Jazz Articles about Tigran Hamasyan

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Tigran Hamasyan: A Fable

by Charles Walker
April 10, 2011

The young, Armenian-born pianist Tigran Hamasyan possesses an almost intimidating virtuosity, a style that owes as much to Art Tatum's two-handed volubility and the sweeping refinement of Impressionist composers as it does to the spiraling, East-meets-West melodies of his homeland. Winner of the 2006 Thelonious Monk Institute's piano competition, New Era (2008, Nocturne) found Hamasyan settling into a familiar, if impressive trio aesthetic, mining the angular vernacular of modern jazz piano on now-standard vehicles like “Well, You Needn't" or “Solar," ...

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Tigran Hamasyan Trio: New Era

by Ken Dryden
September 16, 2008

Tigran Hamasyan has been fascinated with music since the age of two. Born in Gyumri (Armenia) in 1987, he caught the jazz bug at age seven and was soon playing piano and experimenting with improvisation. Studying music formally and practicing constantly, Hamasyan also immersed himself in his native land's rich folk music, which he incorporated into his jazz performances. He won prizes in a number of music contests, though his crowning achievement was his first-place award in the 2006 Thelonious ...

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Tigran Hamasyan: New Era

by Glenn Astarita
March 14, 2008

Armenian-born pianist Tegran Hamasyan is a striking talent, corresponding to his 2006 win of the Thelonious Monk piano competition. And with the Moutin brothers providing the largely peppy rhythms, the leader of this date transcends what many would surmise from a twenty year-old. Blessed with monstrous chops and a unique musical vision, the pianist seamlessly fuses Euro-folk melodies into a pulsating string of compositions, often tagged with brisk time changes and budding themes.

Hamasyan dances across the eighty-eights ...

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Tigran Hamasyan: New Era

by Jay Deshpande
March 10, 2008

Tigran Hamasyan New Era Nocturne 2006 At twenty-one, pianist Tigran Hamasyan has already done much to launch his name into the world of emergent young lions. He has toured throughout Europe, moving beyond his native Armenia to take prizes in jazz competitions from Moscow to Monaco. And, after winning the prestigious Thelonious Monk Jazz Piano Competition in 2006, he studied in the United States before returning to Paris, where he recorded ...