Armen Donelian with Jay Anderson & Dennis Mackrel
($30-$40 | 7pm & 9pm Shows) Since 1975, pianist and composer ARMEN DONELIAN has performed internationally in major venues in 25 countries as a sideman in bands led by Sonny Rollins, Chet Baker, Mongo Santamaria, Billy Harper, Jackie Paris, Anne Marie Moss, Paquito D’Rivera, Night Ark, Ivo Papasov and others. He brings his trio of Jay Anderson and Dennis Mackrel to the Century Room for the 2nd time!
Armen Donelian (piano) Jay Anderson (bass) Dennis Mackrel (drums)
As a leader, Armen has produced 14 distinctive recordings on the Sunnyside, Playscape, Odin and Atlas labels with musicians including Eddie Gomez, Billy Hart, Dick Oatts, Barry Danielian, Thomas Chapin, Jeff Williams, Calvin Hill, Marc Mommaas, Anthony Cox, Bill Stewart, Tyshawn Sorey, David Clark, George Schuller, Jay Anderson, Dennis Mackrel, Dean Johnson, Mike Moreno and Arto Tunçboyacian. He has composed over 100 works, 72 of which appear on record and reflect Classical, Middle Eastern and Jazz influences.
Armen’s musical collaborations include performances with Sonny Stitt, Joe Williams, Lee Konitz, Jackie Paris, Hank Mobley, Sheila Jordan, Dewey Redman, Rebecca Parris, Jimmy Heath, Dominique Eade, Frank Wess, Karrin Allyson, David Liebman, John Proulx, Ronnie Cuber, Jim Hall, Joe Lovano, Attila Zoller, Randy Brecker, Gene Bertoncini, Tom Harrell, Vic Juris, Claudio Roditi, Eddie Gomez, Wallace Roney, George Mraz, Valerie Ponamarov, Cecil McBee, Jack Walrath, Buster Williams, Paul Motian, Michael Moore, Bernard Purdy, Charli Persip, Billy Hart, Joe Chambers, Portinho, Willi Bobo, Keith Copeland, Ray Barretto, Lionel Hampton, Joe Locke and Cal Tjader.
Outstanding critical review of Armen’s work has appeared in publications including The New York Times, The New York Post, The Village Voice, The Berkshire Eagle, San Francisco Chronicle, Montreal Gazette, Downbeat and Jazz Times.
Armen is a Fulbright Senior Scholar and Senior Specialist for residencies in Armenia (2002, 2003), Finland (2004), Switzerland (2006), Sweden (2007) and Greece (2009). He is also the recipient of six NEA Jazz Performance Fellowships, five Meet the Composer grants, one NJSCA grant, two CEC Artslink Grants and one New School Faculty Development grant and is a Steinway Affiliated Artist.
As an educator, Armen has taught in The New School Jazz and Contemporary Music Program for 35 years since its inception in 1986, at William Paterson University (1993-2016) and Manhattan School of Music (1989-2000). He has lectured at conservatories in Paris, Zürich, Copenhagen, Athens, St. Petersburg, Lisbon, Malmö, Jyväskylä, Arvika, Iasi, Tblisi and Yerevan. He has authored four books – Training the Ear Vol. 1 & 2, Whole Notes (all pub., Schott Music) and Ancestral Songs (pub. Edition Gruber) – as well as numerous articles published in The Rutgers Annual Review of Jazz Studies, and Downbeat and Keyboard magazines. Along with Marc Mommaas, he is the Co- founder of the Hudson Jazz Workshop, now in its 18th year.
Armen is a graduate of the Westchester Conservatory of Music (Artist’s Certificate,1968) where he studied privately for nine years with Classical pianist Michael Pollon. One of his early Jazz mentors was guitarist Arthur Ryerson, Sr. After attending Columbia University (BA in Music, 1972), Armen completed private studies with Carl Bamberger (conducting), Ludmila Ulehla (harmonic analysis), Harold Seletsky (Schoenberg theory and counterpoint) and Richie Beirach (Jazz piano). He has been a formal practitioner of yoga and meditation for 35 years.
Armen presents a program of standards, original compositions and covers of works by his mentors and students from across the decades, accompanied by bassist Jay Anderson and drummer Dennis Mackrel, two top tier New York-based musicians who appear on his 2022 trio recording, Fresh Start (Sunnyside).