Zela Margossian Quintet
The Road
Auto, 2022

The Road is the title of the new Zela Margossian Quintet album.

Pianist of Armenian heritage who grew up in Beirut, Zela Margossian studied classical piano at the Komitas Conservatorium in Yerevan, Armenia. During her studies she fell in love with jazz whilelistening to Arto Tunçboyacıyan and Vahagn and the Cats, a genre that she got involved with after moving to Australia a few years later.

In 2017 she formed the Zela Margossian Quintet (ZMQ), which features the pianist accompanied by Stuart Vandegraaf on alto, Jacques Emery on double bass, Adem Yilmaz on percussion and Alexander Inman-Hislop on drums. The group released their debut album, entitled Transition, in 2019, and followed last February 25 by The Road.

Margossian’s music is usually described as “world music”, but it is a misleading definition. The album offers long and articulated pieces, which seamlessly mix jazzy structures, exotic echoes (especially in the melodies), modal sounds, all of which is supported by drums and percussion that give a clear Afro-influenced mood. The first single to be released from the record is “Forecast”, one of the most interesting tracks of the collection: a song à la McCoyTyner in which the piano and double bass play a riff in unison that supports a very articulated melody. It precedes a notable solo by the leader that has similar modalities and is also characterized by the conclusive and irresistible “On Ya”.

“The Good that Exists” is a more pop-oriented, simple, and sunny track, while “Timeless” is a delicate (and delightful) sonic watercolor that showcases the quintet’s most lyrical aspect.

The Road is a record full interesting themes: arrangements and compositions, musicians, the mix of different inspirations that leads back to a very original and characterized project, avoiding re-proposing the hyper-exploited sounds of contemporary jazz. A record to be listened to!
(EM)