Rich and Darla Tarpinian have been playing jazz as part of the central New Jersey music scene since 2000. They have performed at many venues that have supported live jazz as well as private events for individuals, organizations and companies. They have been fortunate to work with many exceptional musicians in trio and quartet configurations.
Rich’s earliest musical influences were his music teachers and his sister, a graduate of Crane School of Music in Potsdam, NY. His Armenian heritage ensured that he would be exposed to the complex rhythms and catchy melodies of Eastern European music. Growing up just south of the Canadian border, he was introduced to the extensive jazz programming of one of the Montreal radio stations. Rich maintained his interest in jazz as he began studying classical guitar at the Crane School of Music while absorbing the sounds and culture of the local jazz scene. Inspired by many well-known jazz guitarists as well as other instrumentalists, he immersed himself in the study of jazz guitar. As a supporting musician, Rich has worked with many musicians in both live performance and recording sessions. He has led projects and has written and performed his own music. Rich teaches guitar privately and has taught in workshops. He plays a Gibson ES-165 and is a native of Massena, New York.
Darla began studying the electric bass in the mid-late 90’s and few years later the upright bass. She plays an Upton Bohemian Hybrid Deluxe Flat Back Double Bass. A vocalist since childhood, she believes the upright has a quality and resonance like the human voice and enjoys the ability of the bass to interact with other instruments beyond its traditional role of providing the pulse. She attributes her phrasing and ability to hear chord changes to the harmonies of the gospel quartets of her northern Kentucky childhood. Her twelve years of vocal performance with the Cincinnati May Festival Chorus and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, working under the direction of internationally known conductors, touring eastern Europe, Italy, Russia and Estonia demanded a discipline that was a useful contrast to the informal music of her past. Upon her move to New Jersey from the Cincinnati, Ohio area, she found herself scaling back to smaller, less formal settings and eventually immersing herself in the complexities and rich harmonies of jazz.