Anthology

Jazz is considered America’s classical music, and it may take a 23-year-old former San Diego resident to keep it alive for the next generation.

His name is Eldar Djangirov, better known as Eldar, and this Russian-born graduate of Francis Parker High School in La Jolla has quickly earned an international rep for both his classical and his jazz recordings.

In fact, he signed a recording contract with Sony Masterworks at the age of 17 to do a classical album and his 2008 album “Re-Imagination” was nominated for the Best Contemporary Jazz album.

To have that impact at that young an age takes a lot of focus and dedication, but to keep the ball rolling – especially in a genre like jazz that rewards originality — requires a willingness to stretch your boundaries and keep exploring new ground.

Eldar, who performs at Anthology on May 7, is ready and able to do that. Whether the audience is ready to go with him is something he thinks about deeply.

“Jazz in 2010 is a misnomer,” he said. “The label limits the music at least where press is concerned. People think that jazz has to sound a certain way for it to be jazz, but the vocabulary has changed – even in the last 10 years.”

To Eldar’s way of thinking, jazz, as he knows it, should be affected by the contemporary world the same way other forms of popular music such as hip-hop or rock are. But not everybody who considers them a jazz fan feels that way.

“Music should effect an edge of what’s around,” he said. “Someone who hears my new album, ‘Virtue,’ will hear a jazz record, but it also has elements of classical, rock and hip-hop because that’s where I’m coming from.”

The title “Virtue” was deliberate and seriously thought out, much like everything Eldar does.

“To me, the word ‘virtue’ means a certain honesty or excellence that reflects personality and character, and that’s what I strive for.”

To that end, he made sure to record with other top younger jazz musicians such as sax giant Joshua Redman, trumpeter Nicholas Payton and sax great Felipe Lamoglia.

However, much of the key to his musical growth in recent years hasn’t necessarily come from the musicians, but the engineers who press play on the tape deck.

“Talking with a lot of sound engineers has been a big influence because they know exactly how things should sound, and that’s been important,” he said.

Eldar was born in Kyrgyzstan in the former Soviet Union, in 1987 and started playing when he was 3, mostly classical. However, at the age of 9, he was discovered by Charles McWhorter, an American jazz supporter who arranged for him to attend a summer camp at the Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan (where Jewel is also an alum).

Eldar ended up staying in the U.S., first in Kansas City and then in San Diego. He remembers the area fondly, and his parents still live in Rancho Bernardo.

However, when asked a provincial question such as “What in this city inspires you musically?” he demurs, preferring to answer in the big picture.

“I’ve performed in hundreds of cities all over the world for audiences between 30 and 3000 people and all the meeting and talking with the people … all those elements affect the music.”

Back to the music: Eldar’s piano style is considered hard bop and is heavily influenced by pianists like Dave Brubeck, Oscar Peterson and Thelonious Monk. Still, he also is fond of Bjork and Radiohead.

Still, he admits that it is hard sometimes to remain current with music “because a lot of what I hear doesn’t sound like music.”

That’s not something he wants to say, because he realizes that in order to keep jazz relevant, he must attract folks in his age bracket. Therefore, Eldar can’t sound like his elders.

Still, it goes back to the fundamental argument facing the artist: Do you play jazz to please folks who fell in love with the music 50 years ago, or do you accept the music that has come along since then.

He’s hoping that rather than having to, say, record jazz versions of popular hits, there is a way to get the folks into indie music that jazz – especially since he agrees with the idea that the bebop he really loves – is the original indie music.

By David Moye

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WHAT: Eldar
WHEN: Friday, May 7th, 2010, 7:30pm
TICKETS: $10 – $35 BUY TICKETS
MORE INFO: Artist Profile