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Bio | |
Armen Boyajian, jazz pianist and violinist
Armen Boyajian is a jazz violinist and pianist born in Chicago in 1954. He grew up in Binghamton, NY and began studying violin at age 7. At 16, Armen attended a Miles Davis concert, which led him to learn and play jazz. He attended the University of Rochester and the Eastman School of Music. On electric violin, Armen formed his first jazz quartet in 1972 in Rochester, NY. He moved to Washington, DC in 1978 and began playing with young musicians and future jazz stars such as guitarist Paul Bollenback, bassist Ed Howard (Bob Berg, Roy Haynes), pianist Frank Kimbrough, and drummer Steve Williams (Shirley Horn). With Kimbrough, Howard, and Williams, Armen formed the original Air Apparent in 1980, with Armen on electric violin. The group played at Blues Alley, Concerts on the Canal, and Carter Barron Amphitheater, and it was a powerhouse straight-ahead jazz quartet! Beginning in 1982, the members of this group were playing with national artists. Following are excerpts from reviews of Air Apparent:
“(Air Apparent) has improved drastically in the past two years…a performance that was the next best thing to an evening at the old Hot Club of Paris.” (Harry Sumrall, Washington Post, 1981)
“You might not expect a violinist to be playing such numbers as Giant Steps, but Mr. Boyajian does so lovingly and with considerable élan.” (Tim Warren, Baltimore Sun, 1986)
While Armen had always used the piano as a compositional tool, in 1986 he began focusing more on the piano; between 1986 to 1989, he led a quartet at the Hyatt Regency with vocalist Sheila Ford. During that period, Armen worked with Gary Thomas (John McLaughlin, Miles Davis) and the late bassist Vince Loving (Special EFX, Randy Brecker). Armen moved to Augusta, Georgia in 1993 and from 1997-2002 led Air Apparent every Saturday night at Augusta’s historic Partridge Inn. Air Apparent continues to play in trio and quartet settings for private and public engagements. Armen has worked with Eric Hillman, Wycliffe Gordon, Greg Alewine, Erik Hargrove, David Weston and others in the Augusta area.
Honors & Awards: Air Apparent named Best Jazz Band in the Augusta Magazine Readers’ Poll (2002) and Best Dance Band (2001). Armen’s original composition Waltz for Bill won best jazz composition by Washington Area Music Writers Association in 1980. Other originals include Samba D'Outono, Blue Reggae, Daughters of Rachel, Air's New Improved Blues, and Air's New Country Tune.
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Air Apparent won Best Jazz Band in the “Best of Augusta” reader’s poll in the October 2002 Augusta Magazine. From 1997-2002, the group was the regular Saturday night band at the Partridge Inn. Air Apparent swings hard in the modern jazz tradition, but also performs original compositions by leader Armen Boyajian. And they can also play dance and other music -- in October 2001, the readers of Augusta Magazine named Air Apparent Best Dance Band. Air Apparent has been reconstituted in Charlotte with such players as Elisa Pruett, Ron Brendle, Ocie Davis, Bill Averbach, Brian Sullivan and Stephen Gordon -- but consider the roots of the band... Armen Boyajian formed the original Air Apparent as a jazz violinist in Washington, DC in 1979. Air Apparent’s early alumni included drummer Steve Williams (Shirley Horn), bassist Ed Howard (Bob Berg, Herbie Hancock, Steve Wilson), and pianist Frank Kimbrough. Armen Boyajian has played with Branford Marsalis, Gary Thomas, Dennis Chambers, and Wycliffe Gordon. His influences include Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, and Keith Jarrett. The Augusta version of the band initially had Carl Brown on trumpet and vocals and they had a five-year run at the Partridge Inn. Replacing Carl in 2002 was Eric Hillman, arguably the best straight-ahead jazz trumpeter in Augusta, GA. His probing tone and improvising ability remind the listener of such trumpeters as Wallace Roney and Nicholas Payton. George Sykes was the bassist and he began his music studies on trombone at Augusta College but switched to electric bass in the 1980s, playing with regional shag bands such as Men of Distinction. Erik Hargrove, one of James Brown's last drummers, was the drummer of that band, and he came to Augusta as a member of the U.S. Army Signal Corps Band. Erik is now in Orlando, FL performing and teaching.
Two editions of Air Apparent: left photo (George Sykes, Eric Hillman, Erik Hargrove, Armen Boyajian); right photo Jon Thornton, Brian Sullivan, Armen, and Elisa Pruett December 16, 2004 Augusta Chronicle, Applause Section Sonic Spotlight/Patrick Verel ARMEN BOYAJIAN AGE: 50 HOMETOWN: Binghamton, N.Y. Moved to Augusta from Baltimore in 1993 (to Charlotte in 2008) OCCUPATION: Fund raiser for Golden Harvest Food Bank. PLAYS: Piano. “I prefer acoustic but now use a Yamaha P-90.” Also violin FIRST LIVE PERFORMANCE: The youth symphony orchestra in fifth grade on classical violin. “But my first jazz concert had to be my senior year in high school. I consider my first real gig to be the University of Rochester my freshman year, because that was when I formed my first band. PLAYED WITH: Air Apparent, 1978 to 1982, Armen Boyajian Quartet 1985-1989; Word of Mouth, 1993-1994; Air Apparent, 1996 to present, sub for pianist James McIntyre at D. Timm’s, 2004-2005. FIRST CONCERT HE ATTENDED: The Byrds in 1969 at State University of New York at Binghamton. “My first real jazz concert was Miles Davis in 1970 at SUNY Binghamton. I was only 16 or 17, and seeing Miles opened up a new world to me. It was the late 60s and rock was really more creative at the time, and I think he worked with that.” PERSONAL BEST: Air Apparent at the Carter-Barron Amphitheater in Washington, DC in front of about 2,000 people. “It was almost like riding a bucking horse. The guys in my band didn’t need to be led, they were better than me. It was one of those nights when there was a lot of ESP going on among band members.” IF HE COULD PERFORM WITH ANY MUSICIAN: Miles Davis. “When I got into him, it was more of his electric fusion phase, so I went back and did my research when he was doing acoustic, almost bebop. You have to have a voice, it’s just a question of what instrument you’re going to use to find it. I found it easier to reinterpret works by the giants on the piano.” IF HE COULD PERFORM ON ANY OTHER INSTRUMENT: “I’d wanted to be a saxophonist. If I had one wish, I’d be Wayne Shorter.” BEST WAY TO MOTIVATE A CROWD: “You really need to have an original voice. It helps if your stage charisma is good, but you’ve also got to reach people where they are. In Augusta, for instance, people are more into R&B instead of jazz, so I try to reach out to that, but also do original compositions. That way they can be educated to sort of come out of their comfort zone.” For more information please contact Armen Boyajian 704.607.3992 |
This site was last updated 05/04/11
