The Fabulous Vosbikians: All American Kef

Today's post concerns one of the most influential groups in the history of Armenian dance music in America. It can be said that without this group the music as we know it today would not exist anymore. The group of which I speak is the "Fabulous" Vosbikian Band.

The Vosbikian Band is the longest running Armenian band in America. Founded in 1939, they are a family band still going strong today with second and third generation members.

The band was founded originally by three brothers, Samuel, Manuel (Mike), and Joseph Vosbikian, born to Armenian immigrant parents from Malatya, Turkey, just after WWI. They were typical members of the "Greatest Generation", grew up during the Depression, served in WWII, and listened to Big Band music of the time like any other American kids.

SAM, MIKE, JOE

But the Armenian legacy held strong in the Vosbikian family. Sam, Mike and Joe's immigrant father Bedros Vosbikian (b. 1892 in Malatya) was a clarinet player, who performed Armenian folk music with his brother Thomas on violin and Harry Santerian on dumbeg. Bedros had stowed away on a ship to America in 1913 and in 1916 brought his brother and his bride-to-be, Vartanoush, who had miraculously survived the Armenian Genocide, to Philadelphia. Bedros' saga is told by his daughter-in-law, Irene, in her new book "Bedros": http://www.amazon.com/Bedros-Irene-Vosbikian/dp/0615887244

BEDROS AND VARTANOUSH

Bedros and Vartanoush had 4 sons and 3 daughters but it was the 3 oldest boys, Sam, Mike, and Joe who in 1939 took the revolutionary step, when some of them were still in high school, of starting the first Armenian band composed of American-born members. (Picture below.)

L to R: Garo "Charles" Mardigian (usually played banjo), Sam Vosbikian (leader), Joe Vosbikian, Mike Vosbikian, Peter Endrigian (on dumbeg). The 1939-1941 band.

The first band played at various functions in Philly and made their first out of town appearance at an AYF Mid Atlantic Jamboree in Union City, NJ in 1940. When the boys went off to WWII the band was put on hold but after everyone had returned a new band was formed in 1946, with the original 3 core members and some new band members. It was this second band, billed as "The Fabulous Vosbikian Band," which really made a mark in the Armenian social and music scene as the first American born Armenian band, performing regularly at social functions, releasing records, etc.

L to R, top row: Mike Vosbikian (sax), Jirair Hovnanian (vocals), Jimmy Vosbikian (clarinet, vocals)
L to R, bottom row: Steve Ajdaharian (piano, vocals), Joe Vosbikian (dumbeg, vocals), Albert Santerian (dumbeg),
Sam Vosbikian (oud, bandleader)

In the 1946 version of the band, Sam switched from clarinet to oud, Joe from drum set to traditional dumbeg, and Mike stayed on sax. Joe was also one of the band's vocalists known for his "deep emotional vocals bringing the old intensity into modern Armenian music." The 3 brothers teamed up with cousin Jimmy Vosbikian (son of Bedros' brother Thomas) on clarinet and vocals (he was the star vocalist of the group, to whom "everyone pauses to listen"), and Albert Santerian also on dumbeg. In 1948 Jirair Hovnanian, who had immigrated with his brothers from his birthplace in Baghdad, Iraq, and ended up marrying Vosbikian sister Elizabeth, joined the band as a vocalist, adding many new songs. In 1949 Steve Ajdaharian joined as a pianist and sometimes vocalist. Joe also contributed vocals. In 1950 Steve Terkanian was added as a tambourine player. The above oil painting depicts the 1940s-1950s era Vosbikian band. 

From 1949-1951 the Vosbikian Band recorded 22 songs, the first by an American-born Armenian band. These recordings became hugely popular and influential in kef music. Later, in 1957, the Vosbikian Band produced the first LP by an Armenian-American dance band. Influenced by the Big Band Swing music of the time, the Vosbikians used saxophone (for the first time) and piano in an Armenian folk/dance band. They added an American flair to traditional Armenian folk music - for example Steve Ajdaharian's piano solos and Mike Vosbikian wailing on the sax on numbers like "Vosbikian Special II". Even aside from that, the Vosbikians had a unique sound like no other Armenian group; instead of making everything seem sad, they made everything seem happy. Yet, though they had a happy-go-lucky "American-Armenian" image and sound, they were actually more authentic in many ways that many of their peers who were giving into commercialism. For instance, on listening to their 1957 LP, "Vosbikian Presents Armenian Folk Dances," I felt I was there, live at an Armenian youth dance in the Catskills or the Jersey Shore in the 50s, - without the smoothed-out, Westernized style that makes some other bands of that era sound like the soundtrack to "Cleopatra" with Elizabeth Taylor. It was these recordings and this sound that was influential to the careers of a whole generation of American-born Armenian musicians.

