Beginnings The first Zildjian cymbals were created in 1618 by Avedis Zildjian, an
Armenian
metalsmith and
alchemist. Like his father, who was also a metalsmith, he worked for the court of the
Sultan of the Ottoman Empire in Istanbul. He made an alloy of
tin,
copper, and
silver into a sheet of metal, which could make musical sounds without shattering. Sultan
Mustafa I gave Avedis eighty gold pieces as a bequest, in addition to officially recognizing the surname Zilciyan or Zildjian, meaning "Son of a Cymbal Maker" or "Family of Cymbalsmiths" in Armenian (with
zil being Turkish for "cymbal",
ci meaning "maker", and
ian being the Armenian suffix meaning "son of"). In 1623 the Sultan granted him permission to leave the palace to start his own business in the Armenian sector of Istanbul, called
Psamatia. Zildjian's shop manufactured cymbals for the
mehter, Ottoman military bands consisting of wind and percussion instruments, which belonged to the
Janissaries. Mehter ensembles, which were known in the West primarily for playing in battle, also performed courtly music for Ottoman rulers. The Zildjians also produced instruments for Greek and Armenian churches, Sufi
dervishes, and belly dancers of the
Ottoman harem, who wore finger cymbals. He died in 1865, and since his sons were too young, his brother Kerope II took over the company. He introduced a line of instruments called K Zildjian, which are used by classical musicians to this day. Kerope II died in 1909 in Istanbul. During Aram's exile, Kerope II's daughter Victoria oversaw the Istanbul factory. There are conflicting accounts, but it is thought that Aram returned there in 1926. In 1927, he received a letter from his uncle Aram, informing him that he was to become heir to the family business, and Aram came to the US. and the Avedis Zildjian Co. was formed the following year in 1929. Avedis III sought out jazz drummers like
Gene Krupa to understand their needs. The new cymbals he developed were widely adopted by
swing and later
bebop musicians, laying the foundations of the modern drum kit and playing technique. This created an enormous backorder situation. In 1968, in order to address this backlog, a second plant, the Azco factory, was opened in
Meductic,
New Brunswick, Canada. In 1975, Zildjian began making K. Zildjian cymbals at the Azco plant. These were made until 1979. Within four years (1980), all K Cymbals were being made in the Norwell US plant, because the Ks demanded far more oversight. Armand worked with friends, the drummers
Elvin Jones and
Tony Williams to relaunch the K Series. In early 1977, Armand Zildjian was appointed President of the Avedis Zildjian Company by his father.
21st century In 2002, Armand died at age 81. The Zildjian alloy recipe passed to his daughters, Craigie and Debbie (14th generation), both of whom continue to run the family business from the current headquarters in
Norwell, Massachusetts. In 2010, Zildjian acquired the
Vic Firth Company and in 2018 acquired the Mike Balter Mallet company. == See also ==