Author: Kalantarian Kevo

JAZZ PIANIST TIGRAN HAMASYAN ON HIS NEW ALBUM, SHADOW THEATER, AND HIS ARMENIAN INFLUENCES

WestWord
Oct 29 2013

By Jon Solomon Tue., Oct. 29 2013 at 10:00 AM

Although jazz pianist Tigran Hamasyan, who’s just going by his first
name these days, is only in his mid-twenties, he already has more
than two decades of playing under his belt. Having started on piano
at the age of three, he was already playing festivals by the time
he was thirteen. With a technical proficiency of someone much older,
the virtuosic pianist won the 2006 Thelonious Monk Piano Competition,
in addition to winning several other awards over the past decade. We
spoke to Tigran about his daring forthcoming album, Shadow Theater,
which is slated for release next spring on Verve, and his Armenian
influences.

Westword: From what I understand, Shadow Theater was about four years
in the making?

Tigran Hamasyan: I’ve had those compositions for a while. About six
years ago, all the compositions came together, and obviously, I had to
revisit all of them, but it’s the feeling of what I’m doing right now.

It’s actually the first album where I really spent a lot of time
producing it. There’s a lot of details, a long time mixing, working
on the treatments, like the electronics and the voices. You don’t
really get a luxury like that when you’re doing a jazz album. So it
was pretty fun recording and working on this album.

Why did you spend more time on this record versus your others?

The compositions that I had for this project, it just needed that. The
more I thought about it, it just needed a record that has a pop
approach. I spent a lot of time on producing something that not only
sounds musically deep but also sonically something that has a lot of
time spent on it.

Did you have an overall concept in mind when you first started writing
the songs?

Not really. Not in the very beginning. I just had songs that I really
wanted to record for this specific band. Then, slowly, when everything
came together, the concept of the shadow theater originated. Usually
the inspiration comes directly from musical experiences, but then
I had the idea of putting in sort of a theatrical vibe to it. So
everything is like shadow theater. Every piece is part of a theater —
an imaginary sort of world

I know you have two guys from Kneebody on the record — Ben Wendel
and Nate Wood. What made you want to pick those guys for the album?

Actually I’ve been working with Nate and Ben, especially, since 2004.

Ben is on my first album. I found out later that Ben is in this band
Kneebody. But basically when I moved to L.A. from Armenia in 2003, I
wanted to record my first album, and I was looking for a sax player,
and a lot of people recommended Ben. So that’s how I met Ben, and
then I got introduced to Nate later that year, actually.

So those guys… I mean, I needed a drummer that can play all these
beats that I write. At the same time, I needed a really strong pop-rock
drummer, and Nate has the most incredible sense of improvisation,
and just makes everything feel so natural and fluid, so he was the
perfect drummer.

It definitely seemed like there were some odd time signatures and
lots of changes and that sort of things, as well, right?

Yeah, we’ve been working with Nate a lot on that. We’ve been sort of
working together for the last few years, since that Red Hail album
I did.

Can you talk about some of your Armenian influences?

Yeah, sure. Well, Armenian music has become part of me as a musician.

I discovered it when I was thirteen. Since then, I got into it, and
it’s like a language that I learned, but this language was so familiar
and so dear to me and so natural to me. It became part of… Like I
am what Armenia music is, you know what I mean? It’s just something
that comes out every time I play music. Obviously, I can control
it. Not all of my compositions have that Armenian influence in them,
but this record does. Whenever I write a melody, I can write a melody
that sounds like modern Armenian folk songs, but it’s not a folk
song. It’s just something that I wrote in that musical language.

It seems like even some of your improvisations and soloing that you
throw in some Middle Eastern modes and scales and that sort of thing.

Yeah, it’s Armenian modes. I’ve been working on it for a long time
now. It’s a vocabulary. For me, what a jazz musician is a musician
that is a master of improvisation. To me, that’s what jazz is. Then,
obviously, when you learn jazz, there’s certain vocabulary, like
classical vocabulary that comes with it, but you master improvisation,
like just being an improviser; it doesn’t matter what knowledge you are
using, like what vocabulary you are using to improvise, no matter what,
you become a master of improvisation when you become a jazz musician.

But then, for me, later, I realized that the vocabulary doesn’t need
to be the Western classical vocabulary. It can originate from any
folk music. If you delve deep down into the roots of classical music,
it’s all European folk music. So, for me, I just use my vocabulary —
Armenian vocabulary — to improvise.

