Baku International Jazz Festival

The Baku International Jazz Festival is an annual jazz event organized by saxophonist and Baku resident Rain Sultanov. The festival aims to showcase Azerbaijan's long-running attachment to jazz, a connection established in the country during the 1950s and 1960s when jazz was outlawed by Soviet authorities. The festival has welcomed musicians from Georgia, Portugal, Italy, Israel, United States, Germany, Canada, and Russia.

Music of Azerbaijan
General topics
Azerbaijani dances Azerbaijani musical instruments Sari Gelin Tar Azerbaijani ballet
Genres
Classical Folk Hip hop Jazz Opera Pop Rock
Specific forms
Traditional music	Ashiq music Meykhana Mugham
Subgenres	Jazz mugham
Media and performance
Music festivals	Gabala International Music Festival Baku Jazz Festival International Mugham Festival Hajibeyov Music Festival
Music media	Medeniyyet TV
Nationalistic and patriotic songs
National anthem	March of Azerbaijan

Acts appearing at the inaugural event in April 2005 included the Joe Zawinul Syndicate, Christoph Busse Trio from Germany, and Yakov Okun Quartet from Russia. The fourteen day event included a tribute Azerbaijani jazz musicians Rafig Babayev and his Gaya quartet and pianist Vagif Mustafa Zadeh. At the end of the first festival it was announced that the festival would become an annual event. In 2006 the festival took place from 19 to 27 June and was headlined by Herbie Hancock and Al Jarreau.