Boston Musician Roger Krikorian Passes Away

I received some sad news this weekend. Boston area musician Roger Krikorian passed away.

For those familiar with the New England "kef" scene, he was a legend. And, for others who attended occasional Armenian picnics, dances, or weddings in the Watertown/Boston area, Roger was a fixture on the dumbeg (Middle Eastern hand drum) and vocals. He was booked most weekends somewhere, and was one of the hardest working men in Armenian-American show business here on the East Coast. I briefly met Roger twice in person and did not know him personally. As such, I apologize for not being able to give you more details on his biography. I believe he was in his early 50's at the time of his untimely (and tragic) passing. However, I can confidently say that he had a positive effect on several generations of Armenian Americans through his gift of music. I thought I would share my own memory of how I came to appreciate Roger's music and hope it captures the sentiments others of my generation.

Back in 1987, I was 17 years old and eager to serve as a councilor at Camp Haiastan in Franklin, Ma for the summer. It is an Armenian American camp where I met life-long friends and came to appreciate my Armenian identity/heritage. Since I grew up in the Chicago area, I was never completely exposed to "kef music" in the form of old Armenian songs/tunes from Anatolia performed on the oud, dumbeg, clarinet, guitar, and tamborine (daf). This musical unit created the core of the "New England Kef" sound. Since the first Armenian immigrants settled in the New England area after the Genocide, the music also came with them. You can call Armenian "kef music", the Greek equivalent of "Rembetika".

During the day, "kef music" would be broadcast on the Camp speakers in the form of cassettes being played during the day. I was really taken in by the "roots" sound, acoustic timbre, and exceptional playing. It was a much more interesting take on Armenian folk songs than I had been used to, given the almost "rock and roll" energy that went into the approach of each song by the musicians. During the first week of councilor preparation ended in anticipation of the young students that would visiting the camp, the Camp Haiastan staff made a decision to drive to Burlington, MA from Franklin to attend "Kef Time". I was made to understand that the "Gods of Armenian Kef" would be performing that weekend, and that if I had any appreciation of music, this weekend is the nirvana event of the year. There were two names that kept popping up by my elders "musical mentor" friends I had met at Camp during the short time we had to get to know each other- Dumbeg player Roger Krikorian and Oudist Richard Hagopian.
Being 17 years old and having a "boom-box" at my disposal, I immediately ran out to Walgreen's to buy some blank tapes in anticipation of recording this monumental event right before we hit the road. At that age, Armenian-American musicians were sort of considered "rock stars" before we could realize that they were mostly hard working professionals who loved to perform music on the weekends at a very high level.

So, all 24 young Armenian-American Camp Haiastan staff members stepped into the sparsely attended (about 150 people maximum) ball room at the Burlington Sheraton and immediately hit the dance floor. However, I snuck away at the very beginning of the wild dance and placed my Panasonic boombox with the Walgreen brand blank cassette right on stage and pressed "record". And, so it went, I flipped the tape every 45 minutes, and eventually broke open two more cassettes as the dance went on until the wee hours of the morning. Old Armenian step village step dance music continued for hours. As the musicians continued to play, Roger's "moment" came when he was to play the solo to "Drumsalera". It was a 10 minute dumbeg solo that absolutely blew everyone way. Flailing fingers, perfect syncopation, and hypnotic beats that seemed to go on forever. All of the staff members were completely transfixed on Roger Krikorian. At around 3 am, it was time to call it quits and we made it back to the Camp at around 4am just in time for the noon time arrival of the kids for first session. Yet, on the ride back from Burlington to Franklin, my cassette of the kef musicians we had just witnessed was the topic of conversation. And, for the next two months, those Walgreen's brand cassettes were played over and over again at Camp Haiastan.

During the summer of 1987, the kef band we saw in Burlington inspired some of us to start a "Camp Band" with Khoren on the clarinet, Haig on the dumbeg, "Uncle Mike" on the oud, and me on violin. For me and many others of that generation, the cassettes opened up a new world of music for us, and a newfound appreciation for the art of old folk music being transfered from one generation to another with this exciting combination of instruments I never fully was able to appreciate before. This was the music of our grandparents and great-grandparents being transported to 1987 and beyond. There were other cassettes that were traded and shared between Armenian Americans into this style of music for years after 1987. If you can get your hands on one, be prepared to be blown away.

When I dug out those three Walgreen's cassette tapes from my basement this morning after I had heard the news about Roger's death on Saturday, I popped them into my portable tape recorder from an equally banished box and pressed play. I listened to the music for about 15 minutes. It was rough in terms of sonic quality as I now remember I had placed the boombox right next to the bottom of Roger's dumbeg. However, it wasn't until this morning that I realized that those sessions actually signified the start of my own musical journey along with a deep appreciation for the musicians who performed it for us.

Over the years, Roger continued to perform for countless function electrifying those who heard him play. I suspect that I am one of many who appreciates the legacy he left, as he was part of a generation of musicians who opened our eyes and ears to the possibilities of music.

And for that, I thank him...