Your uncle is the one who originally got you into jazz when you were
a kid, right?

Yes. My uncle was a jazz fan, and my father was, at the same time, a
huge classic rock fan. So I grew up listening to both of those musics.

I first heard about you listening to an interview with Wayne Kramer
of the MC5. He was really raving about how good you were.

Yeah, Wayne is great. We haven’t toured together for a while, but there
was a time when I was living in L.A. when we played a lot together.

You were on that soundtrack that he did for the documentary, The
Narcotic Farm.

Yeah.

I guess you’re living in New York now, right?

Yeah, but part time. This year I’ve been mostly living in Armenia.

Every time I don’t have any tours or anything. I will go back home. I
have an apartment there. I just wanted to see what it was like to
live there after not living there for a while.

You’ve been going by just your first name for while, right?

Yeah. I’m sort of trying to make it easier on people. That’s pretty
much why.

That’s all the questions I had for you unless there’s anything else
you wanted to add.

Well, the only that I would like to add is that basically for this
show at the Oriental Theater we’re going to be playing about 90
percent of the music on Shadow Theater, with a trio, though.

Basically, it’s not really a Shadow Theater release because it’s not
released year. But we’re releasing an EP with one track from the album
called “The Poet” and a few remixes by different electronica artists.

This other song on the album called “Road Song”… Do you know
Prefuse 73?

Yeah, sure.

He did a remix of a song on the record. And also, there are two DJs
from the UK called LV — they did a remix. And also my drummer did a
remix — Arthur Hnatek, who’s going to be touring with me. So we’re
basically doing an EP release tour as a trio, and in March, we’re
planning on doing an album release tour.

Was Shadow Theater originally supposed to come out this fall?

It was supposed to. The full album you’re talking about?

Yeah.

Yeah, it was supposed to, but it was sort of like we weren’t prepared
to do a proper release. So I wanted to have more time to properly
release the album. I didn’t want to rush. So we decided put out an
EP and get a good release and good PR and everything in the spring.

LENGTHY ENDURANCE PARTNERSHIP

Rossiyskaya Gazeta , Russia
Oct 25 2013

by Valeriy Vyzhutovich

The third international At the Foot of Mount Ararat media forum has
been held in Yerevan.

Approximately 40 chief editors and senior journalists from Germany,
France, Spain, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldavia, including
Rossiyskaya Gazeta’s political correspondent, took part. The main
topics of the debate, in which Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisyan was
given the floor, were “Armenia: Partnership for the Future” and “Role
of the News Media in the Modern World”. The group of participants in
the forum was received by President Serzh Sargsyan. He conversed with
the guests about Armenia’s relations with neighbouring states and its
prospects following membership of the Customs Union and also about
whether it is not losing the respect of the world community owing to
its close cooperation with Iran.

In their dialogues with the journalists the president and premier
particularly underscored Russia’s role in the life of Armenia
and expressed hope for the continued consolidation of strategic
partnership.

Why is Armenia so attached to Russia? And is this a long-term
attachment?

Armenia is being kept from a reorientation towards the West by the
allied relations with Russia and geopolitical requirements.

“Where would it go” -this the first thing Russian experts say when
they are asked whether Armenia will turn its back on Russia in
the example of Georgia or Moldavia, say. Truly, the coincidence of
geopolitical interests in a changed world brought Russia and Armenia
to the level of strategic partnership. Armenia in the Transcaucasus
region is the sole country whose relations with Russia leave nothing
to be desired. Moreover, Armenia is the sole country connected to
Russia by relations of a defence alliance. And the sole country which
expresses no desire for the removal of the Russian military bases from
its territory, on the contrary, it is insisting on a reinforcement
of the Russian military force contingent.

What is compelling Armenia today to be a loyal Russian partner needs
no lengthy explanation. It has strained relations with Turkey, which
is unwilling to acknowledge its historical blame for the genocide of
Armenians. It has a chronic conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagornyy
Karabakh. This is why it not only does not object to the Russian
military and border presence but considers it an important factor of
its national security. In turn, Russia also, whose positions in the
Transcaucasus have weakened noticeably, needs a dependable outpost
here. The legal structure of Russo-Armenian relations amounts to more
than 160 documents, including a friendship, cooperation, and mutual
assistance treaty. But for full satisfaction with the partnership
Armenia lacks not new political documents and not additional pieces
of military equipment at Russia’s military bases. It lacks more
fundamental economic ties. For example, the trade balance constantly
skews in favour of Russia. Fuel, uncut natural diamonds, products
of aluminium industry, machinery, and equipment are invariably
preponderant in the structure of Russian exports. Armenian exports
also are traditional -foodstuffs and wine and cognac. The number of
enterprises and detached subdivisions with Russian capital in Armenia
is approximately 1,300. Their proportion in the total number of
enterprises with the participation of foreign capital is 27.6 per cent.

