Tigran Hamasyan & Thelonious Monk
Communiqué :
Tigran Hamasyan (né à Gyumri en Arménie en 1987) a remporté le concours Thelonious Monk 2006 décerné au Kennedy Center le 18 septembre par le THELONIOUS MONK INSTITUTE OF JAZZ à l’occasion de son 20è anniversaire.
Tigran Hamasyan se produira en France dans le cadre de l’année de l’Arménie à Barcelonnette (Festival des Enfants du jazz) et Vauvert (Nuits du Jazz).
(- Stéphane Kochoyan D.R.)
TIGRAN HAMASYAN « WORLD PASSION » : sorti le 2 mai 2006 chez Nocturne.
Herbie Hancock
Chairman
Bill Cosby
Billy Dee Williams
Honorary Chairmen
BOARD OF TRUSTEES :
Thelonious S. Monk, Jr.,
Chairman
Paxton Baker, Jimmy Heath, Wayne Shorter, Stuart Subotnick, Clark Terry
Thomas R. Carter
President
Terence Blanchard
Artistic Director
ADVISORY BOARD :
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Frank Alkyer, Debbie Allen, Herb Alpert, David Baker, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Dave Brubeck, Kenny Burrell, Ron Carter, Nathan Davis, Clint Eastwood, Charlie Haden, Barry Harris, Quincy Jones, Randall Kennedy, Martin Luther King, III, Jeff Levenson, Bruce Lundvall, Branford Marsalis, Ellis L. Marsalis,
Wynton Marsalis, Marian McPartland, Carolyn Peachey, Ahmad Rashad, Glenn Sabin, Sigmund Shapiro
Washington, DC - The world’s greatest jazz artists were on stage at The Kennedy Center last night to honor the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz and its two decades of music education. Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter, Patti Austin, John Patitucci, Terence Blanchard, George Duke, Terri Lyne Carrington and many others joined a group of young artists who have emerged from the Institute’s numerous education programs over the years in a star-studded Gala Celebration that was televised for broadcast on PBS and BET and will be broadcast nationally over NPR and internationally over Voice of America.
The evening was the culmination of a weekend of festivities paying tribute to the Institute, the world’s leading jazz education organization. The weekend kicked off with President and Mrs. Bus hosting a dinner and concert at the White House. The East Room concert, hosted by Barbara Walters, will be telecast as an “In Performance at the White House” PBS Special. Ms. Walters shared with the audience her personal experiences and love of jazz through her father Lou Walters, owner of the famed Latin Quarter jazz and music clubs located in Boston (opened in 1937), Miami Beach (opened in 1940) and New York City (opened in 1942). The concert included performances by Anita Baker, Herbie Hancock, Nnenna Freelon, Clark Terry and many others.
The White House Concert was followed on Friday by a luncheon in the United States Capitol hosted by Senators Ted Stevens and Thad Cochran and Congressman John Conyers. All three of the legislators are major advocates of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz and have Institute public school programs in their states and district.
Saturday featured the Semi-Finals of the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition at the Smithsonian Institution’s Baird Auditorium. The Thelonious Monk Competition is the world’s most prestigious jazz competition and has launched the careers of many young jazz artists including pianists Marcus Roberts, Jacky Terrasson, Joey DeFrancesco ; saxophonist Joshua Redman and vocalists Jane Monheit and Tierney Sutton. Saturday’s Semi-Finals featured 12 aspiring young
artists competing for major scholarships and the worldwide recognition associated with participating in this annual internationally acclaimed music event.
This year’s Piano Competition winners :
- Second Place : Gerald Clayton
- Third Place : Aaron Parks
About Tigran Hamasyan :
Tigran Hamasyan was born in Gyumri, Armenia and began playing piano at age 10. He currently attends the University of Southern California where he is studying jazz piano. Influenced by Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, Miles Davis and Bud Powell, Hamasyan began writing his first piano compositions at a young age. He recently won first prize at the Monaco Jazz Soloist Competition and has performed at concerts, competitions, festivals throughout Europe.
About Gerald Clayton :
Gerald Clayton was born in Utrecht, The Netherlands and was raised in Los Angeles. He began playing piano at the age of five. Currently, Clayton is pursuing a Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Studies at the University of Southern California. In addition to his studies, Clayton performs frequently and has played with a host of well-respected musicians including Benny Green, Mulgrew Miller, Kenny Baron, and Clark Terry. He recently appeared on Back in the Swing of Things with the Clayton Brothers.
About Aaron Parks :
Aaron Parks was raised in Seattle, Washington and began playing piano at age 10, learning mostly by ear. He began is career in jazz at the age of 16 after leaving the University of Washington to focus more intently on jazz studies at the Manhattan School of Music in New York. Parks won first place in the 5th American Jazz Piano Competition and is a Cole Porter Fellow of the American Pianist Association. Currently, he tours with Terence Blanchard and is featured on Blanchard’s CDs Bounce and Flow.