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“I am convinced that all art has the desire to leave the ordinary,and to say it one way, at a spiritual level, a state of the exaltation at existence. All art has this in common. But jazz, the world of improvisation, is perhaps the highest, because we do not have the opportunity to make changes. It’s as if we were painting before the public, and the following morning we cannot go back and correct that blue color or change that red. We have to have the blues and reds very well placed before going out to play. So for me, jazz is probably the most demanding art.” - Sonny Rollins from a recent interview for the Catalan magazine Jaç
 
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Eldar at Catalina's March 21st-24th Print E-mail
Written by Andrea Canter, Contributing Editor   
Sunday, 18 March 2007
Image
Eldar © Andrea Canter
Sometimes success finds a young artist too early. Such was the potential danger when Kyrgyzstan prodigy Eldar Djangirov took an interest in the piano at age three, began serious studies while still in elementary school, and caught the ear of Dr. Billy Taylor at 11. After appearing with Taylor on CBS Sunday Morning, Eldar and his family relocated to Kansas City where he could pursue his interest in jazz through studies with local musicians and at Interlochen. Still in his early teens, he went on to win top prizes at the 2001 Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival and the 2002 Peter Nero Piano Competition; in 2004 he appeared on Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz, her youngest guest ever.

 

Yet the story continues. Pianist Benny Green notes, "Eldar's talent is undeniable; he possesses remarkable ease in his technical fluency, coupled with a free-flowing sense of harmonic coloration." Comparisons with jazz greats abound, as Eldar seemingly channels the touch of Bill Evans, the power and swing of Art Tatum and Oscar Peterson, the magnificent harmonics of McCoy Tyner, and the invention of Herbie Hancock with “vigor, stylistic range and dazzling speed” (New York Times). After hearing Eldar, jazz great Benny Carter said, "He's one of the most outstanding artists I've heard in a long, long time." Noted Billy Taylor, "…Eldar Djangirov's playing shows brilliancy, complexity, and discipline… he's serious about his music, he's thoughtful about what he does and he's a regular kid."
Image
Eldar © Andrea Canter


The “kid” is now a twenty-year-old student at the University of Southern California, and his second recording for Sony Classical, Live at the Blue Note, was a natural and worthy successor to Eldar’s self-title debut (2005), a studio disc filled with ethereal and heady originals and cleverly deconstructed covers. [Click here for Jazz Police review]

 

Child prodigies are typically under a lot of pressure as they mature, as the world waits for them to fall, often expecting less and less as they move along. But like Geoffrey Keezer, Eldar just keeps moving forward. Imagining where this potential will take him is like imagining the edge of our galaxy.

 

Catch Eldar and his trio--bassist Marco Panascia and drummer Todd Strait--as they perform at Catalina's in LA, March 21-24.


Tour dates this spring:


  • 4/27/07    Costa Mesa, CA -      Samueli Music Theatre
  • 4/28/07    Costa Mesa, CA -      Samueli Music Theatre
  • 5/8/07      London, ENG -         Ronnie Scott's
  • 5/9/07      London, ENG- -         Ronnie Scott's
  • 5/13/07    Topeka, KS -             Downtown Ramada Inn
  • 6/9/07      Marblehead, MA  -     Unitarian-Universalist Church
  • 6/11/07    Rochester, NY -         Max of Eastman Place
  • 6/12/07    Boston, MA -             Scullers Jazz Club
  • 6/23/07    Overland Park, KS -   Corporate Woods
  • 6/29/07    Miami Beach, FL -     Arturo Sandoval Jazz Club
  • 6/30/07    Miami Beach, FL -     Arturo Sandoval Jazz Club
  • 7/6/07      Salt Lake City, UT -   Washington Square at City Hall

 
 
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