Without mutual economic interest, military-technical cooperation
between Russia and Armenia could weaken. If there’s no interaction in
business, little will eventuate in the military sphere either. Thus
far it is doing. But it should not be thought that this will go on
forever. Turkey is eager to become a part of Europe, Armenia also.

Sooner or later, their European interests will coincide, and relations
between them will be repaired. It is not inconceivable that Turkey
will set as a condition of normalization the withdrawal of the
Russian troops.

Nor should we consider Armenia an eternal transport dead end and for
this reason exaggerate its dependence on Russian energy resources.

Gazprom spokesmen maintain that Armenia cannot be a transit country.

“Why not? There is the Iranian sector,” Armen Darbinyan, principal
of the Russo-Armenian (Slav) State University, says. “In addition, we
will one day secure the opening of the Armenian-Turkish border. With
the help of the United States or Europe. But if we do so without
Russia’s participation, this will be for it a serious failure and
will result in a loss of influence in the regiona~@¦. Let’s give
thought to genuine integration. It is lacking at this time. There
is not even a distinct ideology of cooperation. We need to forswear
cliches and understand that there is to Russo-Armenian relations in
their present format an alternative.”

Such assertions may be disputed. But they have to be heeded. Because
there are things that are obvious. For examplea~@¦. Although Armenia
remains in the sphere of Russian influence, this is not preventing
it cooperating with NATO within the Partnership for Peace programme.

Armenia has thus far been held back from a total reorientation towards
the West -and there undoubtedly is such a desire -by the two centuries
of allied relations with Russia and geopolitical requirements of the
moment. It is only this that is preventing it taking decisive steps
in accommodation of the North Atlantic alliance.

The American presence in Armenia is not yet dominant. But it could
become such unless Russia responds to the new world challenges in a
region of strategic importance to it.

[Translated from Russian]

HOLOCAUST RESEARCHERS WORRY ABOUT WHITE HOUSE POLICY TO ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

17:38, 29 October, 2013

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 29, ARMENPRESS. White House keeps the rug presenting
the sufferings of the victims of the Armenian Genocide “captive”,
which according to the former U.S. President Calvin Coolidge must be
the daily symbol of goodwill on earth. The founding director of the
David Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies, based in Washington Rafael
Medoff expressed such an opinion. “Four hundred Armenian orphans from
Ghazir Orphanage wove the rug in appreciation for U.S. humanitarian
assistance in the aftermath of Turkey’s murder of over 1.5 million
Armenians from 1915-1923. Accepting the gift, the USA President
pointed out that the rug will have its place of honor in the White
House where it will be a daily symbol of goodwill on earth”. Instead
of that, unfortunately, the rug becomes the symbol of the naughty
policy towards the Armenian Genocide,” the director of the Institute
writes in The Algemeiner Jewish newspaper which is published in the
USA, Armenpress reports.

The Armenian orphan rug measures 11â~@²7â~@³ x 18â~@²5â~@³ and is
comprised of 4,404,206 individual knots. It took the Armenian girls
in the Ghazir Orphanage of the Near East Relief Society 10 months to
weave. A label on the back of the rug, in large hand-written letters,
reads “IN GOLDEN RULE GRATITUDE TO PRESIDENT COOLIDGE”.

ITALIAN JEWELER: ARMENIAN JEWELERS’ PRODUCTS SHOULD BE PRESENTED TO ENTIRE WORLD

YEREVAN, October 29. /ARKA/. Armenian jewelers’ products should
be presented to the entire world, Stefania Fin, a representative of
Fiera di Vicenza, a prominent Italian jewellery company, said Tuesday
in Yerevan, at a conference focused on Armenia’s jewellery industry,
its problems and prospects.

She said she had seen many jewelry articles made by Armenians and
found them splendid.

The conference was held as part of Yerevan Show-2013 International
Jewelry Exhibition, which was opened in Yerevan’s Karen Demirchyan
Concert Hall yesterday and will be closed tomorrow.

Hranush Hakobyan, Armenian Dispora minister, said Armenian jewelers
have a delicate taste, imagination and skills.

“Armenia’s jewelry industry has a very rich and ancient history,”
she said. “Armenian jewelers were first to surprise Europe with
diamond jewelry.”

The minister said such events propel further development of this
industry in Armenia. Malca-Amit Global Limited CEO Nidgel Paksman
said that Armenian jewelers are quite advanced.

The exhibition, organized by the Armenian Jewelers Association and
held under the high patronage of president Serzh Sargsyan will feature
jewelry made of precious and semi-precious stones, pearl, as well as
watches and tools used in jewelry.

The event is held as part of the Jeweler Day marked in Armenia every
year on the last Sunday of October. .—-0—

– See more at:

ZHOGHOVURD: MARGAR OHANYAN FLIES TO DUBAI AFTER RELEASE

11:39 29/10/2013 ” DAILY PRESS

Armenia’s former Road Police chief Margar Ohanyan flew to Dubai after
being released from prison, Zhoghovurd newspaper says, citing sources.

“It is unknown when he will come back. Ohanyan has said that having
spent two years in prison, now he plans to have a rest on the beach.

He is reported to have joined MP Samvel Alexanyan, businessman Samvel
Karapetyan and Prosperous Armenia leader Gagik Tsarukyan who are
currently on vacation in Dubai,” the newspaper notes.

Source: Panorama.am

NEW BILL ON ENVIRONMENT IMPACT ASSESSMENT TO GIVE NEW PRIVILEGES TO SMALL HPPS
by Karina Manukyan

Tuesday, October 29, 13:05

Environmentalists are concerned over a new Bill on environment impact
assessment that gives new privileges to small HPPs, Head of EcoLur
NGO Inga Zarafyan told ArmInfo.

She said that the Bill divides the projects that are subject to
the environment impact assessment into three categories depending
on the environment impact level (the highest impact – A category –
the lowest – C). Zarafyan said that small HPPs have been transferred
from the category B (medium impact) to the category C (low impact),
which means that relevant documents on the HPP projects will be
considered just formally.

At present, there are 144 small HPPs in Armenia and 80 licenses have
been issued for construction. The expert claims that the construction
of small HPPs already has many privileges. High tariffs and the 15-year
license are now replenished with the government’s decision to assess
the environmental flow of the companies on the basis of the indicators
of the years and days with the lowest precipitations. “For instance,
the environmental flow for the River of Daranak is assessed at 0.007
cu m /sec, which is some 5 liters,” Zarafyan said.

Mass protest actions were organized against construction of small
HPPs in the country. The Ministry of Nature Protection refused from
construction of the HPP on the River of Trchkan under public pressure.

Last year the residents some villages in Tavush also protested against
construction of Khachaghbyur-2 HPP on the River of Agstev and achieved
revision of the project.

THE NUMBER OF CULT FOLLOWERS IS INCREASING

ARMENIA

Hayots Ashkhar notes that while in 1988 the number of followers of
religious sects did not exceed 10,000, now their number is 300 000,
more than 10% of the Armenian population. The daily considers this
figure as concern since in other countries, the number of cult members
represent only 1% of the population. In Russia, this figure would be
1%, the United States, 1.5%.

Extract from the press review of the Embassy of France in Armenia,
dated October 22, 2013

Tuesday, October 29, 2013, Stephane © armenews.com

LE SECTEUR DE LA CONSTRUCTION EN BAISSE DE 8,8 POUR CENT A 123,3 MILLIARDS DE DRAMS

ARMENIE

Des travaux d’une valeur de 123,3 milliards de drams ont ete realises
en Armenie au cours des six premiers mois de 2013, soit une baisse de
8,8% par rapport a la meme periode l’an dernier, selon les derniers
chiffres, publie par le Service national de la statistique.

Des constructions d’une valeur de 35 milliards de drams ont ete
financees par des individus soit 28,4% du total des travaux de
construction. Le chiffre represente une croissance de 16,9 pour cent
par rapport a l’annee precedente.

