Change back to Shur!' And when he did, I started crying again louder than before. At least, that's what they tell me. Back to Rast, and I began dancing again.}}
Aziza enjoyed all forms of art, especially dancing, painting and singing. At the age of three, she made her stage debut with her father, improvising vocals. She began studying classical piano at an early age, showing special interest in the works of famous composers Johann Sebastian Bach and Frédéric Chopin. Soon thereafter, she showed a growing talent for improvisation."A Feeling of Jazz". Baku Magazine, No. 2(16), May 2010; p. 80.
On December 16, 1979, Aziza's father died of a severe heart attack in Tashkent at the age of 39. In order to help her daughter cope with this blow, Aziza's mother gave up her career as a singer to help nurture her daughter's own musical talents.
In 1988, at the age of 18, Aziza's mugam-influenced style helped her win third place together with American Matt Cooper in the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz (formerly Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz) piano competition in Washington, D.C.[http://www.monkinstitute.org/competition.php?Page=COMP-PW#1987 Monk Institute] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110203025052/http://www.monkinstitute.org/competition.php?Page=COMP-PW#1987 |date=February 3, 2011 }} It was around this time that she moved to Germany with her mother.
Aziza released her debut album, Aziza Mustafa Zadeh, in 1991. The album showed influence of Chick Corea and Keith Jarrett, as well as Near Eastern music.[{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r184051|pure_url=yes}} AllMusic.com review - Aziza Mustafa Zadeh] Her second album, Always, won her the Phono Academy Prize, a prestigious German music award, and the Echo Prize from Sony. She has since performed in many countries with many jazz and traditional luminaries and released several more albums, the most recent being Generations, released in 2020.
Aziza currently resides in Mainz, Germany, with her mother, Elza Mustafa Zadeh, who is also her manager. Her two favorite leisure activities, she says, are painting and sleeping. She believes in God, though she does not consider herself as belonging to any religion.[http://www.jazzzeitung.de/jazz/2002/02/portrait-zadeh.shtml Jazzeitung interview with Aziza Mustafa Zadeh]
=Baku Jazz Festival 2007=
Aziza visited Azerbaijan in June 2007 for the Baku Jazz Festival, starring in her own concert at the Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater and headlining the end-of-festival concert at the open-air Green Theater.{{cite web|title=Aziza Mustafa Zadeh (Azerbaijan) on 2007 Jazz Festival|url=http://festival.jazz.az/participant/29/lang/en|website=festival.jazz.az|access-date=15 August 2014}}
Discography
- Aziza Mustafa Zadeh (1991)
- Always (1993)
- Dance of Fire (1995)
- Seventh Truth (1996)
- Jazziza (1997)
- Inspiration – Colors & Reflections (2000)
- Shamans (2002)
- Contrasts (2006)
- Contrasts II (2007)
- Generations (2020)
References
{{reflist|2}}
External links
{{commons category}}
- {{Official website|http://www.azizamustafazadeh.de}}
- [http://www.azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/44_folder/44_articles/44_aziza.html Azerbaijan International article]
- {{discogs artist|Aziza Mustafa Zadeh}}
- [http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=1227 AllAboutJazz.com: Aziza Mustafa Zadeh: Body and Soul and Mugam!]
- [http://azer.com/aiweb/categories/music/AudioPages/Aziza/aziza.html Listen to Aziza Mustafa Zadeh], Music Section of Azerbaijan International
{{Aziza Mustafa Zadeh}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mustafa Zadeh, Aziza}}
Category:Azerbaijani jazz singers
Category:Azerbaijani women pianists
Category:Azerbaijani jazz pianists
Category:20th-century Azerbaijani women singers
Category:Azerbaijani people of Georgian descent
Category:21st-century Azerbaijani pianists
Category:21st-century Azerbaijani women singers