But perhaps even more influential was the fact that they had started a band at all. For a bunch of American-born guys to take such a step of creating a working Armenian dance band in the 1940s was no casual act. This was a time when the first American born generation of Armenians was coming of age and deciding whether they wanted to continue the Armenian heritage or not. No doubt their father's musical talents and strong Armenian pride inspired the Vosbikian brothers in this significant, and influential decision. When other ethnicities were forgetting their traditional music (i.e. the Jewish community all but rejected "klezmer", their folk music, to the point where it had to be "revived" in the 1970s), the Vosbikians started a movement among young Armenians to live out their heritage through music.

Some of the bands in that era were the Nor-Ikes of NYC (founded by oudist Charles "Chick" Ganimian in 1948), the Artie Barsamian Orchestra of Boston featuring the legendary clarinetist of the same name, the Gomidas Band of Philly, founded by Hank Mardigian around 1950 and featuring the legendary oudist George Mgrdichian, Mike and Buddy Sarkissian's group operating out of the Merrimack Valley (Lawrence and Lowell, Mass.), the Aramites Band of Worcester, Mass, founded in 1951, the New England Ararats hailing from Rhode Island, the Ardziv Band of Detroit, founded by clarinetist Simon Javizian, and the Arax Band of Detroit who were the first Armenian group to have a recording on the Billboard charts. All of these bands were formed by first-generation-American-born Armenians, and almost all of them, with the exception of Mike and Buddy Sarkissian, copied the Vosbikian line up of 1946 in their basic format: oud, clarinet, saxophone, and two dumbegs (or a dumbeg and a "cocktail drum") an instrumentation that was standard until the mid-60s. Some have called it the Armenian Big Band era. Rather than a dumbeg and guitar, the pace was set by 2 dumbegs, and the Vosbikians had their own giant, hand made versions.

CHRIS VOSBIKIAN PLAYING GIANT DUMBEG HAND MADE BY HIS UNCLE JOE VOSBIKIAN

As to their success in the community, an article in the Armenian press by Elizabeth Noorigian Simonds, who having grown up in that era, stressed that the Vosbikians brought together all the Armenians regardless of political affiliations stemming from the old world that unfortunately were tearing the Armenian community apart, and regardless of generation gap between the old and the young. The Vosbikian band was a phenomenon in the Armenian community, breaking down barriers and simply creating good times and memories for the generation that grew up dancing to their music.

It was in this era that kef music as we know it today was born. Styles and repertoire from all the parts of Turkey that Armenians had immigrated from combined into a new pan-Armenian-American style. New dances like the Armenian Shuffle were created and a host of songs from Soviet and Russian Armenia were adopted - always being transformed in the process into an Anatolian style, notably by changing the 6/8 meter to a 10/8, which the Vosbikians excelled at. According to Gary and Susan Lind-Sinanian, with the melding of the different regional styles from Turkey, although "The music lost much of the subtle [regional] characteristics," the new style "brought new vigor" and "enabled the community to integrate itself on a much wider scale as a common interest of all groups." 

By the mid-1950s, it was official: it was apparently "cool," among young American-born Armenians, to play Armenian dance (kef) music. Even as the "Big Band Armenian" era came to an end in the 60s, a second generation of Armenian-Americans, in relatively large numbers, continued to enter the field of Armenian and Near Eastern music. You can probably count the number of Armenians who made any kind of name for themselves in jazz or pop music on your two hands, and even less for rock music. As for classical music, many Armenians entered that field, but certainly not as many as who entered the "Near Eastern" scene. This strong trend continued throughout the 60s and 70s, and the tradition continues unbroken, though maybe on a lesser scale, today. In a 1978 interview, veteran singer Onnik Dinkjian had this to say about the bands from the 40s and 50s: "All I know is that those bands--the Nor-Ikes, the Gomidas, and the Barsamians, and so on--were really the pioneers, the beginners of what we are trying to do today...A lot of credit is due these bands because to be living far, far away from Armenia and to first learn the instruments, and then to get together, listen to their parents and the old records, and learn that music is highly commendable. These boys could just as well have learned jazz, or any other type of music, but they put their heart and soul into the Armenian music...My hat is off to them."

In other words, if it wasn't for the Vosbikians and those who followed them, we might be dancing to only American music at our Armenian weddings and social functions today.

