Levon Ichkhanian (born May 16, 1964) is an Armenian-Lebanese guitarist.

Career

The son of Armenian jazz pianist Edouard Ichkhanian, he was born on May 16, 1964, and moved with his family from Lebanon to

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, when he was 12. In his teens he switched from classical guitar to electric guitar. At 13 he performed professionally with Armenian pop singer

Adiss Harmandian Adiss Harmandian (; 14 January 1945 – 1 September 2019) was a Lebanese-Armenian pop singer. Early life Harmandian was born Avedis Harmandian on 14 January 1945 in Beirut, Lebanon from both parents being Armenian genocide survivors. His stag ...

. Four years later a scholarship from the Ontario Arts Council helped him study jazz at the University of Toronto. In the 1990s he took lessons from jazz guitarists Jim Hall,

Steve Khan Steve Khan (born Steven Harris Cahn; April 28, 1947) is an American jazz guitarist. Career Steven Harris Cahn was born in Los Angeles. His father, lyricist Sammy Cahn, "loved to hear any and all versions of his songs". He took piano lessons as a ...

, and

Pat Martino Pat Martino (born Patrick Carmen Azzara; August 25, 1944 – November 1, 2021) was an American jazz guitarist and composer. He has been cited as one of the greatest guitarists in jazz. Early life Martino was born Patrick Carmen Azzara in Philad ...

. In addition to guitar he plays

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

bouzouki The bouzouki (, also ; ; alt. pl. ''bouzoukia'', , from Greek , from Turkish ) is a musical instrument popular in West Asia (Syria, Iraq), Europe and Balkans (Greece, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Turkey). It is a member of the long-necked lute fam ...

, and

oud The oud ( ; , ) is a Middle Eastern short-neck lute-type, pear-shaped, fretless stringed instrument (a chordophone in the Hornbostel–Sachs classification of instruments), usually with 11 strings grouped in six courses, but some models have ...

Discography

* ''After Hours'' (Jazz Heritage Society, 1996) * ''Travels'' (2002) * ''Kick-n' Jazz''

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ichkhanian, Levon 1964 births Canadian jazz composers Canadian jazz guitarists Canadian male guitarists Canadian people of Armenian descent Lebanese people of Armenian descent Lebanese emigrants to Canada Living people Male jazz composers Musicians from Beirut University of Toronto alumni