Bulbul

Bulbul (born Murtuza Rza oglu Mammadov) was born near Shusha in 1897. As a child his beautiful voice earned him the nickname Bulbul — "nightingale" — and he became known early as a mugham singer.

In the 1920s he studied singing in Milan, Italy, and became one of the first to combine mugham with the European operatic school. In 1937 he created the title role in Koroghlu.

Bulbul collected Azerbaijani folk songs, taught at the conservatory and founded a research unit for folk music. He died in Baku in 1961. His son Polad Bulbuloglu is also a well-known singer and composer.