Ilyas Malayev (January 12, 1936 – May 2, 2008) was a musician and poet. Malayev was born in the city of

Merv Merv (, ', ; ), also known as the Merve Oasis, was a major Iranian peoples, Iranian city in Central Asia, on the historical Silk Road, near today's Mary, Turkmenistan. Human settlements on the site of Merv existed from the 3rd millennium& ...

(today in Mary,

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...

) to a Bukharian Jewish family and raised in the town of Katta-Kurgan. He learned to play the tar and the tanbur (both

lute A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck (music), neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lu ...

-like instruments), as well as the

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

, and immersed himself in the shashmaqam genre. In 1951, he moved to

Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...

, where he performed with various state-sponsored ensembles, and became popular as a variety entertainer, performing comedy routines, his own songs and poetry and Shashmaqom excerpts. Tens of thousands of fans attended his stadium performances. He was later named "Honored Artist of the Uzbek SSR".Grimes, William
Ilyas Malayev, 72, Uzbek Musician and Poet, Dies
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', May 7, 2008. In 1994, following the breakup of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, Malayev emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

where he settled in

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

along with thousands of other Bukharian Jews. Although it was a considerable step down from his fame and popularity in Uzbekistan, Malayev emigrated as he was unable to have his poetry published in his homeland, a restriction he suspected was due to either

anti-Semitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

or the state of the cultural bureaucracy. He was granted U.S. citizenship on November 15, 2001.Brawarsky, Sandee
Central Asian Jews Create 'Queensistan'
''The New York Times'', November 16, 2001. Malayev died on May 2, 2008, aged 72, after suffering from

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...

. On May 29, 2011, in Queens, NY, USA, an honorary concert celebrating Ilyas' 75th year in his memory was held where various Bukharian Jewish and Uzbek performers gave tribute to the virtuoso.

References

External links

Ilyas Malayev - Official Web Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Malayev, Ilyas 1936 births 2008 deaths American people of Uzbekistani-Jewish descent Jewish American musicians People from Mary, Turkmenistan Turkmenistan Jews Bukharan Jews Uzbekistani musicians 20th-century Uzbekistani poets Uzbekistani Jews Soviet Jews Deaths from pancreatic cancer Deaths from cancer in New York (state) Uzbekistani emigrants to the United States 20th-century poets Uzbekistani male poets 20th-century male writers 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews