ACCORDING TO BRITISH MUSICIANS’ OBSERVATIONS, JAZZ IS DEVELOPING RAPIDLY IN ARMENIA
Noyan Tapan
Mar 29 2006
YEREVAN, MARCH 29, NOYAN TAPAN. “I am very glad to be in Armenia. I am
also glad to work with such talented and developed Armenian youths,”
Garry Crosby, bassist of the “Jazz Warriors” band, founder of the
“Soldiers of the Future” educational-cultural organization, declared at
the March 29 press conference in Yerevan. According to Garry Crosby,
the three-day jazz courses held with the Armenian young musicians
will be concluded by two joint interesting concert programs on March
30 and 31. Garry Crosby mentioned that in the 80s of the previous
century pop music prevailed in England and there was a tendency that
the other musical genres, including the Afro-American jazz, can be
ousted from the sphere. It was just at that time that the “Soldiers
of the Future” organization was founded in defence of jazz music. Its
goal is to preserve and develop this music everywhere, at the same
time to reveal new names in this sphere and to support them. Besides,
according to him, the organization cooperates with jazz communities
of different countries and simultaneously establishes contacts among
them both in the educational and creative respect. This cooperation
is the first one in the south-eastern region and they hope that it
will extend its circles. Well-known British musicians Garry Crosby
and Abram Wilson are in Armenia for the first time and have never
associated with Armenian jazzmen before, they don’t know the history
of Armenian jazz, either.
“Over these days we got acquainted with numerous bands and their
performers and are convinced that jazz is developing rapidly in
Armenia. We especially liked the synthesis of ethnic music and jazz
performed by Armenian musicians,” the British musicians mentioned. The
musicians of the “Art Voices” jazz band mentioned that these courses
are very cognitive not only from point of view of their contents but
also from point of view of stage skills and culture.