Harry Tavitian
Encyclopedia
Harry Tavitian is a Romania
n jazz
pianist and singer, whose style covers free-jazz, blues
, ethno-jazz and avant-garde
. He plays piano solo, as well as with Orient Express septet and with Black Sea Orchestra. Creativ is the duo formula with Corneliu Stroe (drums and percussion).
Tavitian was born in Constanţa
to Armenian
parents and graduated the Academy of Music
in Bucharest
. He came to prominence in 1978-1987, when he set up a jazz club, organizing recordings and listening sessions where he presented albums by some of the world's most prominent jazzmen. The club was hosted by Constanţa Library, where he was working at that time.
Musicians he performed with over the years include: Johnny Răducanu
, Cserey Csaba, Mihai Iordache
, Anatoly Vapirov, Alexander Bălănescu
, Edi Neumann, Hanno Höfer
, Ivo Papasov, Jürg Solothurnmann, Wolfgang Puschnig, Hans Kumpf, Floros Floridis, Jimi El Lako and Mario Florescu.
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
pianist and singer, whose style covers free-jazz, blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, ethno-jazz and avant-garde
Avant-garde jazz
Avant-garde jazz is a style of music and improvisation that combines avant-garde art music and composition with jazz. Avant-jazz often sounds very similar to free jazz, but differs in that, despite its distinct departure from traditional harmony, it has a predetermined structure over which ...
. He plays piano solo, as well as with Orient Express septet and with Black Sea Orchestra. Creativ is the duo formula with Corneliu Stroe (drums and percussion).
Tavitian was born in Constanţa
Constanta
Constanța is the oldest extant city in Romania, founded around 600 BC. The city is located in the Dobruja region of Romania, on the Black Sea coast. It is the capital of Constanța County and the largest city in the region....
to Armenian
Armenians in Romania
Armenians have been present in what is now Romania and Moldova for over a millennium, and have been an important presence as traders since the 14th century...
parents and graduated the Academy of Music
National University of Music Bucharest
The National University of Music Bucharest is a university-level school of music located in Bucharest, Romania. Established as a school of music in 1863 and reorganized as an academy in 1931, it has functioned as a public university since 2001...
in Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
. He came to prominence in 1978-1987, when he set up a jazz club, organizing recordings and listening sessions where he presented albums by some of the world's most prominent jazzmen. The club was hosted by Constanţa Library, where he was working at that time.
Musicians he performed with over the years include: Johnny Răducanu
Johnny Raducanu
Johnny Răducanu was a Romanian jazz pianist of Romani ethnic background, whose family has a long musical tradition dating back to the 17th century....
, Cserey Csaba, Mihai Iordache
Mihai Iordache
Mihai Iordache, born March 13, 1967 is a Romanian saxophonist, improviser, composer and band leader . Currently he is the saxophone player for the Romanian alternative rock band Kumm and leads his own jazz band "iordache".- Biography :...
, Anatoly Vapirov, Alexander Bălănescu
Alexander Balanescu
Alexander Bălănescu is a violinist and founder of the Balanescu Quartet.He emigrated with his family to Israel in 1969....
, Edi Neumann, Hanno Höfer
Hanno Höfer
Hanno Höfer is a German-Romanian movie director, producer and musician.Between 1990 and 1992 he studied South-eastern European History in Berlin, and later between 1994–1998, Movies and Directing at the Academy for Theatre and Film in Bucharest...
, Ivo Papasov, Jürg Solothurnmann, Wolfgang Puschnig, Hans Kumpf, Floros Floridis, Jimi El Lako and Mario Florescu.
Discography
- Open End (Stuttgart, 1984, with Hans Kumpf)
- Horizons (London, 1985)
- Transylvanian Suite (London, 1986)
- East-West Creativ Combinations (Bucharest, 1988)
- the Creation (Bucharest, 1991)
- There's Always a Hope (Sofia, 1993)
- Black Sea Orchestra (Athens, 1998)
- Axis Mundi (Bucharest, 1999) - with Orient Express