Joel A. Martin: With Jazzical Komitas and Love for Armenia

During the concert, you mentioned you would like your children to grow up in Armenia. Could you elaborate on that?

YES. In America I wish we placed greater value on the role of the arts in our nation, our cities and towns. I was most impressed with Armenia’s emphasis on education and arts for the youth. This emphasis begins “in utero” (in the womb) when babies coming into the world are consistently being sung to, music playing all around them. Then as the babies become kids they are brought to the Komitas Museum for education about their art and culture. This continues on and on until they become adults, and they in turn share in and celebrate Armenia’s art and culture with their children. We do not value the arts in the same way in America which I believe stymies the ability to create well-rounded individuals and adults. A few days after my concert I toured the Tumo Center and was blown away by the fact that 20,000 students, Armenians and non-Armenians alike, had access to the finest in digital technologies, with a complete learning mechanism in place to foster imagination and creativity of its youth. I wish we had centers like this in America. Maybe if my daughters had these kinds of experiences they would achieve much more in life (and they are already doing well in my humble opinion).

You also spoke about the parallels between Black and Armenian histories. That reminded me of an article by American-Armenian writer Hripsime Ivison about Alex Haley’s novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family. Drawing comparisons, Ivison noted that while the gravest injustices against Black people occurred in the 17th–18th centuries, those against Armenians took place in the so-called “enlightened” 20th century. Would you like to comment further on this?

I said this in the concert, “Black people and Armenians have much in common if we can only get past the language.” Both groups of people have been through unspeakable horrors, with some of the permutations of these atrocities continuing to this very day. However, I do not believe that the pain and suffering that both groups have gone through are the culmination of who they are today. Yes, it is a part of their experience but not the totality of it. Before slavery, before the Armenian Genocide, they were already strong people with a great set of values and understanding about who they were. These atrocities did not take its place. Armenians and Black people are here BECAUSE they are strong people, because of their culture, because of their faith, because of so many factors. If the disenfranchised could band together on a human level, we would have much more power to make our world a better place. I know that sounds a little “cheesy” (and one might mistake these words as naïve), but if you look deep into what I am saying you will see that we all have many similarities, and we must use that to impact society. We cannot do this alone. We must show the world that it can be achieved. I feel very close to the Armenians because they are so nice, smart, respectful, trying to do the right thing by their neighbors, being strong and resilient. I want Armenians to see and appreciate my world just as much as I want the world to see and appreciate Armenia. It is reciprocal in its cumulative impact.

Besides music, what else do you love about Armenia?

I love everything about Armenia. It is about the people, the culture, the faith, the music, the impact of the Caucasus region surrounding them. Nature, old world values on family units while still trying to adjust to a new capitalist world. I am not saying that Armenia does not have its share of problems, everybody does. But what I am saying is that the great outweighs the negative by 10-1 margin. I am not Armenian by blood, but I am deeply connected to Armenia. It is my mission to spread what I know throughout the rest of the world. There is much to learn, like, and love about Armenia. And remember this: If there is one of me that has been touched to the core by Armenia, there are millions more like me that need to bear witness to this great country. And how do we achieve this lofty goal? By reaching out to one person at a time through music, good deed, and hard work. Until there is a groundswell of positive thinking.