18th Annual New Mexico Jazz Festival

Schedule:

7:30 pm - 9:30 pm: Amina Figarova Sextet at Outpost Performance Space

Last heard at the Outpost during the spring 2018 season, New York-based, Azerbaijan born composer, pianist and bandleader, Amina Figarova, is an internationally recognized and prolific artist who JazzTimes called “Among the most important composers to come into jazz in the new millennium.” Born in Baku, Azerbaijan, Figarova graduated from the Baku Conservatory as classical concert pianist and in 1990, entered Rotterdam Conservatory (where she met her partner, flutist Bart Platteau) to pursue jazz. She relocated to the United States in 1992 to complete her formal education at Boston’s Berklee College of Music and in 1998, she and Platteau were invited to the Thelonious Monk Institute’s summer jazz colony in Aspen, CO.  After more than a decade of bookings in major U.S. jazz clubs, concert halls and festivals, both she and Platteau moved to New York City and gained legal immigration status, becoming US citizens in 2020. They have since continued to tour worldwide. The Amina Figarova Sextet is recognized for their remarkable chemistry, which brings Figarova’s detailed arrangements to life. Every member of the group stands out as a first-rate individual artist, but “their dedication to Figarova’s eclectic and powerful compositions gives this group its depth of feeling and elite status.” The Sextet has played major festivals including the Newport Jazz Festival and New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Figarova has released numerous albums which feature members of her sextet and other guests. Just this past May 2024, she released her 18th album, Suite for Africa, featuring the Matsiko World Orphan Orchestra. The Sextet comprises an impressive lineup of contemporary jazz players with Amina Figarova, piano; Bart Platteau, flutes; Alex Pope Norris, trumpet & flugelhorn; Wayne Escoffery, saxophones; Yasushi Nakamura, bass; and Rudy Royston, drums.

DOORS 6:30pm

Cost: $15 - $50

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