RAIN SULTANOV SYNDICATE "Mr. JOE Live Album
feat. Linley Marthe, Elchin Shirinov & Paco Sery 

Rain Sultanov is a leading jazz saxophonist and composer who has made significantcontributions to the development of jazz culture in his native Azerbaijan. Rain met JoeZawinul in the 2000s, and a lifelong friendship developed between them. Zawinulpraised Rain Sultanov’s music and became both an inspiration and a mentor for him.After Zawinul’s passing in 2007, Rain Sultanov invited some of Zawinul’s legendarymusicians, who had performed with the Joe Zawinul Syndicate for more than 20 years,to form an orchestra—the Rain Sultanov Syndicate. This ensemble includes the Mauritianmaster bassist Linley Marthe and Ivorian drummer Paco Sery, both multiple GrammyAward winners. The lineup also features Azerbaijani jazz pianist Elchin Shirinov, who waslisted in All About Jazz‘s December 2022 poll of the 200 best living pianists in the world.From 2018 to October 2022, Shirinov was a member of the renowned jazz doublebassist Avishai Cohen’s trio. Together, this incredibly powerful quartet recorded a tributeto one of the greatest musicians in modern music history.

The show begins with Marthe’s whirlwind-like bass playing, supported by Sery’s tightgrooves. Shirinov joins the intro with minimalist elegance, followed by the steadymelodic lines of Sultanov on his tune “Crazy World.” The concert continues with threecompositions by Joe Zawinul from the final Weather Report album: “I Will Never ForgetYou” and “This Is This” from the 1986 album This Is This, as well as “Processing” from LiveIn Cologne 1983. Paco Sery’s “Miles in the Jungle,” from his album The Real Life (2012),also made the setlist, as it was part of the Joe Zawinul Syndicate’s repertoire. Sultanov’smellow composition “Last Moment” created a peaceful, dreamy interlude, and the showconcluded with the classic 1977 tune “Birdland” from Weather Report’s Heavy Weatheralbum. The enthusiastic Azerbaijani audience responded with standing ovations.

LINE UP Rain Sultanov Tenor Saxophone & EWI, Linley Marthe Bass, Elchin ShirinovKeyboards, Paco Sery Drums

TRACKS 01. Crazy World (Rain Sultanov) 11:15, 02. I Will Never Forget You (JoeZawinul) 6:59, 03. This Is This (Joe Zawinul) 9:24, 04. Processing (Joe Zawinul) 11:19,05. Miles In The Jungle (Paco Sery) 10:55, 06. Last Moment (Rain Sultanov) 5:44,07. Birdland (Joe Zawinul) 6:40. Total play time 41:39

Recorded by Nazim Karimov at Baku Jazz Festival in 2018. Post-Mixed in 2024 byNazim Karimov. Mastered by Tom Leader. Post-Produced by Carolina Vallejo.
©℗One World Records 2025