Jazz and beyond
On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the Armenian State Jazz Orchestra, on September 22, a brilliant event will take place in the Aram Khachaturian Concert Hall.
In Armenia, the first jazz bands were started in 1935. On the opening day of the Moscow Cinema (1936), a jazz band directed by music critic Robert Atayan started its activities and in 1937, was directed by trumpeter Tsolak Vardazaryan. In 1938, composer Artemi Ayvazyan formed the Armenian State Pop (later Jazz) Orchestra and directed it till 1956, then composer Konstantin Orbelyan became the creative director of the orchestra and holding that office for 36 years in a row, made the Armenian Jazz known in 40 countries around the world. After the maestro, the jazz orchestra was directed by Armen Martirosyan who passed the baton to Armen Hyusnunts in 2010. In 1975, the Armenian State Pop Orchestra was the first orchestra in the USSR to leave for the US, the homeland of jazz. The New York Times, a reputed newspaper, wrote that year, “The Armenian Jazz Orchestra rejects the ban of the Soviet jazz and clandestine activities.” Our orchestra went abroad (Czechoslovakia) for the first time in 1966.
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In an interview given to Aravot at the time, Konstantin Orbelyan informed, “When the USSR was closed for jazz, nonetheless, there was some influx of jazz. The jazz fans of the Soviet country, including me, risking their freedom imported disks with the Western jazz.”
At the end of the day, the Armenian jazz and our jazzmen nowadays owe their success to Orbelyan.
In 1998, the first international jazz festival was organized in Yerevan thanks to the efforts of famous Levon Malkhasyan and producer Artur Asatryan. World-famous Chick Corea was a guest of the festival in 2000. Since 2005 annual festivals have been held in Yerevan. Today there are many jazz clubs in Yerevan, there is even a radio station called Radio Jazz.
Let us assert that in 1992, Konstantin Orbelyan, the legendary creative director of the Armenian State Jazz Orchestra, left for San Francisco displeased – Loris Chgnavoryan, the creative director of the Philharmonic Orchestra, “ejected” all bands, including Orbelyan’s orchestra, from the Aram Khachaturian Concert Hall. They say Armen Martirosyan was also offended when he left for Canada, although he doesn’t admit it. During a conversation with Aravot, he said that he had left for Montreal to ensure his children’s higher education.
SAMVEL DANIELYAN
