Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Amina Figarova Sextet in Asheville


On Sunday March 7th, starting at 7:00 p.m., the Diana Wortham theatre in downtown Asheville will be hosting a fantastic jazz sextet that you won't want to miss. Netherlands-based pianist Amina Figarova will lead her stellar Sextet in the kickoff concert of the Western North Carolina Jazz Series 2010. Featuring a cohesive three-horn front line of trumpet, tenor saxophone, and flute, Amina's group tours the globe.

Born in Baku, Azerbaijan, and now residing in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, pianist and composer Amina Figarova earns praise from every quarter as she tours with the Sextet which creates recordings featuring her imaginative compositions. Jazz bible JazzTimes magazine’s review of Amina’s Sextet’s 2008 recording, “Above the Clouds”, lauded her as “among the most important new composers to come into jazz in the new millennium. She makes a sextet sound like an orchestra.”

Many successful jazz pianists got their start, at early ages, studying classical music. Then jazz lures them away. A constant surprise is the verve and energy so many of these classically trained musicians bring to improvisation. Amina Figarova began as a child prodigy who was composing and playing piano at the age of three. She trained as a classical concert pianist at the Baku Conservatory in Azerbaijan, followed by studies in jazz performance at the Rotterdam Conservatory and the Berklee College of Music in Boston. In 1998 she was invited to study at the Thelonious Monk Jazz Colony in Aspen, Colorado.

To hear some samples of this artist visit the site for WNC Jazz Society. Tickets are $35. If you are traveling to Asheville we offer special packages through these great hotels.

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