Zela Margossian Quintet is an ethno-jazz band based in Sydney, performing original works and arrangements carrying influences from Armenian traditional music.
Comprised of talented and multi-cultural musicians from Sydney, Zela Margossian Quintet creates an exotic musical atmosphere that is sure to take you on an emotive journey of musical discovery.
Alongside pianist and composer Margossian, ZMQ features a talented and multicultural line-up of Sydney musicians in Alexander Inman-Hislop (drums), Adem Yilmaz (percussion), Jacques Emery (double bass) and Stuart Vandegraaff (saxophone and woodwind).
Zela Margossian Quintet has participated in different festivals in Sydney such as the International Women’s Jazz Festival, Sydney Improvised Music
Association’s various jazz programs, a debut performance for Wangaratta Festival of Jazz and Blues in 2020, a debut performance at the prestigious
Sydney Opera House in December 2020 and a performance at Sydney Town Hall for Sydney Festival in January 2021. A special performance to note is ZMQ’s participation in the Beirut International Jazz Festival in Lebanon in 2018.
The band’s debut album, Transition, was released by Australian record label Art As Catharsis in 2018. In support of the album, the quintet performed in Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart, Auckland and Wellington and the album received international acclaim from outlets including The Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian, DownBeat and JazzWise magazines.The following year, Transition received an ARIA nomination in the Best World Music Album category.
In 2021, ZMQ signed a record deal with the American jazz label Ropeadope, through which it released The Road to international acclaim.
“This is music that can be returned to again and again, each time revealing a little more of itself with its abundance of inner detail.” – JazzWise