En outre, des travaux d’une valeur de 46,5 milliards de drams ont
ete finances par des organisations (48,6% du total des travaux de
construction), soit une baisse de 10,6% par rapport aux six premiers
mois de 2012. Des constructions d’une valeur de 2,7 milliards de
drams ont ete finances par l’aide humanitaire (2,3% du volume total),
soit une baisse de 27,1% par rapport a l’annee precedente.

mardi 29 octobre 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com

RESURRECTION DE L’ANCIEN PARTI DIRIGEANT

POLITIQUE

L’ancien parti au pouvoir qui avait mene l’Armenie a l’independance
puis avait ete incorpore dans Congrès national armenien de Levon Ter
-Petrossian (HAK) a ete officiellement ressuscite par quelques-uns
de ses anciens membres au cours du week-end .

Le Mouvement Pan- National Armenien ( HHSH ), qui avait gouverne le
pays de 1990 a 1998, a joue un rôle central dans la transformation
de l’alliance dirigee par Ter- Petrosian dirigee en un seul parti
politique. Le HHSH avait change son nom pour devenir le HAK lors d’un
congrès en fevrier dernier.

Cette evolution a ete denoncee par plusieurs veterans du HHSH qui
avaient rompu avec l’ex-president après son echec de 2008 a revenir au
pouvoir. Quatre d’entre eux – Alexander Arzoumanian , Ararat Zurabian
, Karapet Rubinian et Hovannes Igitian – avaient annonce le lancement
d’un processus de ” re- enregistrement ” du HHSH auprès du ministère
de la Justice au printemps dernier .

Le processus a ete finalise avec le congrès fondateur du nouveau HHSH
qui s’est tenue a Erevan samedi. Il a reuni 200 delegues, presque
tous membres du parti qui a quitte le bloc de Ter- Petrosian .

“Personne ne peut arreter le HHSH en Armenie “, a declare Arzumanian
dans son discours d’ouverture du congrès. Il a de nouveau conteste
la legalite de la prise de contrôle du parti par l’entourage de Ter-
Petrosian.

Les chefs des trois autres partis de l’opposition d’habitude alignes
sur le HAK ont egalement assiste a ce congrès . L’un d’eux, Aram
Sarkissian ; dirigeant du parti Hanrapetutyun (Republique ), a appele
a une consolidation des groupes d’opposition qui sont comme mines .

” Si Dieu le veut , un nouveau bloc [de l’opposition ] sera bientôt
forme “, a declare a cet egard Zurabian du HHSH.

Les groupuscules du HAK ainsi que des representants du parti
Zharangutyun (Heritage) de Raffi Hovannisian, dont deux responsables
ont egalement assiste a la rencontre du week-end, partagent une forte
opposition a l’adhesion de l’Armenie a l’Union douanière dirigee par
la Russie. Arzumanian a decrit la recente decision du President Serge
Sarkissian de se joindre a cette union comme une grave menace pour
l’independance de l’Armenie.

“Aujourd’hui, la botte [ militaire ] de la Russie est de nouveau
suspendue au-dessus du peuple armenien, et nous devons reflechir a
la facon de sauver a nouveau l’Armenie “, a declare l’ancien ministre
des Affaires etrangères.

En revanche, le HAK de Ter -Petrossian s’est ostensiblement abstenu
de s’opposer a l’entree de l’Armenie dans l’union douanière. Ter-
Petrosian avait le mois dernier mis en garde ses partisans qui
deplorait la pression russe sur le gouvernement armenien et ,
en particulier, et en particulier leur usage de formules comme ”
la botte russe “.

mardi 29 octobre 2013, Ara ©armenews.com

ARMENIA LOSES PACE OF ECONOMIC GROWTH

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Oct 28 2013

28 October 2013 – 1:42pm

Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan said at discussions of the 2014
budget that the pace of economic growth in 2013 had been dropping,
News.am reports.He explained that the decrease in the economic rate
was a result of processes in partner states, aggravation of forecasts
of global macroeconomic progress given by the World Bank and the
International Monetary Fund and business problems.Armenia is in 48th
place of the Doing Business list. Sargsyan believes that Armenia
could have been 20th. Administration, trade conditions, taxing and
deal-making put it below the 100th. Armenian Prime Minister Tigran
Sargsyan said at discussions of the 2014 budget that the pace of
economic growth in 2013 had been dropping, News.am reports.

He explained that the decrease in the economic rate was a result
of processes in partner states, aggravation of forecasts of global
macroeconomic progress given by the World Bank and the International
Monetary Fund and business problems.

Armenia is in 48th place of the Doing Business list. Sargsyan believes
that Armenia could have been 20th. Administration, trade conditions,
taxing and deal-making put it below the 100th.