Amina Figarova
‘Road to the
Sun’
AmFi Records
On “Road to the Sun,”
pianist Amina Figarova explores the possibilities of a little big band, at
times combined with a string trio. Born in Azerbaijan, Figarova began as a
classical pianist. After studying jazz in Holland, she moved to the United
States and studied at Berklee College of Music. Two decades ago, she worked
with a big band at the Thelonious Monk Institute, and ever since then she has
sought ways to simulate a big band’s power in her smaller ensemble. Figarova
has succeeded, composing and arranging every tune on this musical tour de
force.
Although the
arrangements are constructed around her piano, Figarova writes beautifully for
horns and strings. Her voicings and punctuation are especially strong on the
opening cut, “All We Dance.” The string parts on “Fall Eclipse” are so gorgeous
they could easily be adapted to a classical piece. Of course, these
arrangements would be nothing without strong compositional foundations, and
Figarova supplies them throughout. My favorite — again, the strings — is the
perfectly titled “Explorations.”
This article appears in Jun 26 – Jul 2, 2019.
