Armen Nalbandian (born April 6, 1978, in Manchester, England) is a British-born Armenian American jazz pianist, composer, author, and activist from Los Angeles, California.

[1][7] He is the protege of jazz pianist John Hicks but also credits Bill Dixon and McCoy Tyner for being important teachers in addition to Charlie Haden, Jackie McLean, Horace Silver, Cedar Walton, Billy Higgins, Art Farmer, and Harold Land.

[8][9] In 2008, Nalbandian was named a finalist in the 2008 Gilles Peterson Worldwide Talent Search[10][11] and has received praise from Dave Douglas, Susie Ibarra, and Matthew Shipp.

The album’s title is derived from the combined practice of Senegalese physicist Oumar Haidara Fall and Spanish artist Rubén Ramos Balsa which presents a unification of theories from different realms of physics.

The recording consists of ten compositions by Nalbandian and is dedicated to his mentor John Hicks, and in memory of Alice Coltrane and Andrew Hill.

The album has been featured heavily on WFMU, called by Rolling Stone Magazine, The Village Voice, CMJ and the New York Press as "the best radio station in the country.

Nalbandian's album Tirez Sur Le Pianiste (Shoot the Piano Player) was released nine months before and includes three compositions that also appear on To Repel Ghosts.

The first, Coup de Grace, is a live recording featuring Nalbandian on piano and drummer Han Bennink in an improvised duet setting.

In both concept and art direction, Coup de Grace references Peter Brötzmann's 1968 album Machine Gun, which also features Bennink.

Nalbandian is among an elite group of artists that perform with the Revis/Waits tandem which include Peter Brötzmann, Tarbaby, Oliver Lake, Kurt Rosenwinkel, and Revis' own Parallax Quartet (with Ken Vandermark and Jason Moran).

The additional material includes "I Get Along Without You Very Well" by Hoagy Carmichael and popularized by Frank Sinatra, "Ugly Beauty" by Thelonious Monk, and "Motion Picture Soundtrack" by Radiohead.

Alis Grave Nil (translated from Latin meaning "nothing is heavy to those who have wings") includes compositions by Nalbandian, Charlie Chaplin, Eubie Blake, & the first part of fellow LA-native Kendrick Lamar's song Sing About Me, I'm Dying of Thirst from his album Good Kid M.A.A.D.

The album artwork of both "Time Waits" and "Alis Grave Nil" feature paintings by Armen Nalbandian created only months prior to the recordings.

The final act of the play featured a soliloquy written and performed by Nalbandian, critical of the Bush administration's response to Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.

[25] Nalbandian has made critical comments from the bandstand regarding America's proposed cuts to funding for the arts and its withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord, never addressing the administration by name.