Editing Aziza Mustafa Zadeh (section)

==Biography==
Aziza was born in [[Baku]] to musical parents [[Vagif Mustafa Zadeh|Vagif]] and Elza Mustafa Zadeh (née Bandzeladze).<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Baku |first1=Zohra |title=AND AFTER HIM…JAZZ |url=http://regionplus.az/en/articles/view/2292 |access-date=3 April 2024 |magazine=Region Plus |issue=376 |date=15 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190115181914/http://regionplus.az/en/articles/view/2292 |archive-date=15 January 2019}}</ref>

Aziza's parents first noticed their daughter's sensitivity to music when she was eight months old. Aziza recalls the story<ref>{{cite news|last1=Asadzadeh|first1=Ulviyya|title=Əzizə Mustafazadə atası haqqında xatirələrini danışır|url=http://www.azadliq.org/content/article/267746.html|newspaper=Azadlıq Radiosu|date=16 December 2011 |access-date=25 July 2014|language=az}}</ref> as her mother tells it: {{Cquote|Once, my father was improvising at the piano playing in the [[Mugham|mugham]] mode known as [[Shur_(mugham)|'Shur']], which creates a mood that evokes very deep, sad emotions. As my father was playing, I started to cry. Everyone wondered what was happening to me. Why was I crying? And then mother realized the correlation between my feelings and the music. 'Vagif, please,' she told my father, 'change the scale. Go to [[Rast_(mugham)|Rast]]. Play Rast.' And he did. Now 'Rast' is characterized by its joyfulness and optimism. And sure enough, with tears still running down my cheeks, I started to make dance-like movements. And Mom pointed out, 'Look, look what she's doing! Change back to Shur!' And when he did, I started crying again louder than before. At least, that's what they tell me. Back to Rast, and I began dancing again.}}

Aziza enjoyed all forms of art, especially dancing, painting and singing. At the age of three, she made her stage debut with her father, improvising vocals. She began studying classical piano at an early age, showing special interest in the works of famous composers [[Johann Sebastian Bach]] and [[Frédéric Chopin]]. Soon thereafter, she showed a growing talent for improvisation.<ref>"A Feeling of Jazz". ''Baku Magazine'', No.&nbsp;2(16), May 2010; p. 80.</ref>

On December 16, 1979, Aziza's father died of a severe heart attack in [[Tashkent]] at the age of 39. In order to help her daughter cope with this blow, Aziza's mother gave up her career as a singer to help nurture her daughter's own musical talents.

In 1988, at the age of 18, Aziza's mugam-influenced style helped her win third place together with American Matt Cooper in the [[Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz]] (formerly [[Thelonious Monk]] Institute of Jazz) piano competition in [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref>[http://www.monkinstitute.org/competition.php?Page=COMP-PW#1987 Monk Institute] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110203025052/http://www.monkinstitute.org/competition.php?Page=COMP-PW#1987 |date=February 3, 2011 }}</ref> It was around this time that she moved to Germany with her mother.

Aziza released her debut album, ''[[Aziza Mustafa Zadeh (album)|Aziza Mustafa Zadeh]]'', in 1991. The album showed influence of [[Chick Corea]] and  [[Keith Jarrett]], as well as Near Eastern music.<ref>[{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r184051|pure_url=yes}} AllMusic.com review - ''Aziza Mustafa Zadeh'']</ref> Her second album, ''[[Always (Aziza Mustafa Zadeh album)|Always]]'', won her the [[Phono Academy Prize]], a prestigious German music award, and the [[Echo Prize]] from [[Sony]]. She has since performed in many countries with many jazz and traditional luminaries and released several more albums, the most recent being ''Generations'', released in 2020.

Aziza currently resides in [[Mainz, Germany]], with her mother, Elza Mustafa Zadeh, who is also her manager. Her two favorite leisure activities, she says, are painting and sleeping. She believes in God, though she does not consider herself as belonging to any religion.<ref>[http://www.jazzzeitung.de/jazz/2002/02/portrait-zadeh.shtml Jazzeitung interview with Aziza Mustafa Zadeh]</ref>

===Baku Jazz Festival 2007===
Aziza visited Azerbaijan in June 2007 for the [[Baku Jazz Festival]], starring in her own concert at the [[Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater]] and headlining the end-of-festival concert at the open-air Green Theater.<ref>{{cite web|title=Aziza Mustafa Zadeh (Azerbaijan) on 2007 Jazz Festival|url=http://festival.jazz.az/participant/29/lang/en|website=festival.jazz.az|access-date=15 August 2014}}</ref>