Always

For her second album Aziza teams up with two outstanding Jazz musicians in their own right. It is certainly due to this more conventional formation of piano, drums and bass that Always must be considered the most "jazzy" of Aziza's albums; the harmonies bear undeniably oriental traits, as do some of the a/rhythmic patterns and the themes of the tracks (judging from their titles); still, the beat is a Jazz beat, if modern, experimental, and highly innovative.

Talking of themes, one cannot help to notice that next to a foray into more established forms of Jazz (esp. concerning formation and orchestration) there is a movement closer to the "roots" so to speak: not only are titles such as "Kaukas Mountains" reminding us, where this musician comes from, there are also track titles that do not translate into English. What is more, the track Crying Earth is an explicit political statement, dedicated to the victims of a very dark chapter in Azerbaijani history: the dawn of February 26, 1992 sees the mindless massacre at Khoiali (Hojali, also Chodschaly, Hodschaly), a small Azeri town in the much troubled region of Nagorny-Karabagh, by the Russian-Armenian Army, who slaughters hundreds of Azeri civilians, including women, elderly and children. Despite these very personal traits of Aziza's second album, Always proves a very international oeuvre indeed: the album wins a "Echo Award" for best German Jazz production in 1993.

Always has no trouble whatsoever to take up the spirit of its predecessor while expanding its musical geography. it is a very professional, versatile, intelligent and colorful work of art, confirming Aziza's abilities not only as a performer but as a composer. Whether she writes a slow, melancholic piece like I Don't Know and Insult, or a vibrant three-four-time track such as the dazzling track Heartbeat, whether it is the tumultuous adaptation of one of her father's brilliant compositions, Vagif, or the pressing, intensive Yandi Ganim Daha, a dazzling combination of 5/4 beat, typical Aziza harmonies, as well as her incredible voice, which is used on this second album to much better use than on Aziza Mustafa Zadeh -- Aziza has things firmly under control. Every track on this album is different, new, has its own distinct character, that comes to live again and again, no matter how many times we listen to it. My absolute favorite on this one, however, is the last track Dangerous Piece: a companion to Yandi Ganim Daha in terms of beat, it is much faster and more adventurous in its harmonic development: with incredible relentlessness the song pushes forth towards its inevitable end, giving its creator ample opportunity to display all of her skill: this is Aziza at her best. And now I know what the dangerous bit in this one is: it's very addictive, always!


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