The Beat Goes On

When it comes to drummer Jacob Armen, wunderkind is an understatement.

He could keep perfect time when he was only 8 months old. At 18 months, he was playing a full drum set, and four months later he was performing in public. At 7, he earned standing ovations at the Monterey Jazz Festival.

Jacob will celebrate his 16th birthday Saturday with--what else?--a concert with his fusion band at the Cal State Northridge Performing Arts Center.

Jacob’s prodigious talent doesn’t clarify much in the nurture vs. nature debate. His father--who lost 99% of his eyesight at 17 after a botched operation in his native Iran--got a master’s from the Juilliard School. But the elder Armen also set a radio playing 24-hour jazz next to the infant’s crib.

The music took hold quickly. On a home video, a beaming and diapered 18-month-old Jacob plays drums with his father on accordion. He never misses a downbeat and whacks the crash cymbal with surprising power.

Jacob was 6 the first time that CSUN music professor Joel Leach saw him play at the Magic Lamp, a restaurant the Armens owned in Pasadena.

“I had never heard a child play like this in my life, and I’ve been teaching for 30 years,” Leach said. “He played with a level of sophistication and technique fitting for someone 40 or 50 years old.”

Famed swing drummer Louie Bellson saw Jacob play about the same time and was similarly wowed. “He was so little and he had this huge set of drums,” Bellson recalled. “He had to stand up. He couldn’t sit down, or he couldn’t reach the pedals.”

Leach called local TV stations, which broadcast Jacob playing with CSUN’s jazz band. Within the year, Jacob was on “The Tonight Show,” “Good Morning America” and “The Today Show.” He went on to win international music contests and signed to NPG, the label owned by The Artist, back when he used to be called Prince.

Though Jacob still gigs around town at such places as the Baked Potato in Pasadena and La Ve Lee in Studio City, he’s slowed his career. He put out a CD on NPG in Europe in 1995, but he’s also an honor-roll student and varsity basketball player at a private school in Canoga Park.

Bellson and Leach agree that Jacob has what it takes to be the next Gene Krupa or Buddy Rich. But Jacob feels he still has a lot to learn, especially about music theory and composition.

“I want to be really educated in my field,” Jacob said. “Then I can compose really high-quality music.”

BE THERE

Jacob Armen and his fusion band play Sat. at 8 p.m. at CSUN Performing Arts Center, 18111 Nordhoff Ave., Northridge. Parking lot is at Zelzah Avenue and Plummer Street. $10 general; $5 students. 9213) 480-3232.