Dear melomaniac, I am thrilled to announce that my fellow Romanian, Lucian Ban, is launching a new Transylvanian inspired album, dances included, called simply “Transylvanian Dance”. The disc was released recently, on the 30th of August 2024. As many of Lucian’s albums, this one is done also together with the American violinist Mat Maneri.
The album is deeply crisp, being recorded live in the Romanian city of Timisoara at CJT Hall, and featuring folkloric nuances of the east, especially nuances of Transylvania, the middle part of Romania. The album follows the concept of “Transylvanian Concert” launched in 2013, also with Mat Maneri. Here is a picture of both, Mat on the left, Lucian on the right:
Transylvanian Dance is their second release on ECM Records, the prestigious Munich based record label. The main inspiration of the album is the Hungarian composer Béla Bartók, who was deeply inspired by the music and dance of Transylvania, where he traveled and gathered local songs to include in his future creations.
Going back to the pianist at hand, the gifted Lucian Ban, I am proud to say he was born in Romania, in a small village called “Teaca” situated in Transylvania, Romania. This disc must have been a deep recollection for him, as his musical childhood was much inspired by the local music of Transylvania, folk songs he was encountering at events, weddings, birthdays and holidays. Later, Lucian moved to the city of Cluj where he started studying classical piano and composition.
As of these days, Lucian is living in New York, where he moved back in 1999 and he made his carrier in jazz, working with great players like Art Baron, Geral Cleaver, Curtis Fowles, Sam Newsome and, of course, Mat Maneri.
Transylvanian Dance is Lucian’s 9th album, and we are honored to be represented in the west by such a gifted musician as Lucian Ban who is remembering his childhood beautifully, giving us this beautiful jazz recording with a folk twist that you can dance your heart to. A great and unexpected recording.
Here, let’s listen together:
