intriguing. that would be the least you can say about tigran hamasyan. the 24 year old pianist from armenia manages to meet just the right balance between complexity and music tension.
this video was produced by mathieu mastin for kidam and their jazzed out series in paris. you might know it actually, the new york edition that is - it featured a lot of great musicians like eric harland, jose james, steve coleman, lionel louke, gretchen parlato and many more. great stuff!
but let’s get back to tigran, shall we. over the past weeks i really fell into his music. its always exciting and kind of refreshing i recon. while moving through obscure, highly energetic rhythmical and harmonical compositions hamasyan always conveys a very precise and distinct musical picture, that might have come from an improvisational journey but has arrived at a clarified and well composed level. he has released and recorded several albums since 2006 to this point already, which makes him a rather prolific musician. and a versatile one: in 2009 he got together his own ensemble, called aratta rebirth (featuring the great nate wood on drums amongst others). their release red hail is not only super energetic but also a quite powerful statement, linking his carefeully arranged jazz works with the spirit of frank zappa, led zeppelin, the beatles - and some pretty massiv sound sculptures. however red hail might seem quite distict from his early albums like world passion in 2006, you will always find his very personal characteristic note that has this refreshing and deeply embedded understanding and consciousness of armenian folklore. however, when i talk about this pop-character earlier, that does not mean his music is becoming more and more simple or even lowbrow. he just manages to convey his pretty demanding musical message i a very catchy, convenient and melodic way.
this gets obvious especially on his 2010 solo release a fable: in 14 well composed pieces that all hold an almost mystic atmosphere, floating between dissonant, strange and sometime unsettling elements and warm harmonic patterns, lucid melodies and folkloresc song elements. this makes it easier to listen to on the one hand - but also may be a reason that at least some of his songs are certainly clearer and quicker to fully understand than others. i’m not sure yet, what to think about that… throughout the album you will hear him singing, fizzing and whistling, making his music natural, tangible even. this impression fits quite well to his latest release from 2011, EP N°1, a full instrumental album, bringing in the like of jeff ballard and nate wood as well as traditional instruments and sounds, that are carefully integrated and definitely enrich the whole record. eventhough some of his works might seem just a bit too poppy - for my taste at least - hamasyan is definitely worth a close and careful listen. for now though, you can check him out right here! :)
