Music of Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan is a Caucasus but, musically, it is more closely linked to Turkic Central Asian and Persian culture. The most famous contemporary Azeri musicians are perhaps jazz singer Aziza Mustafa Zadeh and her father, Vagif Mustafa Zadeh, who are quite popular internationally in jazz circles.

The classical music of Azerbaijan is called mugam, and is usually a suite with poetry and instrumental interludes. The sung poetry sometimes includes tahrir segments, which use a form of throat singing similar to yodelling. The poetry is typically about divine love and is most often linked to Sufi Islam. The stringed târ is the most distinctive and common of Azeri musical instruments.

Ashiqs are travelling bards who sing and play the saz, a form of lute. Their songs are semi-improvised around a common base.

List of mugam singers:

• Jammar Karyagdioglu Ensemble
• Zahid Guliyev
• Fahraddin Dadashov
• Sakine Ismaïlova
• Mohled Muslumov
• Alim Qasimov (Alem Kassimov)