Musaner -
    Armenian/Jazz Fusion
By Christopher M. Wright
  © 2010 Christopher M. Wright
  All Rights Reserved

It's got energy. It flows. It's got heart because it comes from folk tunes. It's in the finest tradition of jazz fusion which, for AIM, started with the Mahavishnu Orchestra in the 1970s.

This inventive project is the brainchild of Boston composer Ara Sarkissian. As Ara tells it, "I brought together the members of Musaner for the first time in 2007 in an attempt to combine my interest in Armenian folksongs and folk instruments with my desire to create some music for a jazz-oriented ensemble. As the group grew larger in time, so did our repertoire. We added some original compositions which are not based in folksong - It's Only Rain and Deconstructed Memories, as well as some Balkan folk music, such as the folk tune Niska Banja (as heard in Festive Occasions) and Jovicin Cocek (by Jovia Ajdarevic as heard in Festival).  A sample of the resulting arrangements and compositions is heard on this recording."

© 2010 Christopher M. Wright
All Rights Reserved - This material may not be republished, rebroadcast, rewritten, redistributed, resold, or manipulated in any form.

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