Tigran Hamasyan reimagines Armenian folk and legends through the virtuosic sounds of his jazz meets prog-rock creations. His forthcoming project, Bird of a Thousand Voices, will merge those epic and passionate expressions into a transmedia music theater piece that will premiere at the Holland Festival in June 2024. With the unveiling of the album’s lead single “The Kingdom,” now is the time to familiarize yourself with his beautifully startling and inspired compositions.
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Hamasyan’s love of music appeared and was kindled when he was a small child, taking an interest in piano at the age of three and beginning his formal education on the subject only a few years later. At nine he started showing signs of being a natural experimentalist when he began translating folk melodies into jazz improvisations. As an 11-year-old he competed and performed at festivals, and by the time he was a teenager, he’d won the coveted Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition.
Just before that pinnacle was summited he revealed his debut World Passion (2004), followed by New Era (2007) and Red Hail (2009). After living in California for a period, having moved there with his family when he was 16, a return to Armenia reignited his fascination with folk music. What followed was an outpouring of albums like A Fable (2011) and Mockroot (2015) that drew fervently on the poetry and stories that comprised the folkloric traditions of his home.
At this point a deft melder of jazz fusion with folk styles, Hamasyan strips away the modern touch on Luys i Luso (2015) — an album that commemorated the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide with performances of sacred music like sharakans and hymns — and An Ancient Observer (2018). Four years afterward he shook things up once again, returning with StandArt (2022), his first collection of American standards. By now he’d also earned the recognition of jazz legends like Herbie Hancock and Brad Mehldau.
His next project will once again draw heavily from the wealth of tales stemming from his native Armenia. The Bird of A Thousand Voices, an ancient yarn about a hero’s journey to find a mythical bird with a divine song, serves as the source material for Hamasyan’s bold new endeavor. One that will be brought to life this summer in Amsterdam via an Armenian-English libretto and live music, featuring an immersive light installation, a shadow play, and digitally programmed voices.
This cosmic but immensely human quest is introduced to listeners through the album’s first single “The Kingdom,” which also arrives in the form of an online game that fans can play right now. Hamasyan — who composed, scored, and arranged the music for the track — weaves a sublime tumbling of radiant synths and raucous drums. Capturing the mythic and heroic urgency of the story from which it bursts, refulgent and revelatory.
Words: Steven Ward
See the premiere of The Bird of A Thousand Voices in Amsterdam at the Holland Festival on June 8-9th.
Visit Tigran Hamasyan on his website and Instagram to stay updated on new releases and tour announcements.
Listen to “The Kingdom” the new single from Tigran Hamasyan below!
