Tigran Hamasyan – Mockroot (2015) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Tigran Hamasyan – Mockroot (2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 58:22 minutes | 1,11 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Nonesuch

All music composed by Tigran Hamasyan, except for “Kars 1” and “Kars 2” (Traditional Armenian/Tigran Hamasyan).

Tigran Hamasyan’s Nonesuch Records debut album, Mockroot, will be released in February 2015. Tigran’s music draws from a wide range of sources—from jazz and Armenian folk music; Bach and French fin de siècle composers; dubstep, thrash metal, and contemporary electronica. His live performances and six studio albums have received enthusiastic approval from the likes of Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, and Brad Mehldau. Where his last album, 2013’s Shadow Theatre, featured an extended band with choral sections, strings, and saxes, Mockroot is based around the tight trio of Tigran on piano and vocals, Sam Minaie on bass guitar, and Arthur Hnatek on drums.

“A rising star, pianist Tigran Hamasyan’s releases have been fueled by his Armenian heritage and prodigious skills rooted in jazz and classic music training though not limited by either discipline. His debut on Nonesuch Mockroot continues to showcase his many interests which combine voice, electronica, folk and contemporary influences.

Where 2014’s stunning Shadow Theater (Sunnyside Records) featured an extended band, choral section, and rigorous production, Mockroot is no less captivating; Hamasyan in a trio setting with drummer Arthur Hnatek and Sam Minnie on electric bass. Inspired by family, nature, poetry, and a yearning for spirituality, the pieces evoke a broad range of emotion from wildly intense movements and heart tugging elegies in the tragic love story “Kars1” to a thrashing rock anthem with dual time signatures in “Double-Faced.”

There’s much that can be gleaned from the trio’s cohesive bond and Hamasyan’s brilliant pianistic feats yet it’s his art as a storyteller who can capture the imagination that stands front and center. This is evinced in the haunting solo piano piece “Lilac” about the memories of the blossoming tree in his family’s backyard in Gyumri or the tour-de-force mini-suite “The Grid” with its breakneck rhythm, synth-bass lines, and jazz scat-like vocalization.
There’s a deeper message here and at times the music feels a tad too melancholic but this in no way weakens this thoughtful and invigorating album that once again gives light to Hamasyan’s unique voice as a composer and performer.” –Mark F. Turner, All About Jazz

Tracklist:
01. Tigran Hamasyan – To Love (02:06)
02. Tigran Hamasyan – Song for Melan and Rafik (05:56)
03. Tigran Hamasyan – Kars 1 (05:26)
04. Tigran Hamasyan – Double-Faced (05:29)
05. Tigran Hamasyan – The Roads That Bring Me Closer to You (04:16)
06. Tigran Hamasyan – Lilac (04:10)
07. Tigran Hamasyan – Entertain Me (03:19)
08. Tigran Hamasyan – The Apple Orchard in Saghmosavanq (04:22)
09. Tigran Hamasyan – Kars 2 (Wounds of the Centuries) (01:34)
10. Tigran Hamasyan – To Negate (05:17)
11. Tigran Hamasyan – The Grid (05:56)
12. Tigran Hamasyan – Out of The Grid (10:25)

Personnel:
Tigran Hamasyan – piano, voice, keyboards, synths, sound effects
Sam Minaie – electric bass
Arthur Hnatek – drums & live electronics
Gayanée Movsisyan – voice on track 5

“Song for Melan & Rafik” features:
Areni Agbabian – vocals
Ben Wendel – saxophones
Chris Tordini – bass
Nate Wood – drums

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