Arto Tunçboyacıyan

Arto Tunçboyacıyan was born in Istanbul, Turkey.{{cite web |url=http://www.sinematurk.com/kisi/1073-arto-tuncboyaciyan/ |title = Sinema Türk}} His father was a shoemaker of Armenian descent.

At 11, he began his career playing and recording traditional Anatolian music with various musicians, including his brother Onno Tunç, thus establishing himself as a professional musician throughout Turkey and Europe.

In 1981, Tunçboyacıyan moved to the United States and settled in New York.

Arto started an association with Armenian-American oud player Ara Dinkjian. In 1985, Ara Dinkjian founded and led the quartet Night Ark.{{cite web |title=Arto Tunçboyaciyan (Mr. Avant-Garde Folk) |url=http://www.mravantgardefolk.com/?page_id=7 |publisher=Official Website of Arto Tuncboyaciyan |access-date=2014-10-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150630163529/http://www.mravantgardefolk.com/?page_id=7 |archive-date=2015-06-30 |url-status=dead }} Arto recorded the duo project with Ara Dinkjian, "Tears of Dignity" (1994) and "Onno" (1996), a homage to his brother Onno, who died in a plane crash in 1996.

In 1988, his solo albums Virginland and Main Root were released.{{cite web |title=ARTO TUNÇBOYACIYAN |url=http://www.moonandstarsproject.org/diger/arto_tuncboyaciyan.shtml |publisher=Moon and Stars Project |access-date=2014-10-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021154707/http://www.moonandstarsproject.org/diger/arto_tuncboyaciyan.shtml |archive-date=2014-10-21 |url-status=dead }} In 1997, Aile Muhabbeti was released in Turkey and used as a movie soundtrack. He composed the songs with Armenian and Turkish musicians. In 2000, he released Every Day is a New Life.

In 1998, Tunçboyacıyan returned to Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, and met pianist and keyboardist Vahagn Hayrapetyan. They soon organised a rehearsal to recruit musicians to start a band. Ten local musicians were enlisted, thus becoming the Armenian Navy Band.

Some months later, in 1999, the band recorded their first album, called Bzdik Zinvor, in Yerevan.{{cite journal |title=The Navy Band |last1=Tchilingirian |first1=Hratch |journal=Armenian International Magazine |date=1999 |volume=10 |issue=6 |page=67 |url=http://www.oxbridgepartners.com/hratch/images/pdf/Tchilingirian_Hratch_The_Navy_Band_AIM_December_1999.pdf }} The recording was followed by their first European tour in 2000, in Italy, Germany, Austria and Spain. The band then performed concerts in France, Belgium and the Netherlands. During a 2001 stop in Istanbul, the Armenian Navy Band recorded their second album, New Apricot, in 2001.{{cite news |last1=Cartwright |first1=Garth |title=Armenian Navy Band |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/worldmusic/a4wm2006/a4wm_armenia.shtml |agency=BBC}}

Armenian Navy Band's next album was Türkçe Sözlü Hafif Anadolu Müziği ({{langx|en|Light Anatolian Music With Turkish Words}}), recorded in the winter of 2001.{{cite web |title=Türkçe Sözlü Hafif Anadolu Müziği |url=http://www.idefix.com/muzik/turkce-sozlu-hafif-anadolu-muzigi-arto-tuncboyaciyan/tanim.asp?sid=CE0I3RHUN8EAWEFX4V3H |publisher=Idelfix |access-date=2014-10-17 |archive-date=2015-09-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924044137/http://www.idefix.com/muzik/turkce-sozlu-hafif-anadolu-muzigi-arto-tuncboyaciyan/tanim.asp?sid=CE0I3RHUN8EAWEFX4V3H |url-status=dead }}

Tunçboyacıyan's 2001 album Aile Muhabbeti was used as soundtrack in two films: Hemşo (2001) and Mon père est ingénieur (2004).

The 2003 album Serart is a collaboration with Serj Tankian of System of a Down. They found common ground in shared Armenian backgrounds and a passion for sonic explorations in creating music that claimed to be "completely new."

In the fall of 2003, a new project was born in a Yerevan studio. It was the beginning of a large sound project called "Sound of Our Life – Part One: Natural Seeds." The project was put together by Arto and the Armenian Navy Band, who joined their talents one more time in the fall of 2006 for Part Two. They are hourlong compositions for the ANB and choir and string orchestras.

In 2004, Tunçboyacıyan opened the ANB Avant-garde Folk Music Club in Yerevan.{{cite journal |title=Arto Tuncboyaciyan |journal=Hommes & Migrations |year=2004 |page=113 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tC0kAQAAIAAJ}} In 2006, the Armenian Navy Band was nominated for Best Band of Europe and the Audience Award at the 2006 BBC World Music Awards.

There is a hidden track on the album Toxicity by System of a Down where Arto contributed with the band to a traditional Armenian Church hymn, "Der Voghormya (Lord Have Mercy)". He played the instrumental part of "Science" on the same album, and his voice can be heard in the interlude of "Bubbles" from Steal This Album!

