Winner of the Grand Prix Jazz General Motors at the 2008 edition of the Montreal International Jazz Festival, as well as the Propulsion Jazz competition in 2007, Canadian-born pianist/composer Arden Arapyan emerges with his newly released album, "VAHAK", his finest work yet: a unique form of jazz driven by exotic sounds of the world, from the Middle East to Latin America. Mesmerizing melodies from the land of his forefathers, Armenia, penetrating rhythms fusing Lebanese baladi with Cuban
son-montuno, Arden Arapyan's music authentically blends all of these rich musical colors and promises to captivate audiences far and wide. With a dynamic rhythm section comprised of Mike Gasselsdorfer on drums and Kyle Morin on bass, the ensemble also features other prodigal talents such as saxophonist/flautist Giovany Arteaga (Cuba), percussionists "Kiko" Eugenio Roberto Osório (Cuba) and Andi Pema (Greece/Albania), as well as clarinetist/duduk player Vagharshak Adamian
(Armenia).
Lauréat du Grand Prix Jazz General Motors à l'édition 2008 du Festival International de Jazz de Montréal et aussi de Propulsion Jazz en 2007, le pianiste/compositeur canadien Arden Arapyan, accompagné de son ensemble, vient vous présenter son nouveau disque, « VAHAK », son plus récent
chef-d'oeuvre : une forme unique de jazz aux saveurs exotiques notamment du Moyen-Orient et de l'Amérique Latine. Des mélodies hypnotisantes du pays de ses ancêtres, l'Arménie, des rythmes percutants unissant le baladi libanais au son-montuno cubain, la musique de Arden Arapyan réussit à faire un mélange authentique de toutes ces riches couleurs musicales et promet sans aucun doute de captiver les masses. Avec une section rythmique dynamique composé de Mike Gasselsdorfer et de Kyle Morin, l'ensemble comporte aussi d'autres talents prodigieux comme le saxophoniste/flûtiste
Giovany Arteaga (Cuba), les multi-percussionistes « Kik» Eugenio Roberto Osório (Cuba) et Andi Pema (Grèce/Albanie), ainsi que Vagharshak Adamian (Arménie) à la clarinette et au duduk. |
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ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
Arden Arapyan was born in 1982 in Montreal, Canada, into a family of Armenian descent.
Throughout his life, Arden was exposed to many drastically varying styles of music. He let his ears absorb whatever they could, almost unconsciously, until he began his music studies in
classical piano. Between his formal training and the wealth of random musical memory he
continues to gather over the years, Arden soon developed the ability to adapt seamlessly in the
idioms of North to South American, European, Mediterranean and Middle-Eastern popular music.
In 2000, Arden entered the music program at Vanier College, where he changed his
specialization to jazz, which henceforth helped strengthen his understanding of more complex
harmony and his improvisational abilities. At Vanier, he studied jazz piano with Eric Harding, as
well as composition and arranging with Christopher Smith. He recently graduated with a
Bachelor's degree in jazz performance from the prestigious music faculty of the Université de
Montréal, where he studied piano with Luc Beaugrand and Pierre Leduc and was the pianist of
the University's big band, under the direction of Ron DiLauro.
Having completed his studies, Arden now passes on his passion through teaching to a
small number of students of his own, while performing regularly with many artists and groups of
contrasting styles. He is equally at home playing piano and/or keyboards in jazz ensembles and
salsa orchestras, such as the Montreal Jazz Big Band, La Gran Orquesta Cubana de Montreal, The
Moonlight Girls, the Cuban Connection, Orquesta Ritmo Caribeño, as well as that of the
celebrated Cuban musician/singer/producer/bandleader Jesús Alejandro "El Niño" Pérez, Grammy
nominee Eddie Santiago, Tony Vega and David Pavón, as he is playing guitar with various
Armenian singers, such as the legendary Paul Baghdadlian and Adiss Harmandian. He also
collaborates as keyboard and bass player with Roads, with whom he recorded and launched their
debut album "Remember Today" in 2010.
In November of 2007, Arden Arapyan's music was awarded the grand prize in the
Propulsion Jazz competition, sponsored by Montreal's Couleur Jazz radio station. As further
testament to his recent achievements, Arden was also the winner of the Grand Prix Jazz General
Motors at the 2008 edition of the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal. His
accomplishments allowed him to release his own debut album, entitled "VAHAK" in March 2011.
Despite his young age, Arden's career is flourishing quickly as a performer, recording
artist, composer, arranger and bandleader in a number of different contexts. |
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