A presentation & performance of Azerbaijani mugham

Renowned Azerbaijani musicians Asker Askerzade (vocals) and Anar Imanov (tar) are joined by Jeffrey Werbock (kamacha) for a performance & presentation of traditional Azerbaijani mugham music.

Azerbaijani mugham is monophonic modal music, highly microtonal, meter free, densely ornamented, composed of complex melodic lines that are somewhat improvised according to the eastern tradition of theme and variation, and convey a mix of sorrow and joy, exhaltation and lament, and an overall sense of both antiquity and otherworldiness.

Asker Askerzade began his musical education at the age of eight in his village of Guzanli on the outskirts of Karabakh.  He is currently enrolled at the National Music Conservatory in Baku, Azerbaijan (capital) and holds a teaching position at the music school in his village.

Anar Imanov began playing tar when still a young child and attended a local school in the Aghdam region of Karabakh.  Now he teaches at the Karabakh Mugham Center, named after a local Karabakhi composer Uzeyir Hajibeyov.

Jeffrey Werbock has been giving presentations for well over three decades and has performed often at Lincoln Center, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the American Museum of Natural History, Asia Society, World Music Institute, and presents lecture demonstrations at colleges and universities all over the English speaking world. He has been awarded an honorary degree by the National Music Conservatory of Azerbaijan, in Baku, and has been sponsored by the Ministry of Culture of Azerbaijan to perform a solo concert.