Eldar Djangirov Trio Returns Blue Note with Special Guest Pat Martino, Now thru 5/23

25 year-old pianist Eldar Djangirov will return to the Blue Note for the first time in three years with legendary guitarist Pat Martino. Eldar and Martino have been playing together frequently over the past year, both in quartet and duo settings. The pair initially teamed up in late 2009 for a tribute gig to guitar icon Les Paul at the Iridium in New York and later joined for the Lincoln Center "Generations in Jazz Festival" in 2010. Over the past months, they've been playing a mix of each other's originals and standards like "'Round Midnight" and "In Walked Bud." "Playing with Pat, you always have to be on your toes," Eldar told the San Diego Anthology. "This has been a great and very satisfying experience for me, and I think we'll keep playing together a few times each year."

Peformances will be held May 20, 22 & 23, 2012, with sets at 8:00PM & 10:30PM. Tables cost $25, and the bar is $15. Doors open at 6PM.

The Blue Note is located 131 W 3rd. St, New York, NY 10012.

When Eldar Djangirov (pronounced john-'gear-ov) was signed to Sony Classical at the age of 17, the young pianist from Kansas City was already well known for his prodigious pyrotechnics and precocious knowledge of the bebop tradition. Along the way, he has worked with the masters including Dr. Billy Taylor, Marian McPartland, Dave Brubeck, Michael Brecker, Wynton Marsalis, Joshua Redman, Nicholas Payton, Harvey Mason, Ron Carter, Pat Martino and many others.

Born on January 28, 1987, Eldar came to the U.S. from the former Soviet Union when he was ten. He released two albums independently, then signed with Sony and recorded his major label self-titled debut featuring the great bassist, John Patitucci, and Michael Brecker on tenor sax. He followed up with the critically acclaimed "Live at the Blue Note" with guest appearances by Roy Hargrove and Chris Botti in 2006. Eldar was nominated for a Grammy in 2008 for his album "Re-imagination."

Eldar has appeared at numerous major jazz festivals including Tokyo Jazz Festival, Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival, Java Jazz Festival, and many more. Eldar has been seen on national TV including the 2000 and 2008 Grammy Awards, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, CBS Saturday Early Show, and Jimmy Kimmel Live. In addition, he has also played with world renowned symphony orchestras such as NHK Symphony Orchestra, Russian National Orchestra, and San Diego Symphony Orchestra. He has 4 critically acclaimed trio albums including the most recent "Virtue" featuring his trio Armando Gola (bass) and Ludwig Afonso (drums) as well as guest appearances by Joshua Redman and Nicholas Payton. "With the release of Virtue, Eldar may have sealed his role in future jazz history" (Bill Meredith, Jazziz). Eldar's current album and first solo piano album entitled "Three Stories" has already garnered rave reviews.

Born Pat Azzara in Philadelphia in 1944, Pat was first exposed to jazz through his father, Carmen "Mickey" Azzara, who sang in local clubs and briefly studied guitar with Eddie Lang. He took Pat to all the city's hot-spots to hear and meet Wes Montgomery and other musical giants. He began playing guitar when he was twelve years old. and left school in tenth grade to devote himself to music. During Visits to his music teacher Dennis Sandole, Pat often ran into another gifted student, John Coltrane, who would treat the youngster to hot chocolate as they talked about music.

Martino became actively involved with the early rock scene in Philadelphia, alongside stars like Bobby Rydell, Frankie Avalon and Bobby Darin. His first road gig was with jazz organist Charles Earland, a high school friend. Martino moved to Harlem to immerse himself in the "soul jazz" played by Willis “Gatortail” Jackson and others. An icon before his eighteenth birthday, Pat was signed as a leader for Prestige Records when he was twenty. His seminal albums from this period include classics like Strings!, Desperado, El Hombre and Baiyina (The Clear Evidence), one of jazz's first successful ventures into psychedelia. Though various illnesses kept Martino out of the spotlight for longs periods of time, Martino has alwas been considered one of the most important figures in music.

Today, Martino lives in Philadelphia again and continues to grow as a musician. "The guitar is of no great importance to me," he muses. "The people it brings to me are what matter. They are what I'm extremely grateful for, because they are alive. The guitar is just an apparatus."