The Vosbikians continued their family tradition. In 1963, the teenage sons of the original band members first appeared on stage, billed as the Vosbikian Juniors, which developed into the Steve Vosbikian Ensemble coming out with their LP, "Armenian Reflections" in the early 1970s.

In 1975, the first and second generation musicians joined together to create an album entitled "Armenian Dance Favorites." It was to be the first of 10 volumes of albums released periodically up until 2004, featuring a vast array of Vosbikian family members. The albums are available here: http://armenianvendor.com/armenian-cds-dvds-armenian-dance-music-cds-c-24_37.html?page=3 The most active members in the second generation were bandleader Steve Vosbikian (clarinet), Greg Vosbikian (oud), Sam Vosbikian Jr. (dumbeg) (all sons of Sam), Mike Vosbikian Jr. (sax), and Steve Hovnanian, son of Jirair, on vocals, who along with Roger Krikorian is one of the two best kef singers of his generation in this writer's opinion. Skippy Krepelka (of Greek descent) on guitar was added to the group to round out the sound. 

Out of that generation, oudist Greg Vosbikian has also recently released his own solo album, "Armenian Stone." www.cdbaby.com/cd/gregoryvosbikian

The third generation of Vosbikian family talent has developed with Chris Vosbikian (dumbeg/keyboards - son of Greg), and Stephen Hovnanian (saxophone) and for a time Haig Hovnanian (dumbeg), sons of Steve Hovnanian, all playing as members of the Philly Kef Band (most active in the late 90s and early 2000s). Later, Chris joined the Michael Gostanian Ensemble on dumbeg, and with them, recorded one of the most well-received kef albums of the current generation ("Traditions"), and Steve Vosbikian Jr. joined the Philly Kef Band on clarinet. Steve Jr. continued his Armenian music education and became adept at the Eastern Armenian folk and rabiz styles, prompting him to create his new band, Artsakh. Chris continues to be an in-demand dumbeg player in the more traditional kef combinations. Stemming all the way back to their great-grandfather Bedros, Steve Jr. and Chris are continuing the family tradition. Steve Hovnanian's daughter Karinne Andonian is also a talented vocalist that has appeared on one of the band's albums and appeared with the band at Return to Asbury 2015.

Unfortunately, almost all of the original band members have passed on, with the noted exception of Mike Vosbikian, first saxophonist in an Armenian band, now in his mid 90s. Check him out, singing with Leo and Mal Barsamian a few years back:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HVzs4gkLqs

At the Vosbikian Band's appearance at Return to Asbury 2015, Mr. Mike Vosbikian Sr. was honored for his contributions and did his rendition of "Dollarjee." The band as put together for that event is pictured below at their rehearsal.

THE VOSBIKIAN BAND REHARSING FOR RETURN TO ASBURY 2015
(L to R: GREG, MIKE JR., STEVE SR., STEVE HOVNANIAN, CHRIS, kneeling: STEVE JR.)

What makes the Vosbikians different? In conversations with others of my age, we often compare the various bands and musicians that we've listened to, especially the older groups, and analyze them: i.e. John Berberian or Richard Hagopian might be the greatest oud player, and Richard is no doubt the "heaviest" and most traditional. John might have more soul, say some, but the dancers who want to get their groove on to an old school "chifte telli" go for Richard all the way. Hachig Kazarian, too brings the traditional style along with soul and technique, and Onnik Dinkjian has the vocal chops to be called the Armenian Frank Sinatra while his son Ara's oud style is minimalist, modern, and expressive. It's a tossup whether John Berberian's first two albums, or Richard and Hachig's four "Kef Time" albums are the best records in the genre, although Onnik's albums, still appearing in his late 80s are phenomenal and so is his stage presence!

So what do the Vosbikians have, aside from being the originators of it all? Well they do have their own inimitable style, that I don't think any other band has even tried to replicate. But the thing that stands out for me is this: they play with the most HEART. They put their all into it, forget being an oud virtuoso, forget eastern makams and quartertones, when you listen to the Vosbikians, more than any other band, you can tell that they really and truly LOVE this music. They play for love of the music, not for fame, or virtuosity, or ethnomusicology, or to impress belly dancers, or to sound heavy, or to sound badass.....they play because they love the music and want to spread the love and joy and happiness through Armenian music and dancing...they are the most authentic not in the ethnographic sense, but in the human sense, because it was never fake with them, never posturing, never trying to impress, just playing the best they knew how, to make people happy...just check out the below youtube videos I took at Return to Asbury 2015....I'm sure their father/grandfather/great-grandfather Bedros more than approves!

