Tigran Hamasyan

From the very beginning, Armenian pianist Tigran Hamasyan seemed obsessed with the idea of making the spectrum of his music as broad as possible. He was only 19 years old when he won the piano competition at the prestigious Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz in 2006. The jury was presided over by none other than Herbie Hancock, himself known for his versatility and experimental spirit. And in that competition, Tigran relegated Gerald Clayton and Aaron Parks, two colleagues who are now also among the elite of contemporary jazz pianists, to second and third place. In the same year, Tigran released his first solo album "World Passion," on which he presented his musical visions in collaboration with saxophonist Ben Wendel, bassist François Moutin, drummer Ari Hoenig, and duduk and zurna player Rouben Hairapetyan. These visions were shaped by modern jazz as much as by the traditional folk music of his homeland, Armenia. In 2009, Tigran also formed the band Aratta Rebirth with Wendel, bassist Sam Minaie, and drummer Nate Wood, with whom he showed even more experimental flair on the album "Red Hail." And it is to this lineup that he now returns on his new album "Shadow Theater," after his solo excursion with "The Fable" (2011). On "Shadow Theater," Tigran invites the listener to follow him into an imaginary, dreamlike world, influenced as much by the fantastic works of Tim Burton as by the actual shadow theater after which the pianist titled his album. The art of shadow theater seems quite simple at first glance: behind an illuminated surface, the characters, visible only as silhouettes, are brought to life. "It's a small, false world," Tigran says, "but a world that tells something true through this pretense." The music of this new album also seems, superficially, quite simple. But in fact, it is populated by dozens of inspiring figures that haunt the pianist's mind: figures like hip-hop DJ and rapper Madlib, ambient rockers Sigur Rós, or minimalist composer Steve Reich. Here, Tigran passionately fuses atmospheric punk-jazz improvisations with the rich folklore of his homeland Armenia and electronic music. The album is also immensely enriched by the captivating voice of singer Areni Agbabian.