I'm not by any means tied to the past. I've always loved moving forward into the explorative space, the unknown. But I felt strongly this was a document that needed to be available.
—Armen Donelian
Produced when pianist-composer Armen Donelian was not yet 30 years old, Stargazer—his debut recording as a leader—was released in 1981 on an indie Japanese record label and only available elsewhere as a hard-to-find import. Until now, that is. On October 3, Donelian’s longtime label Sunnyside Records will reissue Stargazer, a stunning and remarkably assured trio date with bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Billy Hart, for the first time in nearly 45 years.
The reissue comes just in time for Donelian’s 75th birthday in December. “I never really look back that much on my career, or even think about the idea of a ‘career,’” he says. “I’m not by any means tied to the past. I’ve always loved moving forward into the explorative space, the unknown.” Nevertheless, with his first album rarely heard by human ears in more than a generation, he “felt strongly this was a document that needed to be available.”
Indeed it did. Donelian’s high-caliber chops as a pianist, improviser, and composer were readily apparent on that day in April 1980, when he gathered into a New York City studio with Gomez and Hart (both already celebrated for their work with Bill Evans and Herbie Hancock, respectively). Pieces like the swooning “Southern Belle” and the ruminative waltz “Silent Afternoon” are stellar examples of all of these gifts. More than that, though, they show the stark originality that the 29-year-old had already cultivated as a protégé of pianist Richie Beirach, and saxophonist Sonny Rollins.
Every bit as impressive, though, is the rapport he instantly establishes with his trio mates. Donelian’s interaction with Gomez and Hart on the opening title track and the giddy delirium of “Love’s Endless Spin” is positively electric. And, on the spontaneous tandem invention “Free at Last,”the lines of communication between the three musicians are so powerful that even knowing it’s a recording, one feels the urge to not get too close.
Joining a long tradition of songs inspired by the start of the work week, “Monday” opens with Hart’s sharp, minute-and-a-half knock-you-outta-bed drum solo, which paves the way for the locomotive counterpoint between the bass line and Donelian’s melody. The rhythmic feel is bebop, but the chord changes are his own, “and the bass line is as much part of the melody as the top line,” he says. “I play it often, and use it in my university ensemble classes to teach about interplay and rhythmic precision.”
The obscurity of Stargazer inherently makes the reissued album a revelation to most fans. Even hardcore jazzheads, though, will find a new discovery in the bonus track “Queen of Light,” recorded for the album in 1980 but left off the Atlas Records release the following year. Built on a sultry medium-slow Hart groove, the tune finds Donelian and Gomez in turn piling up earthy, bluesy runs, then artfully twisting them in cerebral and suspenseful directions. Stargazer is technically a reissue, but it sounds every bit as fresh as a new release.
Armen Donelian was born December 1, 1950 to a family of Armenian immigrants in Queens, New York City. He began studying piano at the age of seven, enrolling at the Westchester Conservatory of Music. At 12, he discovered jazz by way of a trad band led by noted studio guitarist Arthur Ryerson; Armen’s older brother played clarinet in the band, and he himself eventually became its pianist.
He studied music theory and composition at Columbia University—then entered a different sort of finishing school via the tutelage of Richie Beirach. The celebrated pianist was the first in a long line of musical mentors: Donelian soon found himself sharing bandstands with Mongo Santamaria, Claudio Roditi, Sonny Rollins, Chet Baker, and Billy Harper. Throughout it all (though especially while in Harper’s band), he worked to develop his own sound, beginning a solo career in earnest with his 1981 debut Stargazer.
More than a dozen albums followed over the next 40-odd years, including the acclaimed releases Secrets (his 1988 second album for Sunnyside), All or Nothing at All (2006), Sayat-Nova: Songs of My Ancestors (2014), and Fresh Start (2022).
