biography
Javad Javadzade (born 1992 in Baku, Azerbaijan) is a multidisciplinary artist who works as a contrabassist, bass guitarist, improviser and photographer. He began his musical training on the Azerbaijani classical instrument, the tar, before moving on to the contrabass and bass guitar.
He studied at the Uzeyir Hajibeyli Baku Music Academy and later completed his Masters and Konzertexamen (Exzellenzstudiengang) at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen, Germany with Professor Niek de Groot. For his Konzertexamen he premiered the Chamber Concerto for Contrabass and Strings by Elena Firsova with the Bochumer Symphoniker and gave a recital with new works by Michael Edwards, Tamon Yashima, Günter Steinke and Sebastian Gramss.
Javad has been selected twice for the WDR 3 Campus Konzert series: in 2020 with a solo programme of contemporary works for contrabass, and in 2021 with his trio the catinblack ensemble (viola, cello and double bass), including the world premiere of Metamorphosen by Olga Rayeva.
In 2016 he won first prize at the 18th EUTERPE International Music Competition in Corato, Italy. Composers such as Rahilia Hasanova, Jalal Abbasov, Elena Firsova, Dmitri N. Smirnov and Hana Ajiashvili have dedicated works to him. His debut solo album Shadow Play was released in 2022, featuring music by Azerbaijani composers for solo contrabass. Javad has held positions with the Azerbaijan State Symphony Orchestra and the Georgian Philharmonic Orchestra, where he was principal bass. He has been a solo contrabassist of the Folkwang Kammerorchester Essen since 2024.
Javad plays a contrabass tuned in fifths, built by the French luthier Richard Gonon in 2017, and uses a bow by F. Günter Hoyer.
Besides music, Javad also works in photography, specialising in black and white reportage.