The international trade fair, exhibition and festival jazzahead! is one of the most important events in the jazz community. Hosted annually in Bremen, Germany, it brings together musicians, bookers, agents, organizers, jazz experts, and music enthusiasts. In 2019, jazzahead! pays special attention to Norway by selecting 40 jazz acts from all over the world and inviting them to perform over the course of three days. One of them is the Isfar Sarabski Quartet. The Azerbaijan pianist Isfar Sarabski is a prominent follower of his legendary compatriot, pianist Vagif Mustafazedeh, who pioneered jazz mugham in the 1950s: a unique fusion of traditional styles of Persian-Iranian improvisation with jazz. Sarabski joins forces with bassist Makar Novikov, percussionist Sasha Mashin, and tar player Behruz Zeynal. The tar is a Persian string instrument, adding a sound rarely heard in jazz concerts to this quartet.
