Become a member and get exclusive access to articles, live sessions and more!
Start Your Free Trial

This is the 1st of your 3 free articles

Become a member for unlimited website access and more.

FREE TRIAL Available!

Learn More

Already a member? Sign in to continue reading

Armen Donelian: Wave

JazzTimes may earn a small commission if you buy something using one of the retail links in our articles. JazzTimes does not accept money for any editorial recommendations. Read more about our policy here. Thanks for supporting JazzTimes.

One CD that probably won’t get many more plays at my place is Armen Donelian’s Wave, even though it contains some really outstanding moments, like the lovely and surprising ending on “All of Me.” There are two problems here, both of which involve the program more than the pianist, who actually has an attractive touch and some very original lines and harmonic ideas. Every tune is taken at medium tempo or slower, and every one is overly familiar, except perhaps for the opening “I Will,” by Lennon-McCartney. One suspects that Donelian often works in situations where such fare is well-received, and wishes him luck with this recording in those settings. For my part I would be very interested to hear him in a more specifically jazz context.