Live Jazz: Isfar Sarabski at Vibrato Grill Jazz…etc.

By Don Heckman

Isfar Sarabski.  Remember the name.  No, it doesn’t flow as freely across the lips as, say, Herbie Hancock or Keith Jarrett.  But you’re going to be hearing it, nonetheless.

Only nineteen years old, Sarabski is a jazz pianist from Baku, Azerbaijan.  And his first U.S. appearance, Monday night before an invited audience at Vibrato Grill Jazz…etc., revealed a talent with impressive potential.  Performing first as a soloist, later with bassist Pat Senatore and drummer Erik Klass, his playing ranged freely from hard swing to pensive lyricism, while incorporating some of the intriguing rhythms and melodic phrases of his native land into his music..

Like other pianists who come from cultures in which a solid classical foundation is an essential element in their training, Sarabski clearly had the skill to execute anything that occurred to his adventurous improvisational mind.  Romping through bebop tunes, his mastery of the genre’s classic vocabulary was thorough.  Slower tunes were enhanced by fine-tuned harmonic originality that brought new shades of color to every line.  And, on a whimsical rendering of Herbie Hancock’s “Watermelon Man,” he displayed a willingness to build a solo in a way that reached out to his listeners.

Sarabski, who won the piano competition at the 43^rd Montreux International Jazz Festival, cites Keith Jarrett, Brad Mehldau, Bill Evans and Oscar Peterson as inspirations, and characteristics of all those iconic figures occasionally surfaced in his playing.  More interesting, however, was the influence of a lesser known – in this country – artist, Azerbaijan’s legendary jazz pianist, Vagif Mustaphazadeh.  And it was the subtle presence of the same sort of mugam-like modes, sweeping arpeggios  and off-center rhythms favored by Mustaphazadeh, especially in Sarbski’s slower numbers, that added such a unique quality to his music.

There were times when Sarabski – like many young players – poured too much content into his solos, moving quickly from one idea to another, without allowing them to evolve and develop.  And his fast-fingered technique also tended to be used as a showcase rather than as a support for his striking inventiveness.

But those are qualities that will undoubtedly be modified as Sarabski matures, and has the opportunity to hone his skills with players who can challenge him to produce his finest work.  Even so, he is, at the moment, evolving into a pianist with the ability, the imagination and the desire to add a potentially new and fascinating perspective to the 21^st century jazz world.

There will be one more opportunity to hear Sarabski later this week in his first public appearnce in the U.S.  He performs with bassist Greg Swiller and drummer Erik Klass on Friday,  October 30 at the Barnsdall Gallery Theatre.  Tickets are available from http:www.bgttix.com.  (213) 485-4581.