The House of the Seven Uncles

 

Instead of doing what I should have been doing, I decided to go for a car ride this morning.  Yes, this was a direct influence of two recent blogs: Pretend Commutes and A New, Even Older, Car.  Also, according to the weather app on my phone, this morning was the last nice bit of weather in the next five days and I wanted to drive my new toy.

Besides stepping on the gas on the highway, I wanted to kick the tires on the sound system.  Being a 2005, the sound system only took CDs.  There are no USB inputs.  The main panel takes one CD at a time, but there is a 5 CD changer behind the driver’s seat.  Because it is a used car, the CD magazine was missing.  So, I went old school and changed one CD at a time. 

The first CD I played was an old American Armenian Classic:  The House of the Seven Uncles.  It really sounded fabulous on the sound system.  I played it twice on the little tour of Lake Forest and neighboring towns. 

This album was released in the late 60’s or early 70’s.  When I first listened to it, I was not particularly fond of it, though I did like the three vocal cuts on the album.  What was not to like, the vocalist on the album was none other than the great Onnik Dinkjian.  I do believe, this was just before he became the megastar in Armenian circles that we know him as today. 

Why was I not particularly fond of this very good album back then?  I am not entirely sure.  Part of the reason had to be because of my preferences back then.  I really liked John Berberian, Hachig Kazarian, Richard Hagopian, and George Mgrdichian.  Basically, I listened to their various albums and compared everything else to their talent and performances.  To me, this album just didn’t measure up.  Other than Onnik, I really didn’t know any of the musicians on The House of the Seven Uncles.  While I aspired to play like John, Richard, and George, they were miles ahead of me.  I wondered if I would ever be able to play like them (and I ain’t there yet).  The oud player on this Seven Uncles album, Ken Boyajian, was better than me then but by a much lesser margin than John, Richard, and George.  Thus, I found the album to be… OK.

The House of the Seven Uncles was issued on vinyl.  To my knowledge it was never issued on cassette or CD to the general public.  I was playing at a church picnic in New York when we lived in Connecticut.  It was the late 1990s or the early 2000s.  One of the musicians on this album, I want to say Arthur Boyajian who I did not really know, came up to me and introduced himself.  We chatted for a bit and then gave me a copy of the album on a CD he had made for private distribution.  I thought that was very nice and I thanked him.

On the way home from the gig, I played the CD in the car.  I quickly realized how much my younger self had undervalued this album.  First off, each of the eight selections on this album are part of my repertoire.  Five of them I first heard first on this album!  Second, I was really impressed by the musicianship and the tight sound these New York/New Jersey guys had.  I really liked Ken Boyajian’s oud and the clarinet player Stephen Boghosian.  In my youth, I did not really care for the

accordion of Arthur Nercessian.  Three decades later, I really appreciated his excellent playing that gave the band a thicker sound and great cohesiveness.  Together, this group was very clean, in sync, very articulate, and had great interpretations of each selection. 

These guys were all a generation older than me.  By the time, I moved to New York they were no longer playing together.  The leader and oud play, Ken Boyajian had move to Florida. 

I had the opportunity to play a couple of wedding gigs, however, with Steve Bogoshian.  It was a real treat.  He was a very good and easy to work with clarinetist.  The second time we played, we had a chance to talk more.  I told him how much I admired his playing and he thanked me.  He let me know that he wasn’t playing much.  He said, “No own hires me anymore, I think they all think I am dead.”  He passed away shortly thereafter.

Club 27 was a brilliant concept, basically a makeshift nightclub, in the basement hall of St. Illuminators Cathedral in Manhattan.  It had a loyal following of Kef music and dancing aficionados.  The concept was simple.  Whoever played there split the very modest gate with the church.  The pay was really minimal, but it became a badge of honor to play there.  The best musicians and bands all wanted to play there.  One summer evening, they featured the Boyajian brothers and I believe Stephen Bogoshian.  I am not sure of the rest of the band maybe it was some combination of Ara Dinkjian, David Attarian, and Johnno Dolbashian.  I honestly do not recall. 

I had to go.  I always wanted to hear Ken Boyajian play live. 

I was a great evening.  The music was really good, entertaining, and fulfilling from a kef perspective.  What really impressed me, though, was the gathering of all of Ken’s friends, contemporaries, and thus his natural fans.  The small hall was jam-packed.  Ken played, they danced, and they all fed off each other’s energy and enjoyment.  It was a great to see and experience it. 

Oddly, I sensed this was the last dance I would ever attend where I would be the youngest person in the room… and I was fifty years old at the time.

It was great to hear The House of the Seven Uncles again.  It was the perfect choice for this morning’s car ride and perhaps the next.

 

Here is Amenu' Daran, a Dickranagerdsi folk song, sung by Onnik Dinkjian in the local, Kaghketsi, dialect.