Aziza Mustafa Zadeh – piano, vocals
Ramiz-Han – piano
Ralf Cetto – bass
Simon Zimbardo – drums

Pianist, singer and composer Aziza Mustafa Zadeh was born in Baku in 1969. She is the daughter of the famous Azerbaijani pianist and composer Vagif Mustafazadeh, who passed away prematurely in 1979, described by the favourite American jazz host Willis Conover as “the most lyrical pianist he has ever known”. Her mother Eliza was a soloist of the Georgian Philharmonic and then the first singer who (with her husband) performed jazz-mugam – an amalgam of jazz, classical music and Azerbaijani folklore.

Aziza entered the world of jazz when she finished third at the Thelonious Monk competition in 1988. She made her discographic debut three years later, and already for the second album Always, accompanied by John Patitucci and Dave Weckl, won the German discographers’ association award. She gained worldwide fame with albums for the Columbia label, then recorded for Decca, to release the last three albums under her own label. The current release, Generations, was released last year after a thirteen-year hiatus. In line with the title, it includes four songs by her father Vagif, four by Aziza and four by her son Ramiz-Han. Her main field of interest is mugam-jazz, she also covered jazz standards, as well as works of classical music. She has an exceptional piano technique and a divine voice of a wide range, mastering the classical singing style. Although living in Germany since the late 1980s, she doesn’t perform often, and the Belgrade concert is one of the few she will hold this year.

https://www.azizamustafazadeh.de/