In addition to his recording and performing career, Donelian is an accomplished educator. He has received six prestigious Fulbright Scholar and Specialist Awards for residencies in six European countries. He is a co-founder of the Hudson Jazz Workshop; an adjunct professor at the New School and William Paterson University; and the author of the books Training the Ear, vols. 1 & 2 and Whole Notes: A Piano Masterclass.
The reissue comes just in time for Donelian’s 75th birthday in December. “I never really look back that much on my career, or even think about the idea of a ‘career,’” he says. “I’m not by any means tied to the past. I’ve always loved moving forward into the explorative space, the unknown.” Nevertheless, with his first album rarely heard by human ears in more than a generation, he “felt strongly this was a document that needed to be available.”
Indeed it did. Donelian’s high-caliber chops as a pianist, improviser, and composer were readily apparent on that day in April 1980, when he gathered into a New York City studio with Gomez and Hart (both already celebrated for their work with Bill Evans and Herbie Hancock, respectively). Pieces like the swooning “Southern Belle” and the ruminative waltz “Silent Afternoon” are stellar examples of all of these gifts. More than that, though, they show the stark originality that the 29-year-old had already cultivated as a protégé of pianist Richie Beirach, and saxophonist Sonny Rollins.
Every bit as impressive, though, is the rapport he instantly establishes with his trio mates. Donelian’s interaction with Gomez and Hart on the opening title track and the giddy delirium of “Love’s Endless Spin” is positively electric. And, on the spontaneous tandem invention “Free at Last,”the lines of communication between the three musicians are so powerful that even knowing it’s a recording, one feels the urge to not get too close.
Joining a long tradition of songs inspired by the start of the work week, “Monday” opens with Hart’s sharp, minute-and-a-half knock-you-outta-bed drum solo, which paves the way for the locomotive counterpoint between the bass line and Donelian’s melody. The rhythmic feel is bebop, but the chord changes are his own, “and the bass line is as much part of the melody as the top line,” he says. “I play it often, and use it in my university ensemble classes to teach about interplay and rhythmic precision.”
The obscurity of Stargazer inherently makes the reissued album a revelation to most fans. Even hardcore jazzheads, though, will find a new discovery in the bonus track “Queen of Light,” recorded for the album in 1980 but left off the Atlas Records release the following year. Built on a sultry medium-slow Hart groove, the tune finds Donelian and Gomez in turn piling up earthy, bluesy runs, then artfully twisting them in cerebral and suspenseful directions. Stargazer is technically a reissue, but it sounds every bit as fresh as a new release.
Armen Donelian was born December 1, 1950 to a family of Armenian immigrants in Queens, New York City. He began studying piano at the age of seven, enrolling at the Westchester Conservatory of Music. At 12, he discovered jazz by way of a trad band led by noted studio guitarist Arthur Ryerson; Armen’s older brother played clarinet in the band, and he himself eventually became its pianist.
He studied music theory and composition at Columbia University—then entered a different sort of finishing school via the tutelage of Richie Beirach. The celebrated pianist was the first in a long line of musical mentors: Donelian soon found himself sharing bandstands with Mongo Santamaria, Claudio Roditi, Sonny Rollins, Chet Baker, and Billy Harper. Throughout it all (though especially while in Harper’s band), he worked to develop his own sound, beginning a solo career in earnest with his 1981 debut Stargazer.
More than a dozen albums followed over the next 40-odd years, including the acclaimed releases Secrets (his 1988 second album for Sunnyside), All or Nothing at All (2006), Sayat-Nova: Songs of My Ancestors (2014), and Fresh Start (2022).
In addition to his recording and performing career, Donelian is an accomplished educator. He has received six prestigious Fulbright Scholar and Specialist Awards for residencies in six European countries. He is a co-founder of the Hudson Jazz Workshop; an adjunct professor at the New School and William Paterson University; and the author of the books Training the Ear, vols. 1 & 2 and Whole Notes: A Piano Masterclass.
For more information contact Terri Hinte Publicity.
