In the current edition of Philadelphia Weekly:
Eldar Djangirov
Fri., Jan. 13, 5pm. Free with museum admission. Philadelphia Museum of Art, 26th St. and JFK Blvd. 215.763.8100. philamuseum.org
Great jazz pianists have emerged from hotbeds like Detroit and Philadelphia—and how about Bishkek, in the seldom-noted former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan? Eldar Djangirov is a young and fearsome player who landed a major-label deal at 17 and showed great poise and creativity on his 2005 debut, simply titled Eldar. Since then, he’s ventured into complex electric post-fusion with Re-Imagination and Virtue, but he hasn’t abandoned the acoustic sensibility at the heart of Eldar and the sophomore release Live at the Blue Note. His latest, the solo-piano keeper Three Stories, veers between jazz repertoire and treatments of Bach and Scriabin. It’s the work of a traditionalist in the best sense of the term. — David R. Adler
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