Katuner (Cats)

I welcomed some more music exposure into my life last night. At Yerevan's Club 12, I saw Katuner, means "cats" in Armenian, play some fine jazz. The club itself was a smokey, cozy place,(unfortunately everyone, in Armenia smokes like a chimney), but it makes for good atmosphere.

After frequenting the Chicago's music strongholds like Kingston Mines and the Green Mill in my last years of college, I found myself feeling like a jazz and blues know it all, despite being far, far from it. Learning more about how jazz has manifested itself in different ways throughout the world's cities has been an vague interest of mine for sometime. Getting to see how the Armenians actually mix their different flutes and employ home spun rhythms into a Charlie Parker rendition brings a sort of amazing cross-cultural purpose and creative exposure to being in a new country.

Back to the band, Katuner, was founded five years ago by Vahagn Hayrapetyan, who is the force behind the jazz scene here. Vahagn is a middle aged man with a New York Yankee's fan from the Bronx look to him. When he plays his energy is contagious.

This YouTube piece is poorly cut, but gives you a good idea of the band:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGI3zIjvIKo

Vahagn is on the keyboards, his band includes guys who play the trumpet, saxophone, cello, trombone, as well as different wind and percussion instruments. Everyone in the band comes out of the Armenian Navy Band (more on them later). Katuner just came out with a new CD. Their first three songs on their myspace page gives you a good taste of what they do.

http://www.myspace.com/katuner