Amina Figarova and Matsiko World Orphan Choir - Suite For Africa (2024) Hi Res

Pianist/composer Amina Figarova pairs her stellar sextet with a choir of orphaned and at-risk children from Liberia on her masterful new album. Suite for Africa, features Wayne Escoffery, Bart Platteau, Alex Pope Norris, Yasushi Nakamura & Rudy Royston, joined by West Africa's Matsiko World Orphan Choir Azerbaijani-born, New York-based pianist and composer Amina Figarova was inspired to write her new Suite for Africa by her experiences meeting students during her travels to South Africa. But it was a chance encounter in the air that brought the stirring piece fully to life, as a travel mishap placed Figarova and her band on the same flight as the Matsiko World Orphan Choir, an ensemble of orphaned and at risk children from war-ravaged Liberia. The masterpiece that ensued forms the core of Figarova's breathtaking new album, Suite for Africa. In addition to the 24-piece choir, Figarova is joined by her stellar longtime band: tenor saxophonist Wayne Escoffery, flutist Bart Platteau, trumpeter Alex Pope Norris, bassist Yasushi Nakamura, and drummer Rudy Royston. The three-movement suite is bracketed by five complementary Figarova originals inspired by African rhythms and the folk music traditions of the composer's native Azerbaijan. The initial version of Suite for Africa was premiered at Joy of Jazz in 2018, but Figarova's desire to reprise and record the piece was thwarted by the now-familiar events of the next few years. After life resumed, it was during a last-minute flight home from Brussels to New York City that Figarova met two gregarious young girls en route to the States. I asked who they were and they told me, 'We're from Africa and we're going to America to sing!' They were so enthusiastic, and then I saw that their t-shirts said, 'Matsiko World Orphan Choir.'The choir's voices are profoundly moving, imbued with a jubilant spirit & a bold optimism. They sing from the bottom of their heart and that translates to the audience in volumes.