Military Band Service of the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan

The Military Band Service of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Azerbaijan (Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan Respublikası Silahlı Qüvvələrinin Mərkəzi Orkestri) is the official military band service of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces.

History
On the basis of the bands of the Baku Garrison, Transcaucasian Military District of the Soviet Armed Forces, the military band service was founded on July 1, 1992 by order of the Minister of Defense of Azerbaijan. The band service's first official performance was on October 9, 1992 during the Day of the Armed Forces parade on Azadliq Square. The first senior director of the band service was Lieutenant Colonel S. Resetov, and since July 1996, the central band's director has been Lieutenant Colonel A. Karimov.

Composition


The MBS of the Armed Forces is composed of the following bands:


 * Central Band of the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan
 * Band of the Azerbaijani Land Forces
 * Band of the Azerbaijani Navy
 * Band of the Azerbaijani Air Force
 * Band of the State Border Service of Azerbaijan
 * Band of the Internal Troops
 * Headquarters bands of Military Garrisons
 * Band of the Azerbaijan Superior Military Academy "Heydar Aliyev" - led by Fariz Memmedzade
 * Band of the Azerbaijani Higher Naval Academyl
 * Band of the Jamshid Nakhchivanski Military Lyceum
 * Band of the Academy of the Ministry of National Security of Azerbaijan

Performances and characteristics
The combined band of the service have taken part in the parades in honor of the 90th, 93rd, 95th, and 100th anniversary of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces as well as organized performances in various parts of Baku on the Day of the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan. In June 2017, the Band of the Defense Ministry performed with the Salamanca Band of the Rifles at the Azerbaijan State Philharmonic Hall. In September 2018, it performed for presidents Ilham Aliyev and Recep Tayyip Erdogan in honor of the 100th anniversary of the Liberation of Baku.



The band retains features from Russian and Turkish military bands in their repertoire and their marching style.