BEDROS VOSBIKIAN ARMENIAN DANCING

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TL0Vgz1IGUM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88_eIaa0zWk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmiWnfp3e1M

Coming to America

Its Armenian Christmas today, but unfortunately I don't have any Christmas-related recordings.

To all my Armenian Christian friends: Christos dznav yev haydnetsav!

Of course it's also the beginning of a new year...a time of new beginnings...so here's song about a man starting fresh in the land of the free and the home of the brave...it's not quite kef music by strict definition but its a fun Armenian song:

Yep, its our old friend Edward Bogosian, who we last heard in the first post on this blog singing his all-time hit "Soode Soode." "Sofi Jan," a tale of immigrant life is one of my favorite pieces by Maestro Yetvart. It is unusual in that in addition to the violin and oud there is a very prominent piano on this track. Also, it's in a moderately fast 6/8 which combines to make it sound more like Eastern European music. Although thats not my thing in general, I really like this song. The depiction of immigrant life is very poignant "come on and let's suffer together" yet the singer sounds happy, not depressed. My family has now been in America for 100 years. When they got here they suffered but they never lost hope. They struggled and they made money and raised children and grandchildren and great grandchildren (me). That's why this song resonates with me, and I'm sure many of you reading this.

Yela, yega America - I got up, I came to America     

Gananch dollar-uh yes shaheloo - To earn the green dollar

Paytz guh tzavim yes useloo - But it pains me to say

Gananch derevuh chi kudah - I didn't find the green leaf (money)

Aman aman Sofi jan - Aman aman Sofi dear

Naz m'uner toon, Sofi jan - Don't be coy, Sofi dear

Aman aman Sofi jan - Aman aman Sofi dear

Naz m'uner toon, Sofi jan - Don't be coy, Sofi dear

Herik herik toon zis danches, - Enough, enough, with you torturing me

Minchev yerp toon zis al khapes? - And until when will you keep fooling me?

Yegour yertank menk, ay Sofi - Come on, let's go, oh Sofi

Vorbes tzavenk miasin - So that we can suffer together

(chorus)

Usbasel em yes al nra - I've been waiting for her

Gyankus eller eh oo al g’erta - My life has come and it goes

Yegour yertank menk, ay Sofi - Come on, let's go, oh Sofi

Vorbes tzavink miasin - So that we can suffer together

(chorus)

Kani me dari al verchuh - And a few years later

Bzdig mun al danuh mechuh - There'll be a child in the house too

Aghchig muh ulla ne kezi - If it's a girl, for you

Manch muh ulla ne indzi - If it's a boy, for me

(chorus)

EDWARD BOGOSIAN
ARMENIAN ACTOR AND COMIC SINGER

Since I haven't already I thought I would do a bio of Mr. Bogosian for those interested in this major figure in the early Armenian-American music scene. Yetvart Boghosian was born in Constantinople in 1900, the son of Nazaret Effendi, a schoolteacher at the Bezazian School in Istanbul and the Varvarian School in Kum Kapu, whose thick eyebrows and glaring eyes behind his round eyeglasses frightened many a student, despite his short stature. In reality though, Nazaret Effendi was a kind man who loved clever jokes, and his son took after him. Yetvart got his start in showbusiness at a very young age in the Armenian theaters of Constantinople, and was formed by the theater movement of the Menagians and the Benlians (not sure who they were). He was one of the founders of the "Hay Arevelyan Taderakhoump" (Armenian Oriental Theatre Troupe) in Kum Kapu.

At the age of 20 Boghosian came to America where he often went by Edward, the direct translation of his name. Settling in New York, he toured the country performing in Armenian plays, and made records of Armenian comedic songs which were very popular. Many of them, like "Sofi Jan" give us a fascinating look at the life of the first Armenian immigrants. He wrote the words and music of most of his records. More classically trained singers said that although he didn't have quite as good of a voice, he undoubtedly had an extraordinary ear for music, and feel for the music he was performing. He was also known to enunciate his words carefully so that the listener could understand the lyrics. In the 20s he recorded on Pharos records but by the 1940s he was recording excusively for Metropolitan, another ethnic record company. He has an extensive amount of 78 rpm records and 2 LPs, which were made around 1960 and 1975, and were compilations of his 78 recordings, with a few originals on the second LP. According to noted oudist Mr. John Bilezikjian, Bogosian used Garbis Bakirgian on Kanun, Marko Melkon on oud, and Nick Doneff (who was Bulgarian) on violin for his 78 rpm records. This makes sense since they were essentially the house band for the Metropolitan and related labels. Certainly Garbis played Kanun on the recordings that included that instrument (not on Sofi Jan), because he is pictured on the first Bogosian LP and it says "Accompanied by Kenar Orchestra" next to his picture. As for who is playing piano on this piece I have no idea.

