Tigran Hamasyan was born in Gyumri, Armenia, in 1987. From the age of 2 he showed an extraordinary interest towards music. The tape player and piano became preferable than many other toys he had. At the age of 3 he was singing a great deal of Led Zeppelin's, Deep Purple's, Beatles', Louis Armstrong's, and Queens' songs; trying to accompany himself on the piano. At the age of 7 he entered the world of jazz. He studied jazz melodies, improvising on piano. He studied the art of Duke Elington, Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, Miles Davis, Bud Powell among others. At the same time his first compositions appeared.
The First International Jazz festival of Yerevan (held in 1998) opened a new stage in his creative life. His participation was a real discovery in the jazz community, as he received many invitations to play in concerts and sessions. The second Yerevan Jazz Festival held in 2000 was more fruitful for the young musician. He became acquainted with jazz stars Chick Corea, Avishai Cohen, Jeff Ballard, and Ari Roland.
Right here he met Stephane Kochoyan who played a pivotal role in presenting and promoting Tigran to the European jazz community. In 2001 he invited Tigran to take part in several festivals in France, where he played with Philip and Christophe Le Van.
Here the young musician was introduced to Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, John Mc Laughlin, Joe Zawinul, Danillo Perez, John Patitucci; he also played with Pierre Michelot & Daniel Humair. Tigran was highly esteemed by jazz authorities.
Then followed a period of wide study of modern jazz and Armenian folk music which later helped him to achieve higher levels. In 2002 Tigran won the 3-rd prize in Martial Solal International Jazz Piano Competition held in Paris.
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