Armen John Chakmakian (born February 11, 1966
in
Glendale, California
Glendale is a city located primarily in the Verdugo Mountains region, with a small portion in the San Fernando Valley, of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is located about north of downtown Los Angeles.
As of 2024, Glendale ha ...
) is an American musician, composer, recording artist, and producer. Formerly the keyboardist for the
GRAMMY
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...
® award-winning band
Shadowfax, their 1992 CD, ''
Esperanto
Esperanto (, ) is the world's most widely spoken Constructed language, constructed international auxiliary language. Created by L. L. Zamenhof in 1887 to be 'the International Language' (), it is intended to be a universal second language for ...
'' was nominated for a Best New Age Album
GRAMMY
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...
® Award. He has released two solo albums on his label TruArt Records: ''Ceremonies'' (1998); ''Caravans'' (2004). Two tracks from ''Ceremonies'', "Gypsy Rain" and "Distant Lands", also appear on the famed "
Buddha Bar" and "
Buddha Bar IV" compilation albums, respectively.
Armen's albums also feature
oud player, violinist and composer
John Bilezikjian,
duduk
The duduk ( ; ) or tsiranapogh (, meaning "apricot-made wind instrument"), is a double reed woodwind instrument made of apricot wood originating from Armenia. Variations of the Armenian duduk appear throughout the Caucasus, the Balkans, and the ...
master
Djivan Gasparyan and former
Windham Hill acoustic guitarist
Alex De Grassi. In 2006 Armen toured South America with
Cirque du Soleil's show,
Saltimbanco
''Saltimbanco'' was a touring show by Cirque du Soleil. ''Saltimbanco'' ran from 1992 to 2006 in its original form, performed under a large circus tent called the Grand Chapiteau; its last performance in that form was in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, ...
and in 2017 he toured South America again as keyboardist and background vocalist with
Roger Hodgson.
Currently, he composes music for television, performs his own concerts as well as performs for other artists and productions.
Discography
*1998 ''Ceremonies'' (TruArt Records)
*2004 ''Caravans'' (TruArt Records)
With Chuck Greenberg
*2018 ''Into The Blue'' (single, Greenberg Music)
With Shadowfax
*1992 ''
Esperanto
Esperanto (, ) is the world's most widely spoken Constructed language, constructed international auxiliary language. Created by L. L. Zamenhof in 1887 to be 'the International Language' (), it is intended to be a universal second language for ...
'' (EarthBeat Records)
*1994 ''
Magic Theater'' (EarthBeat Records)
*1995 ''Shadowfax Live'' (Sonic Images)
See also
List of Armenian-Americans
References
External links
Armen Chakmakian Official websiteIMDb Page
Living people
American people of Armenian descent
Musicians from California
American jazz keyboardists
Shadowfax (band) members
Cirque du Soleil performers
Musicians from Glendale, California
Jazz musicians from California
1966 births
{{US-musician-stub