Amina Figarova

Joy Amina Figarova

Joy is a return to the acoustic piano setting following the groove-heavy electronic excursion of her previous album, Persistence. The album reconvenes her regular collaborators: flutist (and husband) Bart Platteau, trumpeter/flugelhorn player Alex Pope Norris, saxophonist Wayne Escoffery, bassist Yasushi Nakamura, and Rudy Royston and Brian Richburg Jr. Sharing drum duties. Vocalist/songwriter Sasha Masakowski and percussionist Hasan Bakr make special guest appearances. This meeting of old friends contributes greatly toward embodying the warm spirits that Figarova aimed for with the new album. Add to that mixture ten original songs that exude bright feelings and lyrical melodies, and it would be difficult to find a more apt descriptor than the one Figarova chose to christen the album. While past albums have showcased her penchant for complex, interwoven layers - most memorably, her deft combination of jazz sextet and strings on 2019's Road to the Sun - here she achieved music that is equally memorable while prioritizing emotion over complexity.

Joy serves as a reminder that each of the musicians are equally skilled at expressing vibrant passion. Within moments of hearing Bakr's shimmering percussion on the album-opening title track the corners of the listener's mouth start to edge upwards, inevitably breaking into a full-fledged smile by the time the bold horn melody erupts. The tune rides forward on an ebullient 12/8 groove that links African rhythmic traditions with those of Figarova's native Azerbaijan.

Opening with Figarova's delicate touch, the gorgeous, wistful "October Phantasy" is graced by stunning lyrics by Masakowski that touchingly express a mixture of loss and hope. Figarova's arrangement takes an unusual approach, building gradually in intensity until the belated entrance of Masakowksi's dramatic vocals.

"We all live in uncertainty," Figarova concludes. "My message and my mission are to spread good energy and lift people's spirits."