OOR EH? HOS EH!

In my last post I said that I would tell some more about recent dance events and explain what a henna party is. Unfortunately technical issues prevented me from uploading the music that was supposed to go with that post. So I'm going to go ahead with a post I've been meaning to do for a while.

Readers of this blog will remember this picture from several posts ago:

At the time I was responding to a request for more old pictures on the blog and I had found this cool picture in a newspaper clipping. I did not know the identity of the gentlemen in this picture other than that they were the "Ardziv" (Eagle) Band of Philadelphia. Thanks to noted oudist Mr. Richard Hagopian we have the answer. From left to right they are Bernard Kondourajian (1897-1988), violinist - who seems to have been the leader of the band, G. Kalayjian, vocalist and oudist, and K. "Tommy" Nersesian. Here's a recording of them playing a "Haleh" (titled on the disc as "Halay-Kotchari") :

Kondourajian appears to have immigrated to the US from Arabkir in 1913. The other band members may have been from Arabkir as well since many people from that town settled in Philadelphia. (Thanks goes out to Paul Sookiasian for some of this background information.) In English they wrote their name as the "Arziv Orchestra" and according to Mr. Hagopian they played in the 40s. Well, it turns out I have several 78s from this group - I had confused the 78s with another Ardziv band that was out of Boston, and didn't realize it was the group pictured. On several of the 78s including the one above, they are accompanied by an "M. Kalemkerian" who is listed as playing "fingan". My assumption is that this "instrument" consists of looping a string of worry beads around your vest button, holding the other end out, and scraping the worry beads with a glass (finjan means cup in Turkish.) I know that this percussion "instrument" was often used among Armenians and Greeks in the old days, and specifically Joe Vosbikian mentions it as having been used in Philadelphia in the 30s in an essay on the website dedicated in his memory "Hoachland."

Now, those of you who aren't familiar with the kef culture will ask me "what's a Haleh?" The Haleh is type of dance also known as Halay, Kochari, or Govand. These different terms are used in different parts of Armenia. Govand is specifically the term that was used in Van. Modern day Armenia uses the term Kochari. The term "Haleh" is apparently a broken down form of "Halay", a word that in the Turkish language refers to (I believe) an even wider spectrum of line dances than its usage in the Armenian culture. The Turkish word halay is apparently derived from a Kurdish word meaning circle.

The way everyone older than 30 in Detroit does the Haleh is very similar to this video, except in the video they are holding pinkies as in a regular Armenian dance, while in a Haleh they would be holding hands with all fingers interlocked, and standing very close to one another: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcTysM9jUC0. Also, they tell me that when the old timers would dance it they would stand together "like a wall" and they would "barely move". Now when I say it was slow and they would barely move I don't want you to get the impression that its an old man's dance. By old timers, I simply mean the older generation that had been born in the Old Country. The movements are slow but done with strength and power. The barely moving means in terms of moving to the right like a normal Armenian dance. They do move up and down quite a bit. The video indicates the dance as Gyovnd (Govand). As far as I know, that's a Vanetsi term, and so I suspect that the Detroit Haleh is of a Vanetsi origin. This dance is used as the "Chapter Dance" for the Detroit AYF Chapter at AYF Olympics.

Some may argue that Kochari, Halay and Govand are all different dances. But they have important things in common: they are circle dances, or as we say "line dances," originally they were done by men only, they have a masculine character to them expressive of strength and vitality, and originally they were done by holding hands with fingers interlocking, the men standing very close shoulder to shoulder to each other so they almost form a wall. And then there are some steps but these are done slowly, steadily, and with strength and as said the old timers would barely move. The fact that Haleh and Kochari are considered synonyms is shown by the above recording's label, which reads "Halay-Kotchari".

The current most popular Haleh today among young Armenian men in the Eastern US especially in the ACYOA is seen in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYEKg3zAg8o. According to Tom Bozigian this one was created by Armenian youth in Yettem, California (near Fresno) in the 1970s. It was made up by a group of guys for a dance contest. In the past 10 years it has gained popularity among the young men of the Eastern US. It was reintroduced to the ACYOA events by a couple of guys who learned it at camp. Names will not be disclosed to protect the innocent. This dance is only done by guys, while the girls dance in a circle around the men's circle, doing the "old haleh."

