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| Photo from Jerry Najarian |
I heard over a year ago that Hachig and Richard would be playing on July 13, 2018 in Detroit for the Knights of Vartan Annual Convocation. As they do not play together as often as they once did, I knew that I would be there if at all possible. Thankfully, it was possible.
They play a style of music that the first generation of Armenians, the genocide survivor generation, brought with them. It was a double mix of music and ethnicities. The first kind of mix was a mix of village folk music, troubadour songs, and even classical pieces. The second kind of mix was a mix of ethnicities. The music was mostly Armenian and Turkish especially where the two intersected. But the style included Greek, Greek/Turkish, and Arab music. Growing up, we simply referred to this style of music, our music, as Armenian Music. Of late, some refer to our music as Deghatsi, Armenians born in the US, or kef style. Kef is word used by Greeks, Armenians, Turks, and Arabs. The meaning varies from party and dancing to, the way some of us Armenian’s use it, a spiritual passion for the music.
When I first took up playing the oud, I would put on their first two albums Kef Time Las Vegas and Kef Time Fresno and play along. I am talking about record albums played on phonographs. I would queue up a song that began with a drone in A or E on which either Richard or Hachig would play a taksim (an arrhythmic improvisation) to set the tone and spirit for the song they were about to play. I would tune to that drone, if needed, and then play along. I did that hours at a time over several years. It was like master lessons that help me learn songs, rhythms, intonations, and improvisations.
While the albums were great, seeing these guys live was an entirely different matter because they played at an entirely different level. They seemed to love playing for an audience. They provided the energy and rhythm, the kef if you will, for the dancers. Then Hachig and Richard would feed off of the energy of the dancers. It is an amazing dynamic.
In their prime, Hachig and Richard were off the charts. They could play melodies, hand-in-hand, note-for-note like no other oud and clarinet duo that I had ever heard. They would embellish off of each at the same level. Their improvisations? Forget about it. They were awesome and did unbelievable things with their instruments that have inspired a few generations to take up playing and work hard to try to emulate them. Most of us fell short, well short, of those aspirations.
I recall standing by the stage when these two played. I was not alone. There was always a group of musicians and fans standing there soaking in the artistry. We couldn’t believe the things they would and could do. It was amazing, emotional, and inspiring.
There are great musicians today. A cadre of young, conservatory trained, Armenians and Turks are unbelievable players. The can articulate difficult passages with an ease that I only dream about. Yet, in comparison, their improvisations and rides are missing that emotion, that fire, and that raw energy harnessed by the talents of those like Hachig and Richard.
In this milieu of musicians and fans, folks have always asked me who I liked better. When it came to clarinet players, there was never any discussion. Hachig from Day 1 was always the best. No questions. He set the standard. I do believe a slew of young fellows in my generation took up the clarinet for one reason: they were completely swept away by the Govand,the lead track on his album The Exciting Sounds of Hachig Kazarian. With oud players, it was a different story. While Richard was certainly exceptional, we were also blessed to have George Mgrdichian, Chick Ganimian, John Berberian, John Bilezikjian, and Harry Minassian. People would always ask who was my favorite oud player and the slate I was presented with was usually Richard Hagopian, John Berberian, and Harry Minassian. My answer was always the same, “I like them all and would only have to choose if they were all playing in town on the same night.” I have never had to make that choice. I will say this. Both Hachig and Richard are excellent but when they are together they defy mathematics in that one plus one is much greater than two.
Did I use the words “in their prime” a few paragraphs ago? Yes, I did. That would imply they are not in their prime now. These days the fellows are older. Richard is 81 and Hachig is in his mid or late 70s. Time passes. Have they lost something? Yes and no. Are they what they once were? No. Those blow the top of your head off rides are missing these days. I am not sure we will ever see that again even though we have very talented young players out there. Are they still excellent? Are they way better than I or the guys I play with ever hope to be? Do they nail each and every number they play? Was the dance floor full of adoring fans enjoying their music? Yes, yes, yes, and yes! They are masters of the music and they know the old village music better than anyone else I know. I do believe they could play an entire evening playing songs barely anyone in the audience has heard before. And does the one plus one being much greater than two equation still hold? Absolutely.
Do I think that they should record again? For sure. Am I there the next time they perform together? Do you have to ask?
Notes:
- While the focus of this piece is on Hachig and Richard, there were two other musicians on stage with them on July 13th. One was Mal Barsamian, an unbelievely good clarinet and oud player in his own right, played guitar. The other, Vaughn Masropian is an excellent drummer and singer. Vaughn and I played together for 20 years in the Johnite Band of Detroit. Vaughn organized the evening and assembled the band.
- You can read a brief bio about both Hachig and Richard, giants of our music, in the piece I wrote in February of this year: The Legacy Band.
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