Armand Zildjian starts a lot of his sentences the same way: “I’ve got a cymbal that . . . ,” after which he describes the attributes of a particular cymbal in his private collection. His enthusiasm is evident as he expounds on whatever it is that makes the cymbal special to him, and after you’ve heard him talk about several different cymbals over the space of two hours, you begin to realize that this is a man who loves cymbals. And it’s not just his own cymbals that he gets excited about. Start telling him about your own favorite cymbal, and you’ll see his eyes light up as he nods understandingly at your enthusiasm. To most of the world, the name “Zildjian” represents a manufacturing company. But to Armand it is his family name, of which he is justifiably proud. “You know what the name means, don’t you?” he asks. […]

May 1986 Issue