Beauty of 'Sketch Book' draws attention to local pianist Ovsepian

NEWBURYPORT -- A few months ago, Brad Mehldau told jazzreview.com that there is a fellow pianist out of Boston who had made a beautiful record. "His name is Vardan Ovsepian," the Grammy-nominated artist said.

The record is "Sketch Book," and Mehldau isn't the only established musician to become an admirer. Ovsepian, who will bring his quartet (bassist Joshua Davis, drummer Take Toriyama, and vocalist Monica Yngvesson) to the Regattabar on Wednesday for sets with guest classical cellist Agnieszka Dziubak, is drawing notice from many performers for the way he blends vocals with improvisation and classically influenced compositions.

Saxophonist George Garzone, a member of Joe Lovano's Grammy-winning nonet and the long-lived local trio the Fringe, played a Regattabar gig with Ovsepian's quartet last year and may record with the group on a future disc. And guitarist Mick Goodrick recorded three tracks on "Sketch Book."

"He's one of the most talented young musicians I've seen in a long, long time," Goodrick says.

In his pieces, Ovsepian uses Yngvesson's voice in a unique way -- as a horn-like instrument. He writes specifically with her vocals in mind, and on "Sketch Book" her wordless soprano sings melodies in unison with Ovsepian's piano as Davis, Toriyama, and Ovsepian improvise and supply rhythmic backing. The resulting sound is cool and cerebral.

At times, Yngvesson is vaguely reminiscent of Flora Purim on Chick Corea's classic "Light as a Feather," and Ovsepian's piano-playing reveals trace elements of some of his heroes: Mehldau, Keith Jarrett, and Lennie Tristano. Ovsepian, 28, a thin, soft-spoken native of Armenia, came to Boston in 1999 to begin a scholarship at Berklee College of Music. In his walk-up apartment that he shares with Yngvesson, Ovsepian says he first started thinking of writing for a vocalist after listening to the work of Brazilian singer-composer Luciana Souza. "At that time, everybody was saying, `You have to meet Monica Yngvesson,' " he says. She had come over from Sweden on a Berklee scholarship of her own. "So I started looking for her. And I found her."

Ovsepian's latest batch of a dozen pieces was written for Dziubak's cello. The compositions are for a CD Ovsepian plans to record next month and release in the fall. Pieces from that project will make up the entirety of the Regattabar outing, Ovsepian says, and he, Yngvesson, and Dziubak got a jump-start rehearsing the new material in preparation for full-group practice sessions with Davis and Toriyama. The rehearsals generally take place at the private music school Musical Suite, a 10-minute walk from the couple's apartment.

Ovsepian and Yngvesson have day jobs teaching at the school. They might consider moving to New York at some point, but for now, living in Newburyport makes sense for them. It may prove to be a strategic step, Ovsepian says, "like a cat leaning back before it leaps."

The Vardan Ovsepian Quartet performs with special guest Agnieszka Dziubak at the Regattabar Wednesday. Sets at 8:30 and 10 p.m., $12; 617-876-7777.