Influence Rain Sultanov, Isfar Sarabski & Nils Ölmedal

• 1My John C07:48
• 2Solaris05:46
• 3I Know, That You'll Never Come Back08:36
• 4Behind the Sky07:06
• 5The Nice Simple Things07:26
• 6Morning Flight07:04
• 7I'll Never Forget You Mike07:01
• Total Runtime50:47

Info for Influence

Music has always been an affair of the heart to Rain Sultanov. But even for him, Influence carries a particularly deep meaning. On Mugham – Megham and his expansive Anthology of Jazz in Azerbaijan, the Baku-born saxophonist explored the musical roots of his home country. His new solo album now traces his personal footsteps to their creative sources. On seven epic ballads, Sultanov pays homage to the musicians that have shaped his style. Over the years, some of them have turned into companions. Others will forever remain "virtual friends". But all of them have one thing in common: They contributed towards making him the musician he is today.

The concept for Influence had been on Sultanov's mind for years. On his long journey, his inspirations, role models and teachers have changed repeatedly. But he never lost his heartfelt gratitude towards those whose music once touched him. First, there were the records by Michael Brecker, which his brothers in Azerbaijan would bring home. As a young boy, Sultanov would study Brecker's licks for days, transcribe them and make them his own. Then, there were gigs with English trumpet player Kenny Wheeler, which left an indelible impression. Last but not least, there were the encounters with the great Joe Zawinul at the Baku Jazz Festival, which left Zawinul impressed and Sultanov inspired.

Only very rarely do these compositions bear any resemblance to the style of the dedicatees. That, however, was never the idea anyway, as Sultanov explains: "My intention was never to play music which was similar to my musical heroes. I didn't even try to write something they might have liked. I simply wanted these pieces to be tributes to those who provided me with new insights, new love, new emotions. Even though I have today long found my own style of playing, I'll never stop listening to them. And I will always keep their thoughts in mind."

Just as with his previous albums, spontaneity was key to the music on Influence. Although Sultanov had booked the Rainbow Studio in Oslo well ahead of time, he had barely finished half the pieces a few weeks before the recording sessions. The remainder, as he casually explains, was written "en route to Norway". On location, the entire material was then taken apart again, re-imagined and recorded in just a few takes. To make this daredevil approach work, Sultanov relied on the support of two exceptional musicians: Swedish bassist Nils Ölmedal and pianist Isfar Sarabski. Both, as Sultanov puts it, "know what to listen for in my music and what kind of mood I am looking for."

Getting the mood right was obviously of seminal importance for the atmospherically dense, almost otherworldly pieces on Influence. The stylistic scope of the record ranges from the eight and a half minute long exorcism "I know that you'll never come back" (dedicated to Miles Davis) via the dreamy "Morning Flight" (for Pastorius) through to the bittersweet "Solaris", which Sultanov wrote in honour of the Sophisticated Giant Dexter Gordon.

All of these different inspirations blend into a spiritual work which reflects both on Sultanov's influences, himself and something beyond: "I am realistic enough to understand that all of these artists are no longer with us", he says with a pensive smile, "On the other hand, they will always be there for me, maybe just in another dimension. That's something I truly believe in."

Rain Sultanov, soprano saxphone
Isfar Sarabski, piano
Nils Ölmedal, double bass

Rain Sultanov
is leading jazz saxophonist who has made a huge contribution to the development of jazz culture in Azerbaijan. Not many were able to walk such a turbulent and interesting creative path, rich and full of musical events, as Rain Sultanov. He is a person whose work is always of interest to the world's experts of high music. Rain's music carries a lot of sense and leads one to a deep thought. Rain Aladdin Sultanov was born on April 29, 1965 in Baku, Azerbaijan. After graduating from a music school as a distance student, specializing in clarinet and surprising his teachers with hard work and natural talent, Rain demonstrated his extraordinary ability for the first time. In 1985, Rain Sultanov was awarded at the Republican clarinetists contest. ​

In 1988, having received an invitation from the master of Azerbaijani vocal arts Rashid Behbudov, he began working at the Azerbaijan Song Theatre. After Behbudov's in 1990 Rain becomes jazz soloist of the ‘Qaya' State Jazz Orchestra. After this period of life can be called Rain Sultanov's emerging professional jazz career. In 1997 he founded the band Syndicate and released his first album ‘Last Moment’. ​

In 2003, Rain Sultanov published a work of many years, his book ‘Anthology of Jazz in Azerbaijan’. The book featured archival materials collected from all over the world, as well as facts and photographs of those who were somehow associated with jazz in Azerbaijan. The book also contains two Cd’s with the music of past years and the compositions of contemporary musicians. It became the first comprehensive reference material on jazz in Azerbaijan, showing the whole process of historical development of jazz in Baku. Along with scientific research and analysis of the development of jazz, Sultanov did not limit himself in musical activity. A year later, Rain Sultanov became the art director and organizer of the festival, which he named the Baku Jazz Festival. Starting that year, the international festival in Baku has been held annually and is the largest jazz event in the country.

He also possesses his own unique style of performance and an everlasting series of new ideas, albums and projects. Beginning in the Soviet time and to this day, Rain Sultanov has been a participant of a large number of concerts and jazz festivals held worldwide. Rain Sultanov – authoritative jazz musician and leading exponent of different forms of music, with his own style and a plethora of ideas and projects, drawn inexorably to the mysterious world of the future.

Booklet for Influence