" data-original-title="" title="">Amina Figarova, born in Baku, Azerbaijin, experienced one of the United States' darkest days—the 9/11/2001 terrorist attack—up close, from the vantage point of a friend's apartment in Brooklyn. The experience resulted in the creation of perhaps the most poignant and heartfelt artistic representations of the event, Figarova's sextet recording September Suite (Munich Records, 2005), an "Ode To Mourning" of sorts for America.

Figarova has stayed busy since then, releasing Above The Clouds (Munich Music, 2008), Twelve (In + Out Records, 2012), and Blue Whisper (In + Out Records, 2016), recordings on which she shows a consistent genius for composing and arranging for her ensemble. Additionally, she and her band have toured, constantly.

With Road to The Sun the pianist has expanded her sound on five of the disc's eleven compositions with the addition of strings—a violin, a viola and a cello. Figarova's music always—and especially here with the string players—displays a cerebral feeling, a refinement and sophistication drawn from her early classical studies. But it also veers into soulful, up-from-the-gut moments, especially in her use of saxophonists