Although his music career spans more than 50 years, Artie Barsamian still knows how to play the music that audiences want to hear.  His first experiences as a young saxophonist/clarinetist were on the road with Leon Merian’s Big Band, touring the US at the age of 19.  His teacher and mentor, the late great Boots Mussulli, had him primed for a seat in the Stan Kenton Orchestra.  Just as the job became available, Artie’s father died suddenly, forcing the young musician to return to Boston to support his mother and younger siblings.  His rich ethnic heritage would pay off, however, as Artie soon formed a six-piece band to play his native Armenian music.  Audiences throughout the Armenian-American community demanded their music, and Artie soon had a recording contract and a travel schedule that once again had him touring from coast-to-coast.  Dubbed the “king of Armenian swing,” the ensemble would eventually record fourteen albums of near-east music, and would be chosen by the Smithsonian Institution to represent Armenian-American music at a concert in Washington, D.C.

             However, Artie never gave up his dream of leading his own big swing band in the tradition of Benny Goodman and Kenton.  It was a brush with mortality in 1978 after open heart surgery that led him to follow his dream.  Capitalizing on the wealth of young talent at Boston’s Berklee College of Music, Artie formed a 17-piece big band which started playing at clubs and functions in the greater Boston area.  His formula for success worked once again, as demand for this new band grew.  To accommodate functions where a smaller band was needed, Artie formed his “Swingtet” in 1984, providing classic swing music in a 4 - 8 piece format.  These bands have entertained at countless affairs, for Bernard Cardinal Law, Mrs. Dan Quayle, the Newport Winter Jazz Festival, the Winthrop Jazz Festival, and Boston’s Wilbur Theater, where the band was featured for a successful run. 
 
             In 1994 the Boston Big Band recorded their first CD, “After Dark,” for Seaside Recordings, featuring guest artist Phil Wilson.  Two years later a follow-up CD, “Everything Happens to Me” was released, gaining much critical acclaim from jazz critics around the country.  Well known jazz arrangers Dick Lieb (Tonight Show band), Greg Hopkins (Buddy Rich) and Phil Wilson have contributed to the band’s library, and the sidemen and soloists are among Boston’s most respected musicians.  As Artie prepares to “swing” into the 21st century, he continues to be the bandleader of choice for music lovers in New England and beyond.

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Artie with the late bandleader Woody Herman