Apparently what happened is that the men got sick of the fact that their "men's only" dance was taken away from them, they needed a dance that the girls wouldn't even want to do, thus the Yettem Halay filled a need that was there. Supply and demand.

Oh and Detroit has added to the Yettem Halay by adding the "Southfield Spin" as one of the "special moves" (shout out to Mr. Banks). Not only that, but in the past 5 years or so we have developed the position of "halay caller" who stands in the center of the circle and yells out the next move that should be done. This was created by Brandon Maake to solve the problem of huge Haleh circles which, getting larger and larger, were increasingly hard to coordinate, and generally included a ton of people who apparently didn't know what the hell a Haleh was.

I will have to disappoint Mr. Jon Pelaez at this point and inform you that this version of the Hale is not native to Dikranagerd, New Jersey, or Puerto Rico. As stated this Haleh was created by the Yettem, California ACYOA guys in the 70s. The steps seem to be a more elaborate version of the "Kharpertsi Haleh" as seen in the Aradzani Dance Group instructional video (http://www.armenianvendor.com/product_info.php?products_id=1043).

Speaking of Kharpert, here's a version of the Haleh recorded in circa 1927 by violinist Stepan Simonian (who was born in Kharpert,) with his son Haigaz on piano and an unknown dumbeg player.

Special thanks to Fr. Garabed Kochakian (grandnephew of Stepan Simonian) who shared his precious copy of this 78 rpm recording with me.

In both the old and new haleh, the call and response shouts of "Oor eh?" "Hos eh!" can be heard. Oor eh means "where is it" and "hos eh" means "it's here," but in context it means "where's it at?" and "it's right here," a statement of machismo by the guys dancing the Haleh. It was taught to me that the whole point of the Haleh is to impress the girls by showing off.Sometimes one guy will yell "oor eh" and all the others yell "hos eh," another variation is that the girls yell "oor eh" and the boys yell "hos eh." Haleh is one of the favorite dances of the Armenian youth in the United States. It's also often a show-off piece for the musicians, who treat it as an improvisation on a short theme or riff. Probably you have caught the drift of that by now - none of the pieces above were the same yet they all have a similar pattern to them. Armenians from present day Armenia are used to hearing the kochari played on a davoul and zourna, and the older Armenian-American recordings of the halay are usually played on the similar clarinet or at least a violin as above. But at some point in Armenian American culture, the halay became a showcase for the oudist - perhaps inspired by George Mgrdichian's great rendition on his album "The Oud" recorded under the pseudonym "Aram Arakelian" in 1958. (http://www.amoeba.com/the-oud-aram-arakelian-ensemble/albums/841766/). But undoubtedly the best Armenian oud halays are played by Mr. John Berberian, seen in the video above, but also in this great California performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3LeJbmqSig. I can't follow that act, so to all a good night and a Happy Thanksgiving.

Kef in Review: the Summer of 2013

Hello to everyone out there in cyperspace - I can't believe it's been since April that I've blogged on here. A lot has taken place since then. So here's the rundown of the latest Kef events.
(Click below to hear a clip from Kef Time Providence: Onnik Dinkjian singing Ko Siro Hamar with an oud solo by John Berberian)

SPORTS WEEKEND/KEF TIME PROVIDENCE

L to R: Mal Barsamian, Richard Hagopian, John Berberian
at Kef Time Providence/ACYOA Sports Weekend

This year's ACYOA (Armenian Church Youth Organization) General Assembly and Sports Weekend was held in Providence on Memorial Day (yes I know that was a long time ago!). The entertainment for Saturday night was a dance held officially under the auspices of the local parish (rather than the ACYOA), billed as "Kef Time Providence." And boy did they put together some band! The headliners were Richard Hagopian (oud/vocals), John Berberian (oud), and Onnik Dinkjian (vocals). Betwen the three of them, we've got two of what I would rank as the top three living Armenian oudists (the other being John Bilezikjian), as well as the two most popular vocalists in the kef genre. I've never heard of the three of them being on one stage at once and neither had most people I talked to. The rest of the band was a veteran group as well, up to the task of participating in this supergroup: Mal Barsamian (clarinet), Ara Dinkjian (background keyboard), Ron Tutunjian (dumbeg), Chris Vosbikian (dumbeg), Paul Mooradian (one of the most veteran musicians in the kef scene) on tambourine (which we call the "daf"), and up and coming oudist Brian Ansbigian (the only member of the group in his 20s). Before the music started, I had no idea what to expect. All these people had never been on one stage before. How would they balance out all the star players that were on stage? My friends and I went with Brian to the the ballroom when the musicians were setting up. It was there that I snapped this photo of the two masters conferring (Richard Hagopian with his back to the camera and John Berberian facing it), one would assume to discuss the format of the evening's music:

