Armenian pianist
Tigran Hamasyan started young. When he was only two years old he became captivated by music, and soon after he was singing along to songs by Led Zeppelin, The Beatles and Louis Armstrong. At age seven he became enthralled by jazz. While studying music, Tigran delved fanatically into the work of jazz legends. He himself is now regarded as one of the greatest piano talents of this day having won both the critics’ and audience choice award in the Jazz Solo Piano Competition at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 2003, when aged just sixteen. Hamasyan (1987) is a virtuoso, with an intense, swinging and melodic style reminiscent of Corea and Hancock; he places a lot of emphasis on percussive aspects. Like his new album, his latest project is entitled
Shadow Theater and he performs the music with his quintet. Jazz, classical music, Armenian pop, rock, heavy metal, avant-garde – one flows into the other. Seeing and hearing Hamasyan perform is an unforgettable experience.
