The young piano virtuoso from Azerbaijan, the exceptional winner of the Montreux Jazz Solo Piano Competition 2009, is not only a big favourite with jazz fans. At just 19 years of age, Isfar Rzayev-Sarabski has already played with jazz legends, such as Rain Sultanov, and is one of Azerbaijan's most promising music exports. Sarabski's performances are characterised by a combination of his technical prowess, vitality and emotional vibrancy. His music is remarkably free of formal constraints and demonstrates a harmonious freedom beyond the ordinary. Rzayev-Sarabski is inspired by the great masters without forgetting his own musical signature, and ingeniously tailors his compositions to balance between classic and free jazz. A feat he accomplishes with quite remarkable ease.