Enver Izmaylov
Encyclopedia
Enver İzmaylov (b. 1955 in Fergana
, Uzbekistan
) is a prominent Crimean Tatar
folk
and jazz
musician (guitar
ist) resident of Ukraine
. Born into a family previously deported from Crimea
(Ukraine
), İzmaylov returned in 1989.
Enver İzmaylov graduated from the Fergana music school in 1973 majoring on bassoon
, and had started playing the guitar at age 15 (about 1970).
İzmaylov does not pluck the strings, but uses jazz tapping
- an original technique of electric guitar
playing when a musician plays with both hands on the neck by tapping on the strings with his finger-tips, as if it were a keyboard
. He developed this technique to a climax simultaneously with, but not knowing of Stanley Jordan
. Emmett Chapman
developed a similar technique in the late 1960s.
İzmaylov's music is an original blend of mainstream jazz
, Crimean Tatar
, Turkish, Uzbek
and Balkan folk music
and classical music. Many of his pieces are composed in time signatures
which are not standard in classical music
, but are common in Balkan music
and Central Asian music
, such as 5/8, 7/8, 9/8, 11/8, 11/16 and 13/16.
İzmaylov has toured extensively in Russia
, Ukraine
and Europe
and has participated in several cross-cultural projects in Eastern Europe
. He was the first-prize winner of the First European International Guitarist Competition. Enver İzmaylov was voted for the Musician Of The Year 1995 by the Ukrainian
music critics.
İzmaylov is also a competent throatsinger
.
Enver's daughter Leniye İzmaylova is a popular singer among Crimean Tatars. She combines jazz, folk and pop music in her repertoire.
Fergana
Fergana is a city , the capital of Fergana Province in eastern Uzbekistan, at the southern edge of the Fergana Valley in southern Central Asia, cutting across the borders of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan...
, Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
) is a prominent Crimean Tatar
Crimean Tatars
Crimean Tatars or Crimeans are a Turkic ethnic group that originally resided in Crimea. They speak the Crimean Tatar language...
folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
and jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
musician (guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
ist) resident of Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. Born into a family previously deported from Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
(Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
), İzmaylov returned in 1989.
Enver İzmaylov graduated from the Fergana music school in 1973 majoring on bassoon
Bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
, and had started playing the guitar at age 15 (about 1970).
İzmaylov does not pluck the strings, but uses jazz tapping
Tapping
Tapping is a guitar playing technique, where a string is fretted and set into vibration as part of a single motion of being pushed onto the fretboard, as opposed to the standard technique being fretted with one hand and picked with the other...
- an original technique of electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
playing when a musician plays with both hands on the neck by tapping on the strings with his finger-tips, as if it were a keyboard
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
. He developed this technique to a climax simultaneously with, but not knowing of Stanley Jordan
Stanley Jordan
Stanley Jordan is an American jazz/jazz fusion guitarist and pianist, best known for his development of the tapping technique for the guitar....
. Emmett Chapman
Emmett Chapman
Emmett Chapman is a jazz musician best known as the inventor of the Chapman Stick and maker of Chapman Stick family of instruments.Originally a guitarist, Chapman began recording and performing beginning in the late 1960s...
developed a similar technique in the late 1960s.
İzmaylov's music is an original blend of mainstream jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, Crimean Tatar
Crimean Tatars
Crimean Tatars or Crimeans are a Turkic ethnic group that originally resided in Crimea. They speak the Crimean Tatar language...
, Turkish, Uzbek
Music of Uzbekistan
Central Asian classical music is called shashmaqam, which arose in Bukhara in the late 16th century when that city was a regional capital. Shashmaqam is closely related to Azeri mugam and Uyghur muqam. The name, which translates as six maqams refers to the structure of the music, which contains...
and Balkan folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
and classical music. Many of his pieces are composed in time signatures
Meter (music)
Meter or metre is a term that music has inherited from the rhythmic element of poetry where it means the number of lines in a verse, the number of syllables in each line and the arrangement of those syllables as long or short, accented or unaccented...
which are not standard in classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
, but are common in Balkan music
Music of Southeastern Europe
The music of Southeastern Europe or Balkan music is a type of music distinct from others in Europe. This is mainly because it was influenced by traditional music of Southeastern European ethnic groups and mutual music influences of these ethnic groups in the period of the Ottoman Empire...
and Central Asian music
Music of Central Asia
Central Asian music encompasses numerous different musical styles originating from a large number of Asian cultures. Central Asian music most often uses the pentatonic scale....
, such as 5/8, 7/8, 9/8, 11/8, 11/16 and 13/16.
İzmaylov has toured extensively in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and has participated in several cross-cultural projects in Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
. He was the first-prize winner of the First European International Guitarist Competition. Enver İzmaylov was voted for the Musician Of The Year 1995 by the Ukrainian
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
music critics.
İzmaylov is also a competent throatsinger
Overtone singing
Overtone singing, also known as overtone chanting, or harmonic singing, is a type of singing in which the singer manipulates the resonances created as air travels from the lungs, past the vocal folds, and out the lips to produce a melody.The partials of a sound wave made by the human voice can be...
.
Enver's daughter Leniye İzmaylova is a popular singer among Crimean Tatars. She combines jazz, folk and pop music in her repertoire.
Discography
- At A Fergana Bazzar, 1991, solo, live in MünsterMünsterMünster is an independent city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also capital of the local government region Münsterland...
- The Eastern Legend, 1991, solo (RDM)
- Kara Deniz/Black Sea with Burhan Öçal, 1992 (Unit Records)
- Dancing Over The Moon with Geoff Warren, 1995
- Yarimada/Peninsula, 1997 (RDM)
- Minaret, Crimea Art Trio, 1998 (Symphocarre)
- Eastern Legend, 2000 (Boheme)
- With My Best Wishes!, 2004
- Around the Black Sea, 2007