TIGRAN HAMASYAN - For Gyumri 10"

At first glance, it would be easy to discount For Gyumri, Armenian-American pianist Tigran Hamasyan’s latest EP, as a retread. “Aragatz,” the first of five tracks on display, surprises in its blend of motion and familiarity: a grace-noted melody forms atop a steady pulse in the left hand is joined by a group of multitracked vocals; the focus never shifts, exactly, but the foundation turns percussive and punchy. When he begins to beatbox, buried deep into the mix, it’s reminiscent of “Nairian Odyssey,” the eleven-minute centerpiece from 2017’s An Ancient Observer. Nothing Hamasyan does here is new to him in whole; even the most exploratory parts are firmly rooted in an already-established set of musical idioms. This is, in itself, an interesting development for the pianist: his career has been defined by constant motion, and his music has fearlessly woven genres as disparate as jazz, rock, classical, and choral music into whole cloth. When compared to the genre-hopping he’s done in the past, For Gyumri almost looks like a retreat.