ARATTA REBIRTH

Emerging keyboardist Tigran Hamasyan is truly a virtuoso performer who minces no musical words, and never holds back on his immense talent... With vocalist Areni Agbabian, Hamasyan somehow conjures up whirling dervish motifs that stagger the imagination while also retaining a soulful quality that suggests seductive late-night scenarios in smoke-filled rooms laced with immediate sexual pleasure references. But it's only marginally about the act of intertwining, and more about the catalyst and spark that start fires burning, for Hamasyan's acoustic and electric piano playing is a long fuse that eventually incites the explosive music. Saxophonist Ben Wendel and drummer Nate Wood are kindling for the roaring flames, with bassist Sam Minale chopping up underlying lines that keep the excited heat stoked and nourished... from allmusic