Armen Nalbandian
| Armen Nalbandian | |
|---|---|
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| Background information | |
| Born |
April 6, 1978 Manchester, England |
| Genres | Jazz, free jazz, avant-garde jazz, electronic, classical, experimental |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, composer, record producer, conductor |
| Instruments | Piano, Fender Rhodes |
| Years active | 1996–present |
| Labels | Blacksmith Brother, Noise Boutique, Wax Poetics |
| Associated acts | Han Bennink, Nasheet Waits, Eric Revis, Nino Moschella |
| Website | www |
Armen Nalbandian (born April 6, 1978 in Manchester, England) is a jazz pianist, composer, author, and activist from Los Angeles, California, known for his multidisciplinary collaborations in visual and fine art.
In addition to the piano, Nalbandian has been known to perform on the prepared Fender Rhodes mechanical piano, and contributes to produce jazz, improvised and experimental music in California. Nalbandian is the composer of over 1100 works in addition to having led more than 22 different ensembles over the past decade. Nalbandian's compositions have included music for his trio, string quartets, orchestral music, music for theater, Armenian folk music, and "game pieces". His primary ensemble is the Armen Nalbandian Trio. From 2004 to 2008, Nalbandian served as the Music Director/Artist-in-Residence of the Fresno Art Museum, Artistic Director of Jazz @ the F.A.M. and curator of the Rhythms of Art. Nalbandian concluded his artistic residency at the Fresno Art Museum by performing a solo piano program of composer John Zorn's Masada music. Nalbandian is also the Artistic Director of the F.O.R.M. (Festival of Resurrected Music). Nalbandian credits Thelonious Monk as his primary influence. Nalbandian is a protegee of pianist John Hicks and has performed with Billy Higgins and Han Bennink. Nalbandian is the founder of Blacksmith Brother Music. In 2008, Nalbandian was named as a finalist in the 2008 Gilles Peterson Worldwide Talent Search. Armen Nalbandian returned to performance on January 20, 2009, as Music Director for the Day One Event, celebrating the inauguration of Barack Obama and a few weeks later in a tribute to Hip Hop producer J Dilla in a benefit for Jay Dee's mother, Ma Dukes, at which Nalbandian was joined by rapper Fashawn for the performance of Common's "The Light". Nalbandian and Fashawn collaborated again in March 2010 for a tribute to the Notorious B.I.G. In September 2009, Nalbandian appeared in the play 'Semblance: Notes from the Promised Land' written by Devoya Mayo. The final act of the play featured a soliloquy written and performed by Nalbandian.
Released in March 2006, Armen was Nalbandian's debut album as a leader and the first recording featuring the Armen Nalbandian Trio. The recording features Nalbandian on piano, and contains five original compositions by Nalbandian, and five by other composers including the rarely performed Thelonious Monk composition "Oska T", the George Gershwin ballad "He Loves & She Loves", and the traditional spiritual "This Train".
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