"GOD
MUST HAVE BEEN IN A GOOD MOOD TO CREATE YOU ....
THE MOST FRIGHTENING DRUMMER I HAVE EVER HEARD!”
- PRINCE
Jacob Armen’s
list of accomplishments are extensive, beginning with an appearance
on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson in 1989 at the age
of 7, which lead him to noteworthy collaborations to include: Jason
Scheff of the band Chicago, Patrick Moraz (Yes, Moody Blues), Sheila
E. Professor of Music and Jazz Studies Joel Leach of Cal State Northridge
tol the L.A. Times about Armen's play patterns: “Nothing throws
him!” Ex-Chicago drummer Danny Seraphine once said, Jacob at
the age of seven could “already do things Buddy Rich, Louie
Bellson, and Steve Gadd do.” Wow, now we've got your attention!
Armen came to
the attention of rock icon Prince who signed him to Paisley Park
Enterprises (now NPG). The result was release of the album, Drum
Fever (1995), which featured notables Alphonso Johnson, Alex Acuña,
Freddie Ravel, Larry Steelman, Eric Leeds on sax and CSUN’s
17-piece Jazz ensemble conducted by Professor Joel Leach.
Armen's sophomore album, Breakthrough was released on Jacob’s
own independent label, JAAB Records, in 2001.
In 2018 Jacob
released “When
Drums Conduct.” With this album Armen is back on the scene
after a lengthy absence due to a tragic car accident. "I've
fully recovered from injuries and gained renewed passion and resolve.
It feels good to be back to a place where I feel stronger than ever,"
says Armen.
In "When
Drums Conduct" Armen uses unconventional,
never-before-seen grouping of musical styles, cutting
across several genres – Rock & World (Side 1) and Jazz
& Classical (Side 2). Here he features over 80 musicians from
around the world and collaborations with some of the industry’s
finest, including multiple GRAMMY® Award-winning artists System
of a Down’s Daron Malakian featured on “Rome (pt. I, II)”,
Poncho Sanchez feature on “Inspired
by You”, Patrick Moraz feat on “Cachaca”, Djivan
Gasparyan and The USC Trojan Marching Band are featured on “Stonehenge
(Mov. I, II, III, IV, V).”
With over 30
million views on YouTube, Jacob is one of the youngest drummers
to land endorsements from REMO, Zildjian and KAT electronic drums.
Jacob also holds endorsements from DW, EastWest, Logic Pro, Yamaha
keyboards, Ddrum and Synthogy.
Outside of his
solo appearances, Jacob frequently performs with his band and collaborates
with his father Albert, to whom he credits much of his musical success
and his passion to create.
