Eldar Djangirov playing October 17 with his trio at Anthology
Thursday, October 15, 2009 11:47Former local returns home
By JIM TRAGESER | North County Times
The guy’s lived all over the world —- Kyrgyzstan, Kansas City, Mo., Los Angeles, New York City.
But for jazz pianist Eldar Djangirov (playing Oct. 17 with his trio at Anthology), coming to San Diego is probably as close to homecoming as it gets. He spent two years here, attending Francis Parker School, a performing arts magnet school. And his parents still live in the same house in Rancho Bernardo (and will be in the crowd Oct. 17).
While family and memories are obviously important ties to the area, Eldar (he performs and records under his first name only) said the weather is also something he misses about San Diego.
“I’ve been missing it for a few years now!” he said by phone Oct. 13 from his New York City home. “Living in New York City, you go through four seasons and you get the most extreme of the four seasons. It’s getting colder now.”
His latest CD, “Virtue” —- his ninth —- has him hopping.
“I’ve been traveling a lot, especially with the new record release —- it’s been quite intense. … It’s been pretty tremendous traveling, but I’ve been enjoying it.
“I just got back from Tokyo yesterday. I played two shows with my band earlier in the month, then (bassist) Ron Carter asked me to stay.”
Eldar said “Virtue” is the album he’s most proud of so far, and said it represents the pinnacle of his career to date. (It might be pointed out, however, that’s he’s only 22.)
“I think this release marks a certain chapter that in many ways I’ve most proud of.”
He said he managed to accomplish several things he felt that he hadn’t done with previous recordings, at least not to the level he wanted: “The presentation of the music; the composition of the music. The group chemistry —- putting this band together, writing the music specifically for these musicians, knowing their logic. The language we developed as a band after I wrote the material.”
To get this album the way he wanted it, Eldar said he took a different approach.
“The preparation for this record took two years of conscious effort. … When you want to push yourself, when you want to challenge yourself, when you want to create a langauge, it takes research.
“That’s why I consider this a culmination.”
Growing up in Kyrgyzstan, Eldar said, he was turned on to music by his parents.
“My dad has a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering, so he would travel all the time for different projects. What he did was collect jazz records over a period of three decades.
“One of the things I remember capturing my ear was listening to Oscar Peterson. That was the first introduction, consciously, where I said to myself, ‘I really enjoy this.’”
“When I started playing, my mother was the typical Russian piano teacher in many ways —- but she was very supportive, and gave me a solid foundation.”
Eldar said his mother had to prompt him, like most kids, to practice when he began playing at age 5. But as he got older, he began to love playing more and more.
“I can’t say that at 5 years old that I knew this is what I wanted to do. It was so gradual. It was never whether I wanted to play or not play; it was something … that decision was almost made for me.”
Eldar
When: 7:30 p.m. Oct. 17
Where: Anthology, 1337 India St., San Diego
Tickets: $23
Info: 619-595-0300 or anthologysd.com
Web: eldarjazz.com
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Click here for the original article in the North County Times.
