The Armenian piano wunderkind Tigran Hamasyan is here to play fromFable, an album he released on Verve 18 months ago when he was only 22 years old. It’s a debut that leaves you clutching at references. Like Bartók, he takes ancient folk themes from his home country and twists them into complex modernist miniatures. Like Liszt, he writes romantic piano solos with a sparkling right hand; like Keith Jarrett, he improvises funky gospel tunes, humming along with his own solos.
However, after a fruitful session for Gilles Peterson‘s show, Tigran seems keen to try new things. Indeed, for much of tonight’s concert, he doesn’t touch the piano at all. Arriving on stage dressed like an eccentric waiter (red bow tie, black waistcoat, 1950s quiff, fulsome beard) he leans towards the microphone, starts humming, and composes an a cappella song on the spot – Jamie Lidell style – using a digital delay unit to loop several layers of harmonies. Later he uses the same method to improvise a squelchy dubstep track, with fellow Armenian Gayanée Movsisyan providing operatic vocals.
Even playing solo piano, every track has a pulse running through it, but that pulse is implied rather than crudely stated. On a harmonically complicated version of the old Disney standard Someday My Prince Will Come, Tigran shifts seamlessly from jazz waltz to ragtime, from piano-pounding freakout to gentle lullaby, without ever losing that pulse.
Tigran could probably play absolutely anything on the piano but, crucially, he limits himself to only playing things he can sing. All thatmumbling along as he plays keeps him in check. Where so much contemporary jazz can be a dreary display of muscle memory, Tigran has found a way to keep improvisation fresh and lyrical. Other jazz musicians would be wise to take note.
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