The opening of the 17th Baku Jazz Festival took place at the Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy on the evening of November 15. Rector of the ADA professor Hafiz Pashayev, minister of culture of Azerbaijan Anar Karimov, art director of the festival Rain Sultanov addressed the guests at the opening. The great role of jazz in the musical culture of Azerbaijan, the importance of the exchange of jazz traditions with world performers and the importance of jazz as an instrument of multiculturalism were noted.
The festival opened with a concert by Grammy-winning Swiss artist Gregoire Maret. Gregoire is one of the rare musicians in the jazz world who uses a harmonica. Gregorie has become a unique and compelling voice in a wide spectrum of the contemporary jazz world in recent years. The list of musicians with whom he collaborated on his projects speaks for itself: Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny, Cassandra Wilson, Marcus Miller. The talented young pianist Elbey Mammadzade took part in the concert.
The opening of the festival ended with an incendiary program of the Brazilian diva Heloise Lourenco. Bright, incendiary performance did not leave indifferent any of the guests of the festival. The evening ended on a major note and gave a start to the jazz cadenza of Baku autumn.
