Azerbaijani jazz pianist and composer Vagif Mustafazadeh. Dizzy Gillespie, the legendary American jazz trumpeter, reportedly lauded Mustafazadeh for creating "the music of the future." Inna Naroditskaya, “Azerbaijani Mugham Jazz,” Jazz Worlds/World Jazz, ed. Philip V. Bohlman and Goffredo Plastino, Chicago, London: University of Chicago Press, 2016, 98-124. Azerbaijani jazz The Azerbaijani jazz () is a popular variety of jazz, widespread in Azerbaijan. It covers a broad range of styles (traditional, post-pop, fusion, free flexion) and often features a blend with traditional Azeri music. Among modern famed Azeri jazz musicians are Aziza Mustafazadeh, who was influenced by Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett, Isfar
The Rhythm Road: American Music Abroad and the Jazz Ambassadors program during the Cold War era, when Jazz legends such as Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong and Dave Brubeck went on global tours on behalf of the State Department. In addition to performing for foreign audiences, musicians who participate in this program lead workshops and classes to educate locals in their instrument. The Rhythm Road: American Music Abroad The Rhythm Road: American Music Abroad is a $1.5 million per annum cultural exchange program for musicians sponsored in part by the United States State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. This program is in partnership with Jazz