YEREVAN/NEW YORK CITY – Alex Minasian (born 1984) is an American pianist, educator, and impresario known for his versatility across musical genres. He holds two degrees from New York University and established his career at a young age. Minasian studied with renowned jazz pianists including Hank Jones, Don Friedman, Jean-Michel Pilc and James Williams. He has performed at major venues such as Birdland, Blue Note, Jazz at Lincoln Center and the Apollo Theater. Throughout his career, he has shared the stage with artists like James Ingram, Arturo Sandoval, Sheila Jordan and Hugh Masekela. He served as the final pianist for Little Jimmy Scott and as pianist and musical director for Mark Murphy and Billy Vera. Minasian continues to perform widely, including appearances at major jazz festivals and regular engagements in New York.
For more information about Alex see https://www.alexminasian.com/
Alex, what dreams did you have when you began your career, and how close has reality come to those early expectations?
I just wanted to be able to make a living playing music, which is a pretty hard thing to do in this day and age. I also wanted to play with some of my heroes that I grew up listening to. So far, I’ve been very fortunate to work as a full-time musician and to have the opportunity to learn from and play with some of my heroes.
Jazz interpretations and improvisations can last too long. Have you ever completely lost yourself — so deeply that you didn’t even know how the piece ended?
You have to concentrate very hard when playing this music. I do lose myself in it sometimes, but I’m always aware of where I am in the structure of the piece.
