Events

Exploring Jazz Presents Roberto Fonseca at NTB

The month of April comes with a bold musical proposal. Exploring Jazz is a new concept aiming at bringing to the Romanian stages the most representative names of international jazz.

At the first edition of the Exploring Jazz event, the famous Cuban musician Roberto Fonseca tops the list. The artist, on which The UK Guardian wrote that he is: ”an incredible pianist, composer and band leader, with a musical talent able to surpass the most famous artists”, shall perform on 25 April 2016 at the Grand Hall of NTB. Fonseca shall be joined on stage by his friends, Ramsés Rodriguez and Yandy Martinez, and the special guests of the evening shall be Adrian Naidin Quartet and Vali Boghean Band, two music bands known for the indisputable quality of the artistic act.

Reputed pianist of the international jazz scene, Roberto Fonseca is appreciated and known for his unique style blending classical influences with Afro-Cuban ones. In his childhood he studied drums, switching later to piano, the instrument that continued to fascinate him to the present day. On stage from an early age, Fonseca started his career at the Havana Jazz Plaza festival. In 1999, his first album, which he recorded together with Javier Zalba and the Temperamento band, received the Cuba’s Best Album award. This acknowledgement has determined him to work on two solo projects, in which Latin Jazz, urban music, Afro-Cuban and even hip-hop influences can be perceived.

Shortly after the launch of the solo projects, Roberto Fonseca left on a tour with Buena Vista Social Club, under the leadership of Ibrahim Ferrer, and a series of over 400 worldwide concerts ensued. The experience of this tour offered the pianist a new perspective on music, as he found inspiration for his next project, Zamazu, a blend of jazz, traditional Cuban music and African rhythms.

Full years have followed for Fonseca, him being invited to the most important jazz festivals in the world and collaborating with great names of the contemporary scene, such as Fatoumata Diawara, Omara Portuondo, Carlinhos Brown or Augusto Enriquez. In 2012, the Cuban launched the album ”Yo”, nominated for the Grammy Awards, Best Latin Jazz Album category. The Daily Telegraph has alleged about this project that it is ”too good to win”, the Great Prize being normally awarded to conventional projects and not as bold and innovative as Fonseca’s.

Both the concert at NTB, and the one at the „Transilvania” State Philharmonic of Cluj form part of the promotion tour of the At Home album. Together with Ramsés ‘Dynamite’ Rodriguez on drums and Yandy Martinez on bass guitar, Roberto Fonseca takes the rhythms of Cuban jazz around the world, continuing to inspire and take the pulse of every place he visits.

„I wish my music to touch the ones who have not discovered it yet, hoping that one day I shall become a point of reference for them in jazz.”

Still on jazz rhythms, Adrian Naidin Quartet and Vali Boghean Band will be enchanting us, consecrated artists on the scene of quality music connoisseurs

Adrian Naidin is an explorer of the musical art, having in his portfolio numerous classical, rock, Romanian classical music and jazz projects. Together with other three exceptional musicians, Sorin Zlat on the piano, Gabriel Bălașa percussion and Eugen Amarandei at double bass, Adrian is ready to share with the Palace Hall audience the secrets of jazz, on an unforgettable evening. A revelation of the last years, both for the audience and for the critics, Adrian Naidin climbed on the stage of the National Theatre of Bucharest in the show Caramitru-Mălăele, Fabulations, in order to brilliantly moderate the verse duel of the two forces of Romanian theatre. Adrian furthermore stood out through the collaboration with famous musician Moby for the creation of the soundtrack for the film The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman.

Valentin Boghean is one of the most gifted musicians from the Republic of Moldova, acclaimed by the audience filling the show halls to bursting. Beside his unmistakable voice, Vali is known to be a master of aerophone instruments, including the trumpet, the saxophone, the flute, the whistle, the kaval, the duduk, the bagpipe and the clarinet, but he does not miss the opportunity of conquering his audience with classical and bass guitar performances. He shall be accompanied by a band composed by some of the best musicians in the Republic of Moldova, with a vast international experience, Valeriu Cașcaval on dulcimer, Gari Tverdohleb on drums, Valentin Schirca at the piano, Sandu Daraban at the guitar and Oleg Lascu on double bass.

The organiser of the Exploring Jazz concept specifies: ”We are positive that Exploring Jazz shall be one of the most applauded events of this spring. We have sought to bring on the stage of the Palace Hall three musicians, who, although they belong to different music schools, use common elements contributing to the development of each one’s artistic path. These include original sound, the bold approach to music and the special scenic maturity, despite their age.”

The tickets for the Exploring Jazz event have been put out for sale and can be acquired at variable prices, depending on the seat category, as follows: VIP -198 lei, cat. I – 149 lei, cat. II -100 lei, cat. III-70 lei, cat. IV -50 lei. They are available at the Palace Hall, in the network of the Eurolines and TUI TravelCenter agencies, in the offices of the Romanian Post, in the Inmedio shops signposted “Bilete.ro”, in the Germanos shops, the Mihai Eminescu bookstore, the Muzica shop, the Unirea Shopping Centre (second floor), Diverta, Flanco, the SAY Shops network, UMAN, Senia, IQ BOX, the Perfect Tour agencies, at Hard Rock Café, the ticket stand at the Unirii 1 metro station, next to the Metrorex ticket counter and the H Brewhouse, as well as online on www.ticketnet.ro.

Translated by Simona Nichiteanu