Azerbaijani Music

Azerbaijani music is the musical tradition of the Azeri people, from Azerbaijan and Iranian Azerbaijan. It builds on folk traditions that reach back nearly 1,000 years. For centuries, Azeri music has evolved under the badge of monody, producing rhythmically diverse melodies. Music from Azerbaijan has a branch mode system, where chromatisation of major and minor scales is of great importance.
== Links To Peel ==
On his 11 December 1968 show, Peel played an unidentified Azerbaijani folk track from the BBC Archives, which later was included on the John Peel's Archive Things album, which was released in 1970. On his 27 June 1970 show, he claimed the track was his all time favourite on the Archive Things LP, and said that the singer had one of the best voices that he had ever heard. It was one of the tracks from the album that he went back to in later decades.
However, it was also one of only two tracks from Azerbaijan Peel ever played. Until 1991 the Central Asian country was part of the Soviet Union, so its musicians were unable to travel to the West and recordings were scarce (it was no accident that the singer on the track Peel liked so much was uncredited). After the country gained indpendence, the situation improved and Azerbaijan even participated in the Eurovision Song Contest. But there is no evidence of Peel, or his world music-loving colleague Andy Kershaw, having played any more records from Azerbaijan. It was not until several years after Peel's death that an Azerbaijani singer (Gochag Askarov) appeared on BBC Radio 3's World Routes programme and at the WOMAD festival.
== Shows Played ==
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;1968
* 11 December 1968: Air (BBC Archives)
;1969
*12 March 1969: unknown Azerbaijani Music on panturi - Peel reads out his intro, which describes the instrument as a long-necked flute, but it sounds like a lute. Panduri may be the correct spelling
;1970
* 27 June 1970: Air (LP - John Peel's Archive Things) BBC Records 
;1988
* 10 May 1988: Air (v/a LP - John Peel's Archive Things) BBC Radio Enterprises
== External Links ==
* Wikipedia
Category:Genres