Night Ark Discography (1986-2000, 5 albums)

“

Night Ark is an instrumental quartet led by Ara Dinkjian, an American of Armenian descent. The ensemble blends the sounds of the Middle East with elements of rock, pop, jazz, and classical forms of music. The group came together in 1986 after Steve Backer, a producer for RCA, heard a demo of one of Dinkjian's original compositions and promptly issued an invitation to record. After pulling together the quartet, Dinkjian and his crew recorded the albums Moments and Picture. Night Ark next inked a deal with Polygram, which put out the albums In Wonderland and Petals on Your Path. The ensemble has played to sold-out houses in the Middle East and Europe. It has appeared at the Israel Festival, the Yerevan International Jazz Festival, and the Istanbul Jazz Festival. The group's songs utilize such traditional instruments as the saz, the zither, the oud, and the cumbus. Dinkjian is ranked among the premiere oud players in the world. He was raised on the sounds of jazz, pop, and the music of Armenia. At Connecticut's Hartt College of Music, he earned the first degree granted there in the oud while studying theory and composition. Night Ark also includes Arto Tuncboyaciyan on percussion. He was born in Turkey of Armenian descent, and has worked with such artists as Al DiMeola and Joe Zawinul. Armen Donelian, who is also of Armenian heritage and has worked with Mango Santamaria and Sonny Rollins, plays piano for the group. Rounding out the quartet is Marc Johnson, who previously worked with Stan Getz, Pat Metheny, and Bill Evans, among others. Picture is the recording debut of the quartet Night Ark, led by oud player Ara Dinkjian, who wrote most of the compositions and also plays canoon, cumbus, and Portuguese mandolin. This difficult-to-classify music was often filed under new age, though it was a bit too sophisticated for that label, and, as a result, the label probably had trouble promoting it to radio stations and critics. The leader's unusual interpretation of the Beatles' "Blackbird" opens with unaccompanied percussion and a brief, improvised oud solo before introducing its theme. Dinkjian's strongest compositions, including the lyrical opener "Trees" and the exotic extended suite "Of Song and Silence," feature piano rather than the DX7, which doesn't fit in with the otherwise all-acoustic sound of the group. Night Ark would only make one more recording for Novus before entering a long period of inactivity in the studio before their one-shot effort for Emarcy was recorded a decade following their debut; this long-out-of-print CD may be somewhat difficult to locate.

”

01. Tree
02. Blackbird
03. Of Song and Silence
04. Picture
05. Trilogy: I-Birth, II-Malo Gato, III-Looyse
06. Homecoming
07. Worm







01. Wind
02. You've Got a Friend
03. Offering
04. Nocturne
05. Baby Elephant
06. Over the Rainbow
07. Yazoo-Firat
08. Adolescence
09. Moments
10. Danny Boy






01. Very Nice (spontaneous pleasures)
02. They Love Me 15 Feet Away (betrayal and solitude)
03. Is That How Loving You Goes? (adolescent visions)
04. Lisa (a love story in my mind)
05. Going With Abandon (facing the unknown)
06. Lullaby For The Sun (for my daughter Arev)
07. In Wonderland (a safe place to be)
08. Keesher Bar (a "night dance" for Onno)
09. Heru Mertar ("don't go far away" from you true self)
10. Going With Abandon (Reprise) (one last groove)






01. Petals On Your Path
02. The Invisible Lover
03. Melon
04. The Long Goodway
05. Love Is Not In Your Mind
06. Anna Tol' Ya
07. Skating Is Art
08. I Am Dancing With The Devil
09. Intz Mi Khntrir (Don't Ask Of Me)
10. Sly Away
11. Marsala Dreams






01. Picture
02. Homecoming
03. Trilogy: Part I-Birth
04. Moments
05. Adolescence
06. Of Song and Silence
07. Offering
08. Worm