What is kef music? The Armenian-American dance music of the oud, clarinet and kanon

If you grew up going to Armenian "dances" in Fresno, Detroit or New England, this is the music. Here is what kef is, who made it, and the records to start with.

By The Armenly team. Written November 11, 2026.

Key findings

  • Kef music is the dance music of the Armenian-American community. Ara Dinkjian traces it to survivors of the Genocide who settled in America and were shaped by American culture [1].
  • Its core instruments are the oud, the clarinet, the kanon (a lap zither), the violin and the dumbek hand drum [1].
  • Harry Kezelian compares kef to jazz: dance rhythms like 9/8 and 10/8, "bent" notes, and long improvised solos called taksims [2].
  • The oud player Udi Hrant Kenkulian's 1950 visit to America was, in Dinkjian's words, "the Big Bang" for the oud there [1].

Where kef comes from

Ara Dinkjian, the oud player and composer, calls it Armenian American music: a sound unlike the music of the Ottoman Empire or of Armenia, made by Genocide survivors who settled in America and slowly took in American influences [1]. In Philadelphia, the Vosbikian family, originally from Malatya, built that sound with ideas from American big bands [1].

Armenian-Americans still hold "dances," with a live band and line dancing, the way all Americans did in the 1940s. Kef is the music of those nights [2].

Why people call it Armenian jazz

Kezelian points to three things kef shares with jazz [2]. The rhythm drives the dancing, in meters like 10/8, 9/8, 5/4 and 7/8, because certain dances belong to certain rhythms. Singers and players bend notes the way blues players do. And it is built on improvisation: fans wait for the oud solo, or taksim, and for a clarinet "ride."

The oud players

Udi Hrant Kenkulian came to America in 1950 to have his eyesight treated, and found that Armenian-Americans already knew his records [1]. After him came George Mgrdichian (born 1935), who took the oud from the nightclub to the concert stage, Richard Hagopian (born 1937 in Fowler, California) of the Kef Time Band, and John Berberian (born 1941 in New York) [1].

Bands and singers

The Kef Time Band, with Richard Hagopian, Khachig Kazarian on clarinet, Jack Chalikian on kanon and Buddy Sarkissian on drums, is the name most people know [1]. Onnik Dinkjian, Ara's father, born in Paris in 1929, has influenced every generation of singers since [1].

Keep listening

Questions people ask

What instruments are used in kef music?

The oud, clarinet, kanon, violin and dumbek, often with bass and keyboard in later bands.

Who are the best-known kef musicians?

Udi Hrant, George Mgrdichian, Richard Hagopian and the Kef Time Band, John Berberian, Khachig Kazarian, Onnik Dinkjian and the Vosbikian Band.

Is kef music the same as rabiz?

No. Kef grew up among Armenian-Americans, out of the music survivors brought from the Ottoman Empire. Rabiz is a different style, from Yerevan; it has its own guide.

Sources

Cite this page

The Armenly team, "What is kef music? The Armenian-American dance music of the oud, clarinet and kanon." Armenly, November 11, 2026. https://armenly.com/guides/what-is-kef-music

Read next

Listen free

Loading Armenly