With a love for music practically in his genetic make-up, it’s no wonder Armenian-born, New York-based Tigran Hamasyan became the innovative piano virtuoso that he is. With his father’s love for classic rock, his uncle’s jazz and his grandparents’ massive vinyl collection whetting his young musical palate, Hamasyan took to the piano before he was even five years old. Now, the award-winning young musician’s style is can’t be pigeonholed. Hamasyan’s latest release, A Fable, has strong elements of Armenian folk and alternative jazz, with the energy of rock music, but took much inspiration from poetry and old stories as well. “Even if I’m locked in a basement for six months I’ll discover things, develop things without listening to anything” says the 24 year-old of his varied muses. “Everything around me inspires me.”
Sat Feb 11, The Music Room, 6181 Lady Hammond Road, 8pm, $20/$15 for JazzEast members, 492-2225, jazzeast.com
This article appears in Feb 9-15, 2012.