Twelve Amina Figarova

• 1 Nycst 04:34
• 2 Another Side of the Ocean 04:39
• 3 Sneaky Seagulls 03:29
• 4 Shut Eyes, Sea Waves, ... 07:24
• 5 On the Go 05:41
• 6 Isabelle 07:06
• 7 Make It Happen 04:04
• 8 Twelve 05:07
• 9 New Birth 05:24
• 10 Morning Pace 06:17
• 11 Leila 05:57
• 12 Maria's Request 03:46
• Total Runtime 01:03:28

Info for Twelve

This is Figarova’s first album after her departure from the Netherlands. Definitely a new chapter, her band never sounded so well, Amina is now ready for the big city – New York agrees with it.

Composer and pianist Amina Figarova's 12th album, titled Twelve - her debut release on the renowned independent German label In + Out - celebrates jazz is an international music and New York City as a locale where jazz gypsies may feel most at home. A suite of songs for sextet Figarova wrote swiftly in 2011 after moving with her husband and musical partner, flutist Bart Platteau, to Forest Hills, Queens from their longtime European base, Twelve is suffused with the heightened expectations, sense of adventure and fresh receptions that voluntary emigres enjoy, as well as the confidence, creative energies and nuanced fulfillment that artists gain from being in the right place at the right time.

"Figarova is among the most important composers to come into jazz in the new millennium..." (Thomas Conrad, JazzTimes)

„A skilled and imaginative composer...Born in Azerbaijan (...), Figarova brings a remarkably broad range of influences to her works, which may help explain their appeal. You can hear the influence of her classical training in the care she brings to her scoring. Yet the mercurial, unpredictable nature of her musical themes – and the intriguing way she develops them - points to a composer enraptured with the creative possibilities of jazz.“ (Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune)

„Amina Figarova's love of New York City has led to a second CD that reveals her impressions of the diverse metropolis. A native of Azerbaijan, the pianist's appearances at various venues in the city gave her the incentive to move to Forest Hills in Queens in 2010 with her husband, flutist Bart Platteau, as well as to compose. Each of the dozen originals performed on Twelve has a distinct vibe. "NYCST" is a peppy post-bop vehicle that captures the hurried tempo of the city during the week, followed by the laid-back "Another Side of the Ocean," which showcases Ernie Hammes' expressive flügelhorn and even adds an amusing lick from "My Favorite Things." The pianist's elegant "Shut Eyes, Sea Waves..." is an impressionist work with subtle shifts that add to its dreamy mood. The pulsating "Make It Happen" showcases Marc Mommaas on soprano and Hammes on trumpet, though Figarova's darting piano solo steals the show. "Twelve" is a lush Latin-flavored lullaby with a breezy air that has gorgeous ensemble work, accented by Platteau's playful flute. "Morning Pace" initially has a Far Eastern flavor, though as the band joins Figarova it transforms into a delicate ballad, featuring Jeroen Vierdag's intricate bass. Drummer Chris "Buckshot" Strik's adept percussion throughout the session is also a key factor. With this rewarding date, Amina Figarova makes her case as an important composer of her generation.“ (Ken Dryden, AMG)

Amina Figarova, piano
Bart Platteau, flute, Bb flute d'amor, bass flute, ocarina
Ernie Hammes, trumpet, flugelhorn
Marc Mommaas, tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone
Jeroen Vierdag, bass
Chris "Buckshot" Strik, drums

Recorded on February 25 -26, 2012 at Systems Two in New York

Amina Figarova
Azerbaijan-born, globe-trotting composer and pianist Amina Figarova introduces ten colorful, compelling new compositions performed by her touring sextet plus guests on Blue Whisper, her 13th album since her 1994 debut Attraction.

Figarova's deeply personal, highly evocative responses to social turmoil, distinctive personalities she's encountered and universal transitions of life inform the music on Blue Whisper. Moods range from the haunting beauty of the titular track "Blue Whisper," as well as "Moonrise" and "Hewa" (featuring lyrics in Swahili by Sarah Elizabeth Charles) to the straight-ahead momentum of "Moving Forward," "The Hustler" and "The Traveler," to the sophisticated playfulness of "Pictures," "Marians" and "Juno." In "Hear My Voice," over a martial beat and sorrowful, resolute horn choir, an eight-year-old girl earnestly urges an end to violence world-wide and, with laughter, a request to "Let kids be kids."

Throughout all tracks, Amina's classically founded touch, her lilting melodies, luminous harmonies, often understated yet always propulsive rhythms and star soloists come together with immaculate sophistication. Trumpeters Ernie Hammes and Alex Pope Norris, saxophonists Wayne Escoffery and Marc Mommaas, bassists Luques Curtis and Yasushi Nakamura, drummer Jason Brown, flutist Bart Platteau -- Figarova's partner and husband of nearly 25 years – and electric guitarist Anthony Wilson (on "Pictures") are featured advantageously in spontaneous, creative engagement with her compositional themes and intentions.

Amina Figarova was born in Baku, Azerbaijan, and as a child studied to be a classical concert pianist. In the late 1980s she entered Rotterdam Conservatory to pursue jazz, coming to the United State in 1989 to complete her formal education at Boston's Berklee College of Music (where she met Platteau, a fellow student from Belgium). In 1998 they were invited to the Thelonious Monk Institute's summer jazz colony in Aspen, and after more than a decade of bookings in major U.S. jazz clubs, concert halls and festivals, the couple gained legal immigrant status in 2014. They currently live in Manhattan, and tour constantly.

The compositions "Pictures" and "The Traveler" were commissioned by Jazz from Lincoln Center for its 2014-15 New Jazz Standards series. Blue Whisper is Figarova's second album, after Twelve, on In + Out Records, an independent label based in Freiberg, Germany. Written by Howard Mandel, 2015

This album contains no booklet.