Jazz Pianist-Composer Armen Donelian to Tackle 10 American Composers for 10X10 Festival

Armen Donelian by Stephen Donelian(PITTSFIELD, Mass.) – Pianist and composer Armen Donelian brings his trio to Baba Louie’s Backroom on Friday, February 15, 2013, at 8pm, to explore the music of 10 American composers whose inspiring work spanned jazz’s first century, including Jelly Roll Morton, Art Tatum, Duke Ellington and Chick Corea, as part of the second annual 10×10 Upstreet Winter Arts Festival. The virtuoso pianist, accompanied by Dave Clark on bass and Conor Meehan, a Berkshire native, on drums, will add his unique interpretation to 10 pieces by 10 masters of jazz’ first 10 decades, in a program sponsored by Berkshires Jazz, Inc.

Called “a pianist with a crystalline touch, but a penchant for avant gardism” (New York Times), Armen Donelian has performed in 23 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia, the Middle and Far East. Since 1975, he has performed and recorded as a featured solo pianist, leader of his own quintet and trio, and with jazz legends including Sonny Rollins, Chet Baker, Paquito D’Rivera, Mongo Santamaria and Billy Harper. He is composer of more than 90 works, and has produced more than a dozen critically acclaimed recordings.

Donelian is a Fulbright Senior Scholar for work in Armenia, Finland, Switzerland and Sweden, and has received six Jazz Performance Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts for concerts and master classes. His trio first appeared at the Pittsfield CityJazz Festival in 2011, and received rave reviews.

Baba Louie’s Backroom is at 34 Depot St. Showtime is 8pm. All tickets $20, available online at Berkshires Jazz, Inc or 413.442.7718; advanced reservations strongly advised. Dinner available separately, either before the concert in the main dining room, or in Baba Louie’s Backroom.

Berkshires Jazz, Inc. is a non-profit organization whose mission is to present jazz events and encourage jazz education in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. It was formed in 2008, as an outgrowth of the Pittsfield CityJazz Festival, which remains a signature event of the Fall Foliage season in western Massachusetts.

 

 

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