Isfar Sarabski is an Azeri composer and pianist. Currently studying at Berklee College of Music, he is the great-grandson of Huseyngulu Sarabski, the celebrated Azerbaijani opera singer, actor and one of the founders of Eastern opera. In 2011 he formed the Isfar Sarabski Trio exploring the relationship between jazz and mugham, Azerbaijan’s traditional music.
In his music the 31-year-old pianist composer and arranger combines the adventurous nature of Nils Frahm with the dreamlike likeness of Ólafur Arnald, the electronic explorations of Martin Kohlstedt with the symphonic brilliance of Max Richter and the jazz virtuosity of Herbie Hancock. For him, genre boundaries are only there to connect them with one another through musical bridges.
Isfar struck his first international chord in jazz, winning the 2009 Montreux Festival piano competition – aged 19. Stunning audiences across Europe, the USA and UNESCO with music that is all of sensitive and stunning, classical and jazz, standards and self-penned, he is always on the move. And always on a solid base – from Mustafazadeh back to Tchaikovsky – his playing always flows artistry and excitement. There’s never a dull moment or thought and an Isfar Sarabski live concert is exactly that. He lives his music, and so will you.
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