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TIGRAN HAMASYAN: JAZZ PIANIST TAPS ARMENIAN FOLK, METAL RIFFS AND SENSE OF HISTORY - NPR
14:15 * 09.03.15
Musicians arrive at their signature sounds through all sorts of
influences. For jazz pianist Tigran Hamaysan, that collection of sounds
comes from far afield -- he's a fan of progressive metal bands like
Tool and Meshuggah -- as well as from his backyard.
Hamasyan was born in Armenia, moved to Los Angeles and New York,
then returned to his homeland as an adult to get more in touch with
his roots. His new albumMockroot is inspired partly by the work of
Bedros Tourian, a 19th-century Armenian poet who died at 21. Hamaysan
says he didn't need to use Tourian's words -- indeed, the songs based
on the poet's work are sung in invented syllables from no certain
language -- to capture his essence.
"Everybody considered him super-melancholy, super-dark, but I don't
agree with that. He has poems that are on the darker side, but all of
his poems have light in them; you end up being enlightened and full
of life after reading him," Hamaysan says. "I like finding inspiration
through poems, but not necessarily using them as lyrics to songs.
Sometimes the music that I write doesn't need to have lyrics, it just
needs vowels."
Tigran Hamaysan spoke with NPR's Arun Rath about exploring the diverse
dark history of his small country, and why he thinks traditional
approaches to piano ignore much of what the instrument is capable of.
Hear their conversation at the audio link.
http://www.tert.am/en/news/2015/03/09/tig/1611980
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYp97_NHoxA
14:15 * 09.03.15
Musicians arrive at their signature sounds through all sorts of
influences. For jazz pianist Tigran Hamaysan, that collection of sounds
comes from far afield -- he's a fan of progressive metal bands like
Tool and Meshuggah -- as well as from his backyard.
Hamasyan was born in Armenia, moved to Los Angeles and New York,
then returned to his homeland as an adult to get more in touch with
his roots. His new albumMockroot is inspired partly by the work of
Bedros Tourian, a 19th-century Armenian poet who died at 21. Hamaysan
says he didn't need to use Tourian's words -- indeed, the songs based
on the poet's work are sung in invented syllables from no certain
language -- to capture his essence.
"Everybody considered him super-melancholy, super-dark, but I don't
agree with that. He has poems that are on the darker side, but all of
his poems have light in them; you end up being enlightened and full
of life after reading him," Hamaysan says. "I like finding inspiration
through poems, but not necessarily using them as lyrics to songs.
Sometimes the music that I write doesn't need to have lyrics, it just
needs vowels."
Tigran Hamaysan spoke with NPR's Arun Rath about exploring the diverse
dark history of his small country, and why he thinks traditional
approaches to piano ignore much of what the instrument is capable of.
Hear their conversation at the audio link.
http://www.tert.am/en/news/2015/03/09/tig/1611980
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYp97_NHoxA