Randy Armstrong

Hailed by the Boston Globe as a "sure-fingered guitar virtuoso", Randy Armstrong is the co-founder of DOAH WORLD MUSIC ENSEMBLE and UNU MONDO. With a collection of over two hundred instruments from around the world, including acoustic, synthesizer and nylon-string guitars, sitar, balofon, djembe, koto, charango, mbira and a wide variety of percussion and stringed instruments, he has amazed audiences throughout the United States, Canada, Alaska, and India.

Randy recently returned from Central America and West Africa performing and studying with Garifuna musicians and drummers in Dangriga and Hopkins, Belize and Ewe, Fanti and Ga drummers in Accra and Legon, Ghana.

Randy Armstrong & Genevieve Aichele - World Tales, Volume I - Photo credit: Ralph MorangHe has performed at Carnegie Recital Hall and festivals at Lincoln Center in New York City. In 1998, Randy was selected as an artist representative to attend a Cultural Trade Mission to Ireland, Northern Ireland and England sponsored by Governor Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and in May 2005 attended a Curatorial Research trip on Son Jarocho music in Xalapa and Veracruz, Mexico for the New England Foundation for the Arts. He was appointed by NH Governor Craig Benson as an arts councilor for the NH State Council on the Arts in 2003 and reappointed by Governor John Lynch in 2008. In the summer of 2007, Randy toured internationally in Croatia, Slovenia, Italy and South Africa and celebrated the digital and compact disc release of the new Armstrong & Aichele: World Tales Volume Two, winner of several Parents Choice Awards. 

From left to right: Ken LaRoche, Volker Nahrmann, Randy Armstrong, Marty QuinnAs a composer and performing artist with DOAH WORLD MUSIC ENSEMBLE, his music has been acclaimed as "a marvelous kaleidoscope of shifting melodies, rhythms, and instrumental colors" by DOWNBEAT magazine. CD REVIEW stated, "guitarist Randy Armstrong…has composed some of the brightest contemporary instrumentals this side of the hemisphere." DOAH’s fifth album, WORLD DANCE, released in 1988, reached the top 10 of several national charts including #7 in BILLBOARD.

Randy Armstrong scored the music for a four-part PBS series, DINNER ON THE DINER produced by British filmmaker, Jon Guilbert. The series explores four famous train rides through Spain, Scotland, South Africa and Malaysia/Thailand with a double-CD released concurrently with its premiere by Ellipsis Arts nationally distributed by Ryko.  "Evocative...Timeless" -Barnes & Noble.com  The programs aired on the PBS network in June 2000. In May 2003 his album, NO REGRETS was released by DOMO Records and reached the top 10 of several radio airplay charts. In 2005, Randy joined forces with 16 artists from coast to coast on a compilation CD entitled the TSUNAMI RELIEF PROJECT released by Atta Girl Records with all profits aiding Tsunami survivors through the CARE Agency.  Randy Armstrong has performed, recorded and appeared on over 30 albums and film scores.

Randy Armstrong & Genevieve Aichele - World Tales, Volume I - Photo credit: Ralph MorangRandy holds a degree in composition and world music studies and has conducted workshops at schools, universities and cultural institutions throughout the United States. He is an adjunct faculty instructor of West African drumming and North Indian sitar and tabla at Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter NH and teaches for the Graduate Studies  Integrated Arts Program at Plymouth State University.

He also performs with the award-winning storytelling, music and movement duo, ARMSTRONG & AICHELE: WORLD TALES that has been receiving wide critical acclaim. With DOAH WORLD MUSIC ENSEMBLE and as a solo artist, he has been the recipient of numerous grants from the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts, the New England Foundation for the Arts, the state arts councils of Arkansas, Arizona and New York and the National Endowment of the Arts. He has shared the stage with such artists as Dizzy Gillespie, King Sunny Ade, the Paul Winter Consort, Babtunde Olatunji, Pierre Bensusan, Michael Hedges, Eddie Palmieri and Richie Havens, Babatunde Olatunji, and Eddie Palmieri.

The Randy Armstrong Trio featuring Volker Nahrmann & Jose DuqueTHE RANDY ARMSTRONG TRIO
featuring Volker Nahrmann & Jose Duque
New Acoustic / World Fusion / Jazz

Always on the absolute cutting edge of the musical world, the Randy Armstrong Trio featuring Volker Nahrmann and Jose Duque perform original World Fusion Music and Contemporary Jazz. While some people talk about “one world” and “understanding all cultures”, the Randy Armstrong Trio lives this concept with their in-depth study and presentation of music drawn from sources as diverse as mainstream American jazz, Native American flute playing, West African drumming and North Indian sitar motifs – all blended by the ingenious combination of acoustic, high-tech, synthesized technology.

And this is just for starters: Armstrong, Nahrmann, and Duque will perform on over 25 traditional and ethnic instruments from around the world. Randy Armstrong has been signed to the Los Angeles and Tokyo based DOMO Record label with distribution by IDN and Alliance Entertainment Group. The trio performances will include music from guitarist/percussionist Randy Armstrong's new solo album, NO REGRETS, featuring a stunning array of eleven songs including a new arrangement of the Miles Davis classic "Blue in Green". The PORTSMOUTH HERALD stated, "No Regrets is a strong musical statement from a musician whose playing has defied categorization throughout most of his career. Whether it be on guitar, sitar, wood flute or various percussion instruments, Armstrong takes the listener on a sonic joyride from start to finish."

From left to right: Randy Armstrong, Charlie Jennison, Volker Nahrmann, Ken LaRoche, Marty QuinnThe World Beat Goes On…
by Laurie Bond
reprint of article appearing in "DIRTY LINEN" Winter '89/90

Before the Talking Heads recorded Remain in Light, before Peter Gabriel programmed his drum machines to play African polyrhythms, before Paul Simon and Graceland, and before the term "world music" was ever coined, there was Do'ah.The band was founded in 1974 by two New Hampshire musicians of eclectic musical skills and taste, Randy Armstrong and Ken LaRoche. Do'ah was one of the very first groups to combine musical instruments and traditions from all over the world to form a new unified whole.

Armstrong and Nahrmann Group - Randy Armstrong, Volker NahrmannWith this year's release of World Dance on the CBS/Global Pacific label, Do'ah's 5th album, the band still includes Armstrong and LaRoche who are joined for the second album by additional musicians Marty Quinn, Volker Nahrmann, and Charlie Jennison. Together these five musicians trade off on over 70 instruments from around the world.

Do'ah has one other thing going for it that similar bands found in the new age category don't - their music is extremely danceable. With what looks like a hit from the newest album, Do'ah is already in the studio working on the next. An extensive tour of the nation's colleges and universities is planned in 1990-91, and plans are underfoot for a possible European festival tour.

If you enjoy world music and have been looking for a group who plays powerful, optimistic, and danceable tunes, an investigation into Do'ah is definitely in order.

Read more about Andy Armstrong
Complete discography