22.-25.7. Garana Jazz Festival

organised by Jazz Banat Cultural Foundation, Romania

• Thursday22 July

• ELINA DUNI QUARTET Switzerland
  

  • Elina Duni vocal

    Colin Vallon piano

    Banz Oester contrabass

    Norbert Pfammatter drums

  • She was born in Tirana, Albania. Starts singing at 5 and performs at many children’s festivals. She moves to Sweden in 1992, and settles in Geneva. Studies classic piano at the Music Conservatory in Geneva. She acts in a few movies between 2000 and 2004, for which she also composes the music. Meanwhile she starts to record and tour with different jazz bands. She receives the special jury prize for the Lakuriq album in Tirana, 2005. She studies vocal jazz and composition between 2004 and 2008, when she also starts her own band: Elina Duni Quartet.
  • She also prepared a very important surprise for Garana, her interpretation of Maria Tanase’s “Lume, lume”!
  website »
• TERJE RYPDAL/ MIROSLAV VITOUS/ GERALD CLEAVER Norway
  

  • Terje Rypdal guitar

    Miroslav Vituos contrabass

    Gerald Cleaver drums

  • Wondering why Terje Rypdal plays at Gărâna for the second time? Because we’re worth it, I would say, quoting from a commercial! The trio: Terje Rypdal, Miroslav Vitous and Gerald Cleaver have in mind for this concert a sound visualisation of a new dimension in jazz-rock: abstract, melodious and funky – all at once. This is an older idea, thought of in the ’80s: a mixture of jazz with jazz-rock, maximizing the concert equipment effects. The dream comes to life on the 22nd of July, at Gărâna.
  • Most certainly we have all the ingredients for an exceptional show!
  
  
• FUNKY GROWL Romania
  

  • Petre Ionuțescu trumpet, keyboards

    Gabriel Almasi guitar

    Uțu Pascu bass guitar

    Tavi Scurtu drums

    Lucian Nagy tenor saxophone

    Alin Constantin Dj K-lu

    Daniel Dorobanțu visual artist

    Bacos Sergiu Dan trombon

  • The group is in the quartet formula in 2009. The two saxophonists will join after a while and, soon after, the band will consist of 8 members. They will present a new project at Garana, with jazz, funk, acid jazz, hip-hop and soul influences, tightly woven with the unmistakable sounds of one Dj Ritmul (Rithm), full of power but often interrupted by blissful bits, which carry you to a fairy land, subtly enveloped by the nostalgic sound of famous tunes, scratched off from vintage vinyl’s.
  • Funky Growl’s biggest wish: to help young modern rithm lovers discover the beauty and sensitiveness of music that has found it’s way in history!

• Friday23 July

• BELA FLECK, ZAKIR HUSSAIN & EDGAR MEYER USA/India
  

  • Zakir Hussain board, percussion

  • He was born in Mumbai, India. He learned how to play from his father, Alla Rakha, famous member of Ravi Shankar led ensemble. He replaces his father at just 18 years of age and leaves on tour in America, holding more than 150 concerts a year. He settles there, starting to study ethnological music at Washington University.
  • He works with the pioneers of fusion: John Handy and Mickey Hart. He starts the group Shakti with John McLaughlin. Founds Moment Records in 1992, the famous record label for fusion and classical Indian music. The constant collaboration with Bela Fleck and Edgar Meyer starts in 2006 and is accompanied by many successes.
  website »

  • Bela Fleck banjo

  • Born in New York, he has an early connection with the jazz bands of the time, spelled by Flatt & Scruggs music, and holds a banjo at 14. Not long after he starts experimenting with bebop, and in the 1980s, records his first solo album: Crossing the Trucks. Starts the super group The Flecktones in 1989, composed of talented young men eager to experiment. Success follows in as the blu-bop and bluegrass combination excites and incites the public. Most of his albums are awarded, Bela Fleck being the most nominated (27 times) and also the most titled jazzman (11 times) of the Grammy awards. He sang and recorded with many artists like Chick Corea, Stanley Clark, Jeff Coffin, Sting, Branford Marsalis and with a few exceptional african singers, falling in love with african music during a documentary experience which gathered a lot of fans.
  website »

  • Edgar Meyer contrabass

  • Learned how to play from his father. Studied with Stuard Sankey, being one of his favourite students, due to his proven virtuosity and excellent technique.
  • He is awarded with the Avery Fisher Prize in 2000, a once in a few years award, for best instrumentalist. He developed his poli-instrumentalist skills during concerts and recordings, playing at the piano, guitar, banjo, mandolin and dobro. One of his qualities is his grasp for collaborations and projects, classical music or jazz related. He recorded and held concerts with: Chris Thile, Joshua Bell, Sam Bush, Mark O’Connor.
  website »

