Amina Figarova's " JOY" is a post pandemic release and is a celebration of life, hope and new beginnings, featuring 10 original compositions written by Amina for her sextet of 24 years. Recorded in New York and New Orleans Amina Figarova -piano, Alex Pope Norris - trumpet, Bart Platteau - flutes, Wayne Escoffery - tenor and soprano sax, Yasushi Nakamura - bass, Rudy Royston/ Brian Richburg JR - drums. Guest performances: Sasha Masakowski - vocals on "October Phantasy" Hasan Bakr - percussions on "Joy". "... In our current jazz era, many musicians feel obligated to write their own material, even those who lack talent for it, Amina Figarova is a different story. People wait for her records to hear the latest inspirations of a magical composer/arranger..." Thomas Conrad for Jazz times "...Amina Figarova boasts a graceful and erudite piano style, but her second instrument is her band....A first rate jazz pianist, Amina Figarova is staking out her ground as a top level composer-arranger..." Dan McClenaghan for All About Jazz