DJIVAN GASPARYAN TO LEAD DUDUK ENSEMBLE AT ROYCE HALL

Los Angeles Times
May 26 2008
CA

The master of the Armenian oboe will team with composer-producer
Michael Brook and family members.

On Friday night, Royce Hall will resonate with the quivering sound
of the duduk, an Armenian oboe, as played by its reigning master,
79-year-old Djivan Gasparyan. He will be accompanied by Michael Brook,
inventor and performer of the "Infinite Guitar" and a composer and
producer who has worked with such musicians as Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan,
Brian Eno, U2’s Edge and Jon Hassell.

The additional ensemble of musicians will include Gasparyan’s grandson,
also named Djivan, playing duduk, and Brook’s wife, violinist Julie
Rogers.

Brook produced Gasparyan’s album "Moon Shines at Night" in 1993, and
the pair decided on a full collaboration five years later for the
album "Black Rock." Released on Peter Gabriel’s Real World label,
it generated considerable critical acclaim — Gasparyan’s slow,
meditative phrases beautifully complemented Brook’s dreamy, sustained
and heavily processed guitar.

"The process when trying to work with people from other countries
is to create a simple backing track, giving a bit of atmosphere,
pitch and tempo. [Djivan overdubs], then I develop the frame around
the picture," Brook said. "I take what he does, what is beautiful
and magical, and provide a framework."

Their work, individually and together, has appeared on soundtracks
for such films as "Gladiator," "Black Hawk Down" and, most recently
for Brook, "An Inconvenient Truth" and "Into the Wild."

"Music is a real-time thing for me," Brook said. "There’s very little
planning — it’s a purely experimental process. I learned to feel
comfortable with the glory of the accident."

A new album, "Penumbra," is scheduled for a fall release, and the Royce
concert will include much of the new material. Brook and Gasparyan
also are recording more traditionally based Armenian music.

Casey Dolan

Royce Hall, UCLA campus, Westwood, 8 p.m. Friday, $24-$48 (UCLA
students: $15 in advance), (310) 825-2101 or

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress