ARTO TUNÇBOYACIYAN

Arto Tunçboyacıyan is a world-renowned percussionist and singer of Turkish-Armenian descent. Born and raised in Turkey along with his beloved brother Onno Tuncboyaciyan, a renowned musician himself, he appeared on numerous records in Europe including ones with Turkish pop legend Sezen Aksu, before arriving in the United States in 1981. Once in the US, he worked with many jazz legends including Chet Baker, Al Di Meola, and Joe Zawinul, as well as Paul Winter & The Earth Band.  Arto, or “Mr. Avant Garde Folk” to his devoted fans, named after the music genre he single-handedly created, continues to form collaborative music projects, including The Armenian Navy Band, an orchestra of 15, rooted in Armenian and Anatolian traditional music with the inspiration and sound of today; the groundbreaking Anatolian-influenced quartet Night Ark with Ara Dinkjian, and SERART with Serj Tankian, singer of the alternative metal band System of a Down. A multi-instrumentalist, Tuncboyaciyan incorporates various instruments in his original compositions, from traditional düdük, zurna, kemençe, and kanun to contemporary trombone, sax, tenor, trumpet, bass, drums and piano. 

Tuncboyaciyan’s albums include Virginland, Main Root (1988); Aile Muhabbeti (1997); Every Day is a New Life (2000); Türkce Sözlü Hafif Anadolu Müzigi (2001) with the Armenian Navy Band; Love Is Not in Your Mind with Vahagn Hayrapetyan (2003); and Artostan (2005), among others. His book 200 Thoughts 200 Million Meanings Outside Looking In, sharing his thoughts about life, was released in 2007.