CD Review! Onnik Dinkjian- Voice of Armenians: Live From Jerusalem (Part 1)

Onnik Dinkjian- Voice of Armenians: Live in Jerusalem

(Krikor Music- KM 5051)

“Everytime I try to get out, they keep pulling me back in!” – Al Pacino as Michael Corleone in Godfather Part 3.

I try and avoid using quotes to preface any music reviews or articles I write. I’ve seen others use it, including myself and it just kind of annoys me. But, sometimes we all have to resort to cheap trickery to make a point. This time around, the subject of my scribbles is a CD I was recently sent in the mail by oud master Ara Dinkjian from New Jersey. For the past few years, Ara has been invited to perform at the Jerusalem International Oud Festival. It is arguably the best oud festival in the world, and Ara is revered in that part of the world as not only an oudist, but a composer. There was a recent twist to the story in 2006 when his father, vocalist Onnik Dinkjian, was asked to headline along with Ara with an international cast of virtuoso musicians at the Festival. Onnik said yes, but, with some reluctance as his music had never been exposed to those in Israel. Ara gently encouraged his father, now in his 70’s, to just sing from the heart and let the chips fall where they may. The result is “Voice of Armenians: Live In Jerusalem” on Ara’s own Krikor Music label.

So, a few confessions from the outset. I first came to know Onnik’s renditions of Armenian folk music through listening to bootlegged cassettes on my Walkman while cutting my crazy Italian neighbors grass in the mid-to-late- 1980’s. This dates me, I know. However, being a teenager and listening to advanced forms of “kef music” from the East Coast Armenian style was thrilling at the time. Other musicians included Detroit clarinetist Hatchig Kazarian, oudist John Berberian, dumbeg enforcer Roger Krikorian, as well as Ara Dinkjian on guitar. The multiple cassettes I requested from Hatchig through his son Michael were treated like rare secrets as he asked me never to make any copies for anyone. As I put the headphones on while I mowed lawns for $6 an hour in the summer, a new world came into focus. These were Armenian songs with a strange big band/rock n’ roll beat that sounded tribal and kind of lounge-like all at once. And, the ringleader of all this was “The Golden Voice of New Jersey” in Onnik Dinkjian. When I finally met him a few years later at an AYF Olympics dance to thank him for years of entertainment through the bootlegged cassettes and his performances at Armenian functions, I was somewhat awestruck at how humble he was. Growing up, these entertainers in the Armenian Diaspora were not only hard working immigrants who had fantastic weekend music gigs entertaining their communities, and preserving ethnographic songs with a contemporary twist, but, they were bona fide rock stars in the eyes of kids who thought they were just as popular as the next pop star. But, just in an adult way.

The next confession is that Onnik’s unique style of interpretation started to get old for me as I devoured all of the albums I could of that style of “kef music”, and drifted away into classical and world music from all cultures. The Onnik CD’s, tapes, and albums were put into boxes and moved along with me from residence to residence never to be touched again. I even stopped going to Armenian “kef” gigs as I figured I had seen and heard pretty much all there was to be heard. But finally, the rumor spread that Onnik had finally hung up the microphone and retired by moving to Florida. I didn’t get a chance to call Ara to ask the detailed history of Onnik and his career so it will not appear in this review. However, I think it goes something like this. Born in France, moved to the USA and settled in New Jersey while raising a family. I don’t know what his day job was, but, he has sung at countless weddings, dances, and concerts mostly up and down the East Coast. He cut quite a few records, which have since been re-released on CD. West Coast Armenians have probably heard of him, but, have never really seen him perform. Those who have seen him perform from the West Coast have mixed reactions as newer and more progressive forms of Armenian music have developed (or regressed) in the last 30 years. Thus, there is a sort of mystery that surrounds Onnik and his brand of performance and music.

The CD has been billed as the capstone to Onnik's 50 year singing career. However, will Onnik and his backing ensemble be able to connect with Jerusalem's renown sophisticated musical ear?

CD Review Forthcoming

Onnik Dinkjian, Vocals
Ara Dinkjian, Oud
Tamer Pinarbasi, Kanun
Sokrates Sinopoulos, Lyra
Adi Rennert, Keyboard
Zohar Fresco, Percussion