Music of Azerbaijan builds on folk traditions that reach back nearly 1,000 years. For centuries Azerbaijani music has evolved under the badge of monody, producing rhythmically diverse melodies. Azerbaijani music has a branchy mode system, where chromatisation of major and minor scales is of great importance. As is the case also with Arabic and Turkish and even more evidently, much of the musical terminology of Azerbaijani cultures is of Persian origin.

Mugam

The classical music of Azerbaijan is called mugam (more accurately spelled muğam), and draws on the music of the Iranian-Arab-Turkish maqam. It is usually a suite with poetry and instrumental interludes. The sung poetry sometimes includes tahrir segments, which use a form of singing similar to yodelling. The poetry is typically about divine love and is most often linked to Sufi Islam.

In contrast to the mugam traditions of Central Asian countries, Azeri mugam is more free-form and less rigid; it is often compared to the improvised field of jazz.

UNESCO proclaimed the Azerbaijani mugam tradition a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity on November 7, 2003.

Azeri Musicians

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.

Mugam singers:

Jabbar Garyagdyoglu
Kechachi oghlu Mahammad
Seyid Shushinski
Khan Shushinski
Hajibaba Huseynov
Agakhan Abdullayev
Arif Babayev
Rubaba Muradova
Mansum Ibrahimov
Alim Qasimov
Zahid Guliyev
Sakina Ismayilova