Tigran Hamasyan - Aratta Rebirth (2009)

----- Tigran Hamasyan - piano, keyboards, Fender Rhodes, synthesizer, voices; Ben Wendel - sax (soprano, tenor), bassoon, melodica; Sam Minale - bass (acoustic), guitar (electric); Charles Altura - guitar; Nate Wood - drums; Areni Agababian - vocals. ---------- Emerging keyboardist Tigran Hamasyan is truly a virtuoso performer who minces no musical words, and never holds back on his immense talent. Aratta Rebirth is his second release as a leader, in this case with the group dubbed Red Hail, embracing his Middle Eastern heritage, playing modern jazz based on folk tunes that stretch far beyond their origins. With vocalist Areni Agababian, Hamasyan somehow conjures up whirling dervish motifs that stagger the imagination while also retaining a soulful quality that suggests seductive late-night scenarios in smoke-filled rooms laced with immediate sexual pleasure references. But it's only marginally about the act of intertwining, and more about the catalyst and spark that start fires burning, for Hamasyan's acoustic and electric piano playing is a long fuse that eventually incites the explosive music. Saxophonist Ben Wendel and drummer Nate Wood are kindling for the roaring flames, with bassist Sam Minale chopping up underlying lines that keep the excited heat stoked and nourished. There's some stunning music here, starting with the bold inventions of the opening track, "Shogher Jan," an adapted Armenian folk song turned into a fiery discourse between Hamasyan's impressively fast and spontaneous spiky, complex piano lines and the sidled voice of Agababian stewed in many mixed meters. The most innately busy piece is "The Glass-Hearted Queen," soulful and busy within a kinetic form with Agababian wordless vocals, all wrapped in a 9/8 rhythm. This recording, with its world and ethnic fusion approach, sets him apart from the rest, establishes new standards, raising the bar very high for new music, while Hamasyan plays in a league of his own. ----- Enjoy!!! ----- Здесь вы можете слушать онлайн Tigran Hamasyan, Tigran Hamasyan trio, mp3 бесплатно и без регистрации.