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COVER STORY First Night 2000: A sampler Swinging in his 70s     Artie Barsamian returned to his first love, big band music, after heart surgery made him rethink his career. (Globe Photo/Michael Quan) MORE INFORMATION Sat. 7:30 p.m.-1 a.m. Hynes: Hall D Artie Barsamian's big band Artie Barsamian may have never followed his heart if his heart had stayed healthy. The 71-year-old leader had always wanted to head up a big band, but until the late 1970s, Barsamian was entrenched in the world of Armenian music. "When I was in the hospital, I told my wife, 'When I get out of here I'm going to Berklee, get some musicians, and start a big band.' That was the start of it," Barsamian recalls of his 1978 open-heart surgery. "It's a labor of love." Barsamian began his music career on the road with big bands more than 50 years ago. At 19, the saxophonist/clarinetist played with local favorite Leon Marian's Big Band. He was about to take a job in the Stan Kenton Orchestra when his father died, leaving him with his mother and younger siblings to support. His musical career continued, but with Armenian bands that didn't tour. Barsamian picked the right time to return to his first love. "Ten years ago or so, the only people I'd see out dancing to the music were 50-, 60-, or 65-year-olds," he says. "Now you see people 25 or 30 out there gliding along the floor like they wrote the music. It's amazing." For its New Year's night performance, Barsamian's Big Band is going to play tribute to Frank Sinatra with a set of songs he made famous. "The featured vocalist with our band is a first-class Sinatra clone," Barsamian says of Steve Marvin. "If you walked into a room and heard him singing, you'd think we were playing a record." - Christopher Muther Previous page | Next page

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