Haig Yazdjian - Amalur
ARTIST.....: Haig Yazdjian
TITLE......: Amalur
LABEL......: Libra Music
URL........: http://www.myspace.com/haigyazdjian
RIP DATE...: Nov-24-2007
STORE DATE.: Oct-11-2007
GENRE......: Jazz
QUALITY....: VBR / 44.1Hz / Joint-Stereo
SIZE.......: 71,1 MB
Track Listing:
01 - Fog El-Nakhel 05:34
02 - I Erimos Featuring Eleftheria Arvanitaki 04:23
03 - Rudolstadt 05:10
04 - Onirou Ghi 05:40
05 - Amalur 05:55
06 - Yareh Martou Yara Gouda 04:33
07 - Hijazz Balladi 04:01
08 - Mogats Shougen 05:19
09 - As Itane Mia Mera 05:04
10 - Ara Featuring Ara Dinkjian 06:01
─────
51:40 min
Release Notes:
About Haig Yazdjian
HAiG YAZDJiAN
Amalur
NEW ALBUM
One of the driving forces in the Greek world-jazz music scene for
the past decade, Haig Yazdjian, delivers yet another surprising
solo endeavor. Centered around his unique editorial writing style
and his ethereal oud playing, Amalur chronicles five years of
travelling around the world with his band of first-class
musicians, numerous collaborations with leading figures of the
world music scene (Theodossii Spassov, Glen Velez, Djivan
Gasparyan and Loreenna McKennitt to name but a few) and
experimentation with new vehicles of expression, namely, the
introduction of the electric oud û an instrument he uses for the
very first time on record.
Haig Yazdjian is one of the great figures in world music. This
super-charged, traditional meets modern band album unites the two
sides of his remarkable musical personality û the virtuosic
traditionalist and the restless innovator. Recorded in a series of
long sessions at Aeolia Studio in Athens, Amalur packs the fruit
of more than ten years experimentation into some of the densest,
punchiest, most richly textured music Yazdjian has ever delivered.
Born in Syria of Armenian parents Yazdjian emigrated to Greece in
the early æ80s and as a young man, the electric guitar was on his
mind rather than the oud. In the resonance of the instrument
though, he did discover, the undiscovered lands of his expressive
pursuits. In just a few years he established himself as a leading
soloist in Greece, a reputation that brought him next to the
prominent composers and leading singers. In fact the first album
he released was a solo oud album (1994), portraying the
possibilities of the instrument. Two years later (1996) came his
first narrative album that under the name of his young daughter
Talar, a musical landascape inspired by the harshness and
gentleness of Armenia, the middle East and the West, treating them
as live battling and complimentary creative forces. The way
Yazdjian treated traditional Armenian compositions, middle eastern
expressions and his own compositions accelerated his popularity
and charted him as one of the most promising composers. With the
interlude of the CD single Gift (1997) came in 1998 his second
major album, this time under the name of his second daughter,
Garin, further expanding the journey to the topography of musical
tropes. Soon, while Yazdjian composes and releases one of his most
important works Beast on the Moon, stage music for the title play
by Richard Kalinosky (2000) comes international recognition. First
with the export of his albums in Europe, the US and the Middle
East, soon followed by concerts; festivals and an extensive tour
of Spain where he gains impressive popularity, festivals in Spain
and Scandinavia and an extensive tour of Germany. In 2001, Yeraz,
was released to much critical acclaim, both in Greece and abroad.
A high episode of YazdjianÆs narrative, Yeraz unfolded a
dreamworld, a reality of possibilities, an inner world, common to
all listeners and fellow dreamers. The years that followed found
Yazdjian to be touring Europe yet again, as well as forming
several side-projects that helped him set the foundations for new
artistic heights.
In 2005, the Canadian world music diva, Loreenna McKennitt, after
auditioning numerous musicians from around the world, chose Haig
Yazdjian to be one of the ½voices╗ of her latest project. After
extensive rehearsals and recording sessions in Real World studios,
England, HaigÆs oud playing found its way to the songs of An
Ancient Muse, McKennittÆs solo album that hit the stores late
2005. A European mini-tour followed, as well as the filming for a
soon-to-be-released live DVD of Two Nights at the Alhambra.
Hot on heels from this collaboration, Haig started recording new
music that had been ½born╗ throughout all these years, since
2001Æs Yeraz, the music that was to become Amalur. The album
features two very important guest artists, a first for a Yazdjian
record. On the song Erimos, one of the leading figures in Greek
music, Eleftheria Arvanitaki, delivers a moving interpretation in
of the first Yazdjian songs to feature Greek lyrics! Also, the
composition Ara encloses a heartfelt improvisation (or taksim, in
eastern terms) by the Armenian oud virtuoso and leader of the
legendary ethnic group Night Ark, Ara Dinkjian.
Amalur will be released in early July, 2007. The sum of ten
tracks, as mentioned above, is the first Yazdjian record to
include songs (three in number) with Greek lyrics, penned by some
of the most important Greek lyricists (Elias Katsoulis, Nikos
Moraitis and Iris Louka). A traditional Iraqi song, Fog el-nakhel,
a traditional Armenian song, Yareh martou yara gouda, as well as
five instrumental compositions complete the set.
Amalur
Composed and Arranged by Haig Yazdjian Production Supervision:
Haig Yazdjian Recorded July 2006-April 2007 at Aeolia Studio,
Athens Sound Engineer: Lambros Sfyris Mixed at Aeolia Studio by
Lambros Sfyris and Haig Yazdjian