Tigran Hamasyan

Tigran Hamasyan (also known by his first name alone) is a jazz pianist and composer who draws heavily from Armenian folk influences as his deep well of inspiration. His heritage is front and center throughout his rich and diverse catalog that often finds him playing around with the exact balancing between standard western jazz elements and the traditional Armenian musical forms he grew up with. There are also moments of more pop-oriented songs in terms of their texture, as well as some fusion/prog colorings that regularly weave in and out of his pieces, which was particularly prominent in his debut album, Red Hail (2007). He is recognized as a piano virtuoso, who takes on an emphatic, percussive style in most cases, though tender, lyrical moments are not that far off for him either.