The Summit Meeting

In any case they did not disappoint. What ended up happening was that John and Richard played oud at the same time (their hands were practically strumming up and down in unison), accompanied by the rest of the group. It seems to me that Richard took most of the taksim intros and John took most of the "rides" (solos during the song). Richard and Onnik switched off on vocals, and the group performed many of the signature songs of Richard, Onnik, and John.

Richard and John grinding away

A friend of mine was continually telling me as we stood watching in awe: "This is it, Harry. This is the best it's ever going to get." While I didn't want to think that I would never see a performance this good again, he had a point. It's unlikely we'll see all three of these guys on the same stage again. All three of course are legends, but my personal favorite is Richard Hagopian (John or Onnik are just as good - its just personal preference), and my all time favorite song played by him is Parov Yegar Siroon Yar, an Armenian love song written by Oudi Hrant. I was sitting with the girlfriend of a friend of mine (who had gone to use the restroom) when Richard started to play a taksim in his old familiar style:
I was really feeling it - a mixture of excitement and contentment/relaxation/nostalgia in hearing my favorite music live. To me its a sensation like no other. Kef still lives and all is right in the world. But then when the melody started into "Parov Yegar" I couldn't control myself. It was drawing me irresistibly to the dance floor. I felt bad about leaving the girl sitting by herself, especially because she didn't know anyone else there, but she said "no, go ahead."  Figuring my friend would return momentarily I made it for the dance floor. My favorite song, this was it! And not only that, but it turned into an epic medley. Parov Yegar was followed by a clarinet solo by Mal, then "Sivasda Bir Yar Sevdim" (a popular Turkish number), then a oud solo by what sounds like John Berberian from the recording, then "Hele Hele Ninnaye" the well known Armenian folk song of Dikranagerd (among other places), on which Richard and Onnik (a Dikranagertsi himself) traded verses back and forth, "Dikranagerdi Halay", and finally "Sut Ictim Dilim Yandi" (Turkish) during which I experienced some new dance moves :) It was an unbelievable performance, but the rest of the dance was just as great, as you can hear from the short clip at the top.

The end of the night (Richard picking up dollar bills
that are customarily thrown at the musicians)

RETURN TO ASBURY

While you're listening to the 15 minute-long clip I just threw at you, let me tell you a little about the Asbury Kef. This event took place August 2-4 in Asbury Park, New Jersey. In the 40s, 50s, and 60s, Asbury Park was a popular summer resort town frequented by Armenians (among other people). However, it's probably best known as the Jersey Shore beach town where Bruce Springsteen got his start. At any rate the idea of the weekend was to recreate the old glory days of Armenians going to the Shore with hanging out at the beach during the day and socializing at night. The title of this event was "Return to Asbury" and the Armenian Students Association (ASA) did a great job putting it on. One of the stated purposes was to propagate the traditional Armenian dance parties with a live band playing the old instruments, meaning kef music and other traditional styles of Armenian music - in my mind a great cause. The first night was a bar night and the second night was a dance. My cousin and I drove all the way from Detroit to Asbury Park, a feat I don't think I'll try again. We stayed in Ocean Grove with its interesting Victorian architecture. During the day before the dance there was a happy hour at the pool at which dumbeg player Ohannes Berin had organized an open jam session (or as they called it in the old days, a "hookup"). He had contacted me to play at it as well as serve as MC, and I agreed. Ohannes asked me if I could get other musician friends to participate and I was able to get Paul Derderian on oud and Mike Givelekian on vocals. The others didn't step up to the plate....you know who you are. :) Nevertheless we had a GREAT time.

L to R: Paul Derderian, myself, Ohannes Berin

During the jam session I played clarinet, Paul played oud and Ohannes, dumbeg. Mike G. and I shared vocal duties. We also had as guest vocalist Mike's father Mirijohn who did a great rendition of Dele Yaman! I'm sure someone has video of this. Michael Gostanian (probably the most prominent kef singer in the younger generation) even sat in on dumbeg. In all we had a great time and thank you to Ohannes for organizing this. 

