Born: 1896, Palu, Historic Armenia
Died: 1976, Fresno, California
Active years (recording): 1910s - 1950s

Label Association: Columbia Phonograph, Margosian Records, M.G. Parsekian Records, Pharos Records and Kevorkian Record Company

The three songs presented today all feature the master clarinetist Mesrob Takakjian. The first, titled Yes Sirer Em (I Have Loved), is a clarinet solo and a clear display of Takakjian’s skill. Also included are Gigo, a song including a strong introductory clarinet solo and March of Antranig, a well known patriotic ballad which is interpreted by Takakjian in a 10/8 rhythmic style.

Born in Palu, clarinetist Mesrob Takakjian arrived in the United States in 1912 as a teenager; he would resettle in Fresno, California in the early 1920s. While living in Providence, Rhode Island, Takakjian began his music career. His name is first seen on a record in 1924/5 on the Margosian Records label, though it is presumed he was recorded earlier in the late 1910s. His promising music career in the New York area was cut short when he contracted tuberculosis after he allowed a fellow musician to use one of his reeds, thus leading to his migration to California for healthier weather. He would appear on two discs recorded for Columbia Records in Los Angeles in 1929, accompanying Oscar Kevorkian.

Takakjian as an orchestra leader and clarinet player was active in the music communities of Fresno and California. In April of 1939, ethnomusicologist Sidney Robertson Cowell was documenting the folk music of California, and recorded Takakjian and others in Fresno; her field recordings are available at the Library of Congress. While the date is currently unknown, Takakjian and Kevorkian would renew their recording careers by pressing two discs on the Los Angeles based Rec-Art label, under the name of Kevorkian & Co. Soon after those recordings Takakjian’s friend and fellow musician Oscar Kevorkian started his private recording label, Kevorkian Records (there were a few variations to the label's name). Kevorkian Records produced nearly thirty records with Takakjian being featured on nearly all the discs, consisting of predominantly dance tunes. After his recording career, Mesrob Takakjian continued as a civic leader mentoring young musicians and always ready to perform at a community gathering. Mesrob Takakjian exemplifies the role of the Armenian musician in America by continuing the artistry of his forefathers, while being committed to the advancement and progress of music in the diaspora.

A special thanks to the SJS Charitable Trust for their generous support of our work to digitize and share our collection of 78 rpm records.