• Music - Youtube

    Rare Soviet Oriental Jazz & Groove Mix Compiled and Mixed by Sasha Svistunov

    June 24, 2024 - By 

    Once upon a time, I had a decent working knowledge (at least for an American expat) of Soviet Jazz.  It keeps popping back into my life, and I still find it a joy to listen to even 30 years down the road.  Thanks to Shasha Svistunov for compiling some real treasures here, including quite a few whose names are new to me! Brief run-down in English Tracklist: 1. Oleg Kutsenko Leningrad Instrumental Ensemble – Oriental Suite (Oleg Kutsenko, 1975) 2. Kavkaz Jazz Trio – Borjomi Park (Vagif Mustafa Zadeh, 1966) 3. Vadim Ludvikovski Ensemble – Rhythm Dance (Arno Babadjanian, 1961)…

  • Music

    Akshin Alizadeh – Reasons

    April 23, 2023 - By 

    We have here a slab of R&B and modern soul courtesy of Akshin Alizadeh, the wunderkind originally from Azerbaijan who records for Cold Busted Records out of Oregon.  It’s strangely radio-friendly, but the funk is pleasant on this single

  • Music - Youtube

    Nigar Marjanova (Ника Марджанова) – Summertime

    January 18, 2022 - By 

    Now and again I stumble onto something pleasant, even if there is no CD or download available (yet) of the artist’s music.  Nigar Marjanova (see her Youtube channel here) is a jazz singer out of Baku, Azerbaijan, a country known for producing some rather fine musicians (think of Vagif Mustafazade and his daughter, Aziza).  I like that her voice is incredibly relaxing, a pleasure to hear.  If she has the opportunity to produce a proper album in the future, we’ll be happy to share it.

  • Music

    Rüstəm Quliyev – Azerbaijani Gitara

    February 6, 2021 - By 

    Rüstəm Quliyev’s story is one of tragedy.  First, he was born in the Nagorno-Karabach area of Azerbaijan (contested by Armenia as recently as last year, where a small war was fought over the territory).  The fighting was so bad in Quliyev’s youth that he had to flee. He would move to Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, where his music blossomed into a mix of local Azeri music, psych, progressive rock, and whatever else his rapacious appetite for music all over the world could be fit into each composition.  His releases could be bought as far afield as Russia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan,…