Saturday, June 29th 2013 // 21,30 // Auditorium S. Domenico
Live

PREMIÈRE PERFORMANCE

TIGRAN HAMASYAN
Although first moved as a child by the rock sounds of the giants -- Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, the Beatles-- Tigran Hamasyan would focus his sights musically on jazz, becoming an adept (child prodigy, if you will) piano player in the style. Born in 1987 in Gyumri, Hamasyan was Armenian by descent, but had jazz in his soul. Moved by the sounds of Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, and Miles Davis(just a few of jazz's giants) Hamasyan found himself as part of the festivities at the 2nd Yerevan Jazz Festival in 2000. He would go on just a few years later to win a number of contests, one of which was at the 2003 Montreux Jazz Festival. He plays mostly original compositions, which are strongly influenced by the Armenian folk tradition, often using its scales and modalities. In addition to Tigran's folk influence, he is much influenced by American jazz tradition and to some extent, as on his album Red Hail, by progressive rock. His most recent album, entitled A Fable, which is a solo album, is most strongly influenced by Armenian folk music. Even on his most overt jazz compositions and renditions of well-known jazz pieces, his improvisations often contain embellishments based on scales from Middle Eastern/South Western Asian traditions.

LV
Based in South London, England, LV is a trio of producers -- Gervase Gordon, Will Horrocks, and Si Williams -- who began to make music around 2000, while attending university. From 2007 through 2010, the group issued just under a dozen 12" releases on well-regarded labels like Hyperdub, Keysound, 2nd Drop, and Hemlock. They debuted with "Globetrotting," a dub reggae track featuring Errol Bellot, and they continued to collaborate with other vocalists while churning out material that drew from Jamaican and African sources. LV's first album, Routes, was released in 2011 on Keysound and featured Josh Idehen throughout. For Sebenza, released in 2012 on Hyperdub, they teamed with South African vocalists Okmalumkoolkat (also heard on 2010's "Boomslang") and Spoek Mathambo, along with production/MC duo Ruffest.