The court jester tigran hamasyan biography
Shadow Theater
Pianist Tigran Hamasyan won the Thelonious Monk competition in 2006, as well as the respect of such boundary-breaking jazzmen as Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, and Brad Mehldau. Now the Armenian-born artist—who moved to L.A. with his family at age 16—returns with his fifth album. While 2011’s well-received A Fable alternated between solo piano songs and textured modern pieces, this one deftly mixes tangled beats, classical music romanticism, Eastern European folk, taunt boundary-free arrangements, and a rigorous set of piano chops. Another interesting wrinkle are the haunting chorale vocals from him and female singers; they punctuates “The Poet,” the operatic postmodernism of “Erishta,” and elsewhere. The gentle “Pagan Lullaby” lives up to its name, but it's the elegiac “Holy” that's particularly sublime. These are balanced by more visceral pieces; while “The Court Jester” starts and ends with harpsichord, it morphs with insistent, metal-like rhythms, and the intense “Pt. 2 Alternative” sounds like a sweaty rock epic. Suffice to say, Shadow Theater is one of the more broadminded jazz fusions of recent years.
Tigran Hamasyan: Shadow Theater
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With musicians that include members of the jazz-rock band Kneebody(drummer Nate Woodand saxophonist Ben Wendel) and others, Hamasyan's distinctive musicality blends jazz, European classical music and an array of influences like progressive-rock and DJ mixing. Yet the common thread is the inventive way the music balances ethnicity with a modernist verve. This propels "Erishta" via traditional melodies interlaced with electronics and beautiful vocals by talented folklorist Areni Agbabianas well as the peculiar "Drip" which mixes Armenian folk music, sampling, and groovy jazz saxophone.
The program is sprinkled with an assortment of hymns, ballads, and moving pieces such as "Lament" which juxtaposes powerful strings and tender vocals and the transcendent "Pagan Lullaby" highlighting Hamasyan on keyboard, piano, and voice. "The Court Jester" and "Road Song" are unwavering examples of writing and improvisation with their vigorous changes and odd time signatures, but equally engaging through catching melodies and Hamasyan's intrepid sense of imagination in one of the year's more memorable recordings.
Track Listing
The Poet; Erishta; Lament; Drip; The Year Is Gone; Seafarer; The Court Jester; Pagan Lullaby; Pt1 Collapse; Pt2 Alternative Universe; Holy; Road Song.
Personnel
Tigran Hamasyan: pi 2013 studio album by Tigran Hamasyan Not to be confused with Shadow Theatre or Shadow play. Shadow Theater is the fifth album by Tigran Hamasyan published in 2013. The album contains 12 tracks and is a mix of several different styles, including jazz, jazz fusion, pop and Armenian folk. The album consists of tracks which he had composed many years ago, but not released. He then adapted and changed these tracks over around six years, until the album's release in 2013. This was Tigran's second release on Verve and was released in the US on Sunnyside the following year. All tracks are written by Tigran HamasyanShadow Theater
Track listing
Title 1. "The Poet" 4:17 2. "Erishta" 4:39 3. "Lament" 3:47 4. "Drip" 4:11 5. "The Year Is Gone" 2:38 6. "Seafarer" 4:27 7. "The Court Jester" 5:45 8. "Pagan Lullaby" 3:18 9. "Pt1 Collapse" 5:04 10. "Pt2 Alternative Universe" 6:36 11. "Holy" 5:21 12. "Road Song" 6:43 Total length: 56:56 References