The dance was played by a combination of the Michael Gostanian Ensemble and the Artsakh Band, with Chris Marashlian on bass guitar. I wish I could name all the musicians but I can't. To my memory, Chris Vosbikian (dumbeg) and Stevie Vosbikian (clarinet) were there, Michael Gostanian (vocals), Armen Sevag (violin), Anthony Deese, Aram Hovagimian (keyboard), Antranig Kzirian (oud), and Chris Marashlian (bass guitar). I think Dave Hoplamazian was also there (?) but we've already got two ouds and a violin so if he was I don't know what he played. Sorry kefji's I can't remember much of that night! I know some of you will read this so please send in corrections. A special guest who showed up in town at the last minute was Brian Ansbigian on the oud. I don't remember too many specific details from that night but the two bands kept the crowd dancing nonstop and we did everything from tak bar to tamzara. In all, the assembled kefjis of the young generation did a spectacular job. 

After the dance we had a little hookup of our own in the hotel lobby, Brian played oud, I sang, Garo Papazian (I don't remember where he showed up from!) played dumbeg, and Ohannes played tambourine. Stevie Vosbikian also joined us on dumbeg at one point. Now at this time all the bars in town closed down because it was 2 AM or whatever. So a stream of people started showing up at the hotel, who were staying there. For some reason, they were all hipsters. This crowd of hipsters enters the lobby as we are in full blown kef mode playing and singing really heavy stuff, like chifte telli's and whatnot. The hipsters were enthralled by our sounds and crowded around us. They started to ask Brian questions. "What is that" (an oud) "What kind of music is this" (Armenian) "Where are you guys from" (Brian says Boston) "Do you do this in Boston? I want to be Armenian!" (said one drunken hipster). If any of you hipsters are reading this I'm glad we were able to introduce you to our music. So that was my kefji summer. I was unable to attend AYF Olympics as I had a friend's wedding to attend. But I did get to play oud and sing at the henna party the night before the wedding!  (the bride is a huge fan of kef music). Unfortunately the hotel had no microphones and no one could hear me. We had fun anyway. If anyone has stories or videos or audio of the music at AYF Olympics, feel free to post it and/or send it to me and I will put it up. OK, that's all for now. Next post I will catch you all up on the events of the past couple months, get back to checking out my 78s collection, and explain what a henna party is.

The inevitable Lobby Hookup - yes, we do this at every Armenian event
L to R: Me, Garo Papazian, Brian Ansbigian, Ohannes Berin, Paul Derderian.
With his back to the photo, Timothy "Dimig" Aivazian.
Brian intentionally posing as the young John Berberian from the cover of Oud Artistry.

Who Are These Guys?

I've had some requests for more pictures on the blog so here's an interesting one I have come across. These gentlemen are apparently the "Ardziv" Band of Philadelphia. The picture was accompanied by an advertisement for 2 of their records, "Lai-Lai Sofigus" and "Khunchouyki Yerk" along with the lyrics to the songs. (Khunchouyki Yerk is the well known Wine Song or Seghann Eh Arad; Sofig was the second part of the opening number on John Berberian's "Echoes of Armenia" album with Onnik Dinkjian and Armen Babamian on vocals). I have no idea who the guys in this band are, and would welcome any information about them. The picture was cut out of an old Armenian newspaper, I'm guessing from the 1950s based on other clippings found with it. This picture shows a typical Armenian band of the 20s-40s, almost certainly of the immigrant generation. Oud, violin, and drum was a very popular combination in that era. The plucked and sustained sounds of the oud and violin respectively, complement each other, and the drum of course gives the beat. The fact that the oud and violin are both fretless and can play any note also adds to the versatility of this combo.

Since I haven't before, let me also explain the title picture that appears at the top of the blog. This was found in a book on Yerzinga published in Yerevan, but the picture is of a Yerzengatsi picnic in Detroit! As you can tell the picture shows one man playing the oud and another the tambourine while a woman and man dance, and a crowd looks on. (The man dancing with the woman is at the far right). If anyone knows who any of the people are in that picture I would welcome that information as well. The picture is I believe from the 1930s but I am not sure.

For those unfamiliar with Armenian culture the style of dance they are doing is called "tak bar" which is usually a couples dance with a man and a woman, facing each other with arms at shoulder length and forward, sometimes snapping fingers. This is the second most common type of Armenian folk dance, after the line or circle dances where a large group lines up linked by pinkies and dances that way. The Armenian youth today refer "tak bar" in English as "freestyle". As you can see from her face it seems the woman is really feeling the music.