• Saturday24 July

• MARCIN WASILEWSKI TRIO Poland
  

  • Marcin Wasilewski piano

    Slawomir Kurkiewicz contrabass

    Michal Miskiewicz drums

  • Speaking of trios, Tomasz Stanko says: ” There was no band like this in the whole history of polish jazz!”
  • The group’s biography starts in 1990, when Wasilewski and Kurkiewicz, both 15 years of age, students at the Koszalin Music Highschool, start playing jazz together. They start holding concerts as a trio the next year. Knowing the Polish Jazz School’s tradition, it’s not a surprise they get at the top of the favourite’s list. The bands drum player, Michal Miskiewicz, joins the group in 1993.
  • The three develop they’re own style. The melody, dynamism and interpretative technique make them unmistakable. After just a few concerts the public wows them, and the festival invites start pouring in! The first album gets international recognition, released by the famous record label ECM, simply called – Trio.
  website »
• BREDERODE QUARTET Holland
  
  • Seriosity and talent placed Wolfred Brederode in the top most prolific and authentic Dutch jazz musicians.
  • He plays in no less than eight formulae. Has an extremely full life: concerts, recordings, tours, and he’s currently involved in nine projects, some solo some with other mostly nordic artists. He recorded 19 albums, some of them awarded in Europe.
  • Almost all plays to be presented at Garana are own compositions, full of harmony and feeling.
  website »
• MUTHSPIEL TRIO Austria
  
  • He was born in Judenburg, Austria. Started studying violin at the age of 6, moving towards the guitar in adolescence. After graduating from the Musical HighSchool, majoring in jazz and classic guitar, went on to the famous Barklee College of Music. He is quickly spotted and starts playing with Gary Burton, taking Pat Metheny’s place. He also played with: Maria Joao, Dave Liebman, Peter Eschine, Gary Peacock, John Patitucci.
  • Moves back to Vienna in 2002. This is where he starts his own record label, Material Records, recording his own and other talented young musician’s discs.
  • Besides concerts with his own band – The Wolfgang Muthspiel 4et, he is also involved in two other projects: Friendly Travelers – with Ralph Towner and MGT – with Slava Grigoryan.
  website »
• DJABE Hungary
  

  • Barabas Tamas bass guitar

    Egerhazi Atila guitar, drums

    Kovacs Ferenc trumpet, violin, vocal

    Banai Szilard drums

    Kovacs Zoltan piano, keyboards

  • It’s the number one in Hungarian jazz-fussion. They’ve played together for 15 years, winning many international awards, being a constant presence in Europe, Asia and North America’s jazz festivals. Starting with 2007, they play regularly with Steve Hacket, the former guitar player from Genesis. They’re music is unique, combining jazz elements with Hungarian folklore motifs and world music. They are for the second time at Garana, and will present plays from the new album, as well as older ones.
  website »

• Sunday25 July

• TRYGVE SEIM & FRODE HALTLI Norway
  

  • Trygve Seim saxophone

    Frode Haltli accordeon

  • Apparently a saxophone and accordeon duet is an awkward combination. Not in this case! Not mentioning that both instruments create sounds based on air, the duo are a perfect match!
  • They have a history of playing together (many projects led by Seim), but Yeraz is their first album as a duo. The programme will be based on Trygve Seim’s compositions, most of which are from their album. We’re expecting a great revelation for the Gărâna spectators. Seim exploreas new sounds, but, in spite of the new norwegian players wave, it stays as a tribute to the acoustic saxophone, similar to Jan Garbarek.
  • The concert could be characterized as abstract, concretely textured, well defined, endowed with moments of deep despair and profound optimism.
  website »
• PATRICIA BARBER USA
  

  • Patricia Barber vocal

    Neal Aiger guitar

    Larry Kohut bass

    Eric Montzka drums

  • She was born in Chicago. Her parents, both jazz musicians, brightened her childhood with the best quality music. She’s a vocalist, pianist, composer and group leader. Her music has a broad range and is based on traditional blues-jazz. All her 13 recorded albums received very good critique, each of them bringing new elements to her music.
  • She will play a suite of her own compositions as well as a few classics.
  website »
• DAN BERGLUND’S TONBRUKET Sweden
  

  • Dan Berglund contrabass

    Martin Hederos piano

    Johan Lindstrom guitar

    Andreas Werliin drums

  • Shortly after Esbjorn Svensson’s death, Dan Berglund was looking for a new configuration to express himself with. He remembered his colleague from Per Texas Johansson, the guitar player Johan Lindstrom, whom he played with before e.s.t. and started rehersing. Martin Hederos and Andreas Werliin joined them after no more than 6 months, and so, four different personalities formed an already homogenous group, with their own style and repertoire.
  • The name Tonbruken is also the name of their first album, released at ACT. This album gives the members the opportunity to perform as solo artists but also as a band. Open to all influences be them from jazz music or rock.
  website »
• BEGA BLUES BAND Romania

For more:

www.garana-jazz.ro