ARA MALIKIAN’S «INTRUSO»

ARA MALIKIAN BAND

ARA MALIKIAN • Violin
IVÁN "MELÓN" LEWIS • Piano
DAYAN ABAD • Guitar
IVÁN RUIZ MACHADO • Bass and double bass
PICO MILLÁN • Drums

ARA MALIKIAN

At first glance, it is the classic career of a violinist: studies in Hanover and London, prizes at competitions in Berlin, Pamplona, Genoa and New York, plus CD recordings ranging from Bach to Sarasate. But Ara Malikian is no "ordinary" violinist: of Armenian descent and raised in Lebanon, he has always moved between cultures, devoting himself to Eastern European folk music as well as Oriental traditions, klezmer, tango and flamenco. He has performed with symphony orchestras all over the world, but also with the Lebanese singer Fairuz, jazz pianists and flamenco dancers. He has provided soundtracks for films by Pedro Almodóvar and Carlos Saura. And even though Malikian now lives in Spain, he continues to lead "A Life Among Strings" – the title of a documentary about him.

IVÁN “MELÓN” LEWIS

Born in 1974, Iván “Melón” Lewis is one of the outstanding Cuban jazz pianists of his generation. Classically trained, he moved to Spain in the late 1990s, where he made his breakthrough performing alongside the singer Concha Buika. Today, Lewis is a regular guest at major jazz festivals in New York, San Francisco, Barcelona, and Montreux; in 2021, he won a Latin Grammy for Best Latin Jazz Album of the Year with “Voyager.”

DAYAN ABAD

Dayan Abad’s father was already a well-known Cuban guitarist. His son studied at the Escuela Nacional de Arte in Havana before relocating to Madrid. Abad’s trademark is his versatility: he not only performs solo and in various jazz bands but was also part of the spectacular “Sinfonity” project, in which twelve guitarists present classical works. In 2005, he contributed music to the hit film “Habana Blues.”

IVÁN RUIZ MACHADO

Bassist Iván Ruiz Machado is also part of Madrid’s vibrant Cuban music scene. After graduating from the Escuela Nacional de Arte in Havana, he initially lived in Vienna before moving to Spain in 2009. Machado has played with musicians as diverse as Lionel Richie, Pepe Rivero, and Iris Camaa, but he also has his own band — which includes Dayan Abad and Pico Millán — as well as a successful production studio.

PICO MILLÁN

Like the other band members, Georvis Pico Millán also completed his studies in Havana before moving to Madrid in 1998. He is considered one of the best Latin American drummers on the scene. As early as 2001, he won a Latin Jazz Grammy as a musician with salsa legend Celia Cruz. This was followed by regular appearances at festivals in Montreal, Tokyo, Washington, and New Haven, as well as a professorship in percussion at the University of Madrid.

ARA MALIKIAN’S «INTRUSO»

It is easy to say that music is a universal language. But for someone like Ara Malikian, it was an existential experience. Nowhere did the violinist really belong: not in Armenia, where his parents came from, not in Lebanon, where he grew up, nor in Western Europe, where he studied. He found his true home in music – a music defined not by borders and stylistic isolation, but by exchange, fusion and mutual inspiration. This experience forms the basis of Malikian’s new programme: "Intruso" means "outsider", and that is meant in a positive sense. It is an outsider’s view of Western music, of music from Western Europe, a personal journey through Malikian’s multicultural identity, a narrative told through sound on stage.

Concert with an intermission. Duration: approx. 2 hours. Programme details to follow.