The Azerbaijan pianist Aziza's Dance of Fire – her second American record – combines be-bop-derived jazz with elements Russian folk music. Supported by Stanley Clarke, Al DiMeola, and Bill Evans, Aziza's playing is graceful and fluid, eclipsing her super-star backup musicians.
Seventh Truth is the fourth album released by Azeri jazz artist Aziza Mustafa Zadeh. It caused a good deal of controversy when it was released in 1996 because of the visually revealing cover art. Aziza was delighted to hear that the art had caused such a stir. "It means people are starting to wake up a bit. I'm so glad. Actually, I find it amusing! Why all the fuss? Maybe some women are jealous, or maybe they're too fat to appear like that themselves. Or maybe they're deaf and can't really comprehend what's going on in the music." She said that she made the cover that way because it fits the sensual mood of the music. Around 2.000.000 copies was sold worldwide. Album was particularly successful in North America and in Japan.
Le peintre Yarima Lalo est à la gare d'Abuja lorsque des souvenirs de ses morts antérieures viennent brouiller son esprit. Perdu, il veut comprendre d'où viennent ces visions, dont la clé semble se trouver dans les toiles qu'il peint. En quête de réponses, il se lance dans un périple à travers le Nigeria, en compagnie d'Aziza, jeune mère divorcée qui se bat pour la garde de sa fille. …
Gaïa finds West African guitarist Lionel Loueke reunited with his longstanding trio of bassist Massimo Biolcati and drummer Ferenc Nemeth for the first time since 2010's Mwaliko. It was produced by Blue Note label boss Don Was and cut live in the studio – sans overdubs – in front of a small invited audience. The sonics are a tad more brittle, but they add to the crackling energy on offer. First single "Aziza Dance" is funky as hell; the guitarist vamps up a storm and Nemeth drops a ton of breaks amid snare-driven syncopation.