In 2007, he formed Yash-Ar with fellow Turkish-Armenian rock artist Yaşar Kurt.{{cite news|title=YASH-AR nefrete ve kine karşı |url=http://www.taraf.com.tr/haber-yash-ar-nefrete-ve-kine-karsi-24134/ |agency=Taraf |language=Turkish |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021054413/http://www.taraf.com.tr/haber-yash-ar-nefrete-ve-kine-karsi-24134/ |archivedate=2014-10-21 }} Yash-Ar comprises the first part of his and Yaşar Kurt's first names.{{cite web |title=About Yasar Kurt |url=http://www.yasarkurt.com/en/about.html |access-date=2014-10-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140101083640/http://yasarkurt.com/en/about.html |archive-date=2014-01-01 |url-status=dead }}

In February 2011, Arto Tunçboyacıyan, as a band member of The Paul Winter Consort, won the Grammy for Best New Age Album for Miho: Journey to the Mountain.{{cite web |title=Kardeş Türküler |url=http://www.wocmes2014.org/sosyal_etkinlikler.pdf |quote=Tunçboyacıyan is the music director of Kardeş Türküler’s latest album Cocuk Hakli (The Kid is Right). He was recently afforded the honor of the 2011 Grammy® Award for Best New Age Album, Miho: Journey to the Mountain with Paul Winter Consort. Kardeş Türküler and Arto Tuncboyaciyan had several concerts in İstanbul, Diyarbakır, Antep, İzmir, Mersin, Eskişehir, Berlin, Mülcheim and New York. |access-date=2014-10-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304042909/http://www.wocmes2014.org/sosyal_etkinlikler.pdf |archive-date=2016-03-04 |url-status=dead }}

The Armenian Navy Band lineup varies from traditional (duduk, zurna, kemanche, kanun) to contemporary (trombone, alto sax, tenor, soprano sax, trumpet, bass, drums, keyboard and piano) instrumentation. The band plays a mixture of adapted and modern Armenian folk music. (Note that, being landlocked, the country of Armenia has no navy.)

• Arto Tunçboyacıyan (percussion, vocals, bular)
• Anahit Artushyan (kanun)
• Armen Ayvazyan (kemanche)
• Armen Hyusnunts (tenor and soprano saxophone)
• Ashot Harutiunyan (trombone)
• David Nalchajyan (alto saxophone)
• Tigran Suchyan (trumpet)
• Norayr Kartashyan (blul, duduk, zurna)
• Vardan Grigoryan (duduk, zurna)
• Arman Jalalyan (drums)
• Vahagn Hayrapetyan (piano, keyboards)
• Artyom Manukyan (bass, cello)
• Vardan Arakelyan (bass)
• Gagik Khodavirdi (guitar)
• Vahram Davtyan (trombone)

• Nefrete Kine Karşı (Arma Music, 2009)

With Ron Getz

• Ego State (Alithea Records, 1988)

With Arthur Blythe

• Night Song (Clarity, 1997)

With Al Di Meola

• World Sinfonia (Tomato, 1991)
• World Sinfonia II – Heart of the Immigrants (Tomato, 1993)
• World Sinfonía III – The Grande Passion (Telarc, 2000)

With Ellery Eskelin

• Figure of Speech (Soul Note, 1991)

With Human Element

• Human Element (Abstract Logix, 2011)
• You Are In You (Human Element Music, 2018)

With Marc Johnson & Right Brain Patrol

• Right Brain Patrol (JMT, 1991)
• Magic Labyrinth (JMT, 1995)

With Paul Motian & Simon Nabatov

• Circle the Line (GM, 1986)

With Hank Roberts

• Little Motor People (JMT, 1993)

With Paul Winter & The Earth Band

• Journey With The Sun (Living Music, 2000)

• 2017: Nice Evening (Լավ Երեկո), special guest, as himself

• Armenian Music Award (2002) {{YouTube|7AQRAG_Zupc|Serj Tankian at the 5th AMAs 2002 presenting the UNITY award to Arto}}
• Armenian Music Award - Best World Fusion Album with the Armenian Navy Band (2006)
• Armenian Music Award - Best Original Song with the Armenian Navy Band (2006)
• World Music Award (2006)
• Armenian Music Award (2007)
• Grammy (2011)

{{reflist|30em}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20051224130700/http://www.naregatsi.org/Artoistan/ Official website of Arto Tuncboyaciyan]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070323025709/http://www.albakultur.de/alba/armenian/ Official website of Armenian Navy Band]
• [http://www.navyband.ru/ Arto Tuncboyacian and Armenian Navy Band concert in Moscow 19 May 2012] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190123012147/http://www.navyband.ru/ |date=23 January 2019 }}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070927192918/http://soadfans.com/arto.php Arto on SOADfans]
• [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/worldmusic/a4wm2006/a4wm_armenia.shtml Arto & ANB on BBC website]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20110928002605/http://armenianjazz.ru/?p=1034 Armenian Navy Band on Armenian Jazz]

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Category:1957 births

Category:Living people

Category:Turkish people of Armenian descent

Category:Musicians from Istanbul

Category:Avant-garde musicians

Category:Jazz percussionists

Category:Armenian folk musicians

Category:Armenian jazz musicians

Category:Armenian rock musicians

Category:Turkish folk musicians

Category:Turkish jazz musicians

Category:Turkish rock musicians

Category:Honored artists of Armenia

Category:The Zawinul Syndicate members

Category:System of a Down

Category:20th-century Turkish folk musicians

Category:21st-century Turkish folk musicians