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Sam Newsome & Lucian Ban Ensemble: Romanian-American Jazz Suite at Yoshi's, SF |
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Written by Ronaldo Oregano
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Friday, 27 June 2008 |
 Sam Newsome & Lucian Ban Ensemble
Yoshi's, San Francisco, 1330 Fillmore Street will present Sam Newsome & Lucian Ban Ensemble for two sets of Romanian-American jazz on Wednesday, July 2nd at 8:00 and 10:00pm. This tour of the Sam Newsome & Lucian Ban Ensemble promoting the release of their most recent album, The Romanian-American Jazz Suite. The collaboration fruit of two very different cultures, it is a multi-movement work composed by saxophonist Sam Newsome and pianist Lucian Ban, combining Romanian folk music and American jazz. It represents the perspective of both an American jazz musician exploring Romanian folk music, and a Romanian jazzman reinvestigating the music of his country after having lived in America for several years. The Ensemble plays at Jazz Standard (New York, July 1), Yoshi's (San Francisco, July 2), Jazz Bakery (Los Angeles, July 3), and Regatta Bar (Boston, July 8).
Originally from Romania, pianist & composer Lucian Ban now resides in New York City, where he’s considered one of the most gifted and talented new pianists in the past decade. The Hans Koller Foundation and the Austrian Government nominated him twice in 2005 & 2006 for “Best European Jazz Musician”. He has recorded six albums as a leader for labels in US and Europe. He leads several of his own projects in New York and tours with them internationally.
 Lucian Ban
Since moving to New York in 1999 to pursue his love for jazz music, Lucian Ban found himself looking back at traditional Romanian music with growing interest and nostalgia. Sam Newsome was fascinated by the simplicity and beauty of these Romanian themes, finding in them Asian, Arabic and Jewish influences, and started working with Lucian Ban on a suite of new music inspired by it.
 Sam Newsome
The Sam Newsome & Lucian Ban Ensemble features an international cast of world-class American and Romanian jazz musicians: Sam Newsome on soprano sax, Lucian Ban on piano, Alex Harding on baritone sax (For the July 1 gig only) / Abraham Burton on tenor sax (on July 2, 3 & 8th), Sorin Romanescu on guitar, Arthur Balogh on bass, and Willard Dyson on drums. For the Boston gig on July 8th John Hebert will play bass and Nasheet Waits will play the drums.
Willard Dyson, an active and extremely talented drummer on the New York and international music scenes, came to New York City in 1986 from the San Francisco Bay area. A versatile musician, his ingenuity is at home in a myriad of rhythmic genres including jazz, R&B, Latin and Brazilian music. Willard works regularly with a diverse group of musicians including Regina Belle, Grady Tate, Jimmy Scott, The New York Voices, Dakota Staton and Cassandra Wilson. He is also very active on the local jazz scene in New York City, playing at local clubs as well as well as in various Broadway and Off-Broadway shows.
Bass player with the National Radio Orchestra and teaching assistant of the Bucharest Music University, Arthur Balogh is currently one of the most active bass players on the Romanian jazz scene. He has been part of various Romanian and international collaborations, and has worked with prestigious musicians including Aura Urziceanu, Nicolas Simion, Eldad Tarmu, Byron Wallen, Cegiz Baisal. Winner of the “Best Newcomer” Award (2003) and “Best Jazz Quartet” (2004) in Romania, among others.
Guitar player, jazz musician and sound designer, Sorin Romanescu is a key figure of the Romanian jazz scene, having worked with prestigious Romanian jazz musicians – such as Marius Popp, Mircea Tiberian or Garbis Dedeian – but also with many colleagues of his generation, among which Vlaicu Golcea, Maria Raducanu, Marta Hristea, Cristian Soleanu, and Vlad Popescu. He has also collaborated with Romanian choreographers as composer and sound designer for several contemporary dance works. Since 1994 he is the audio producer of Yama Studios in Bucharest.
Tour dates:
- July 1: Jazz Standard, NYC / Sets at 7:30 & 9:30 PM, 116 East 27th Street, New York, NY 10016, (212) 576-2232, www.jazzstandard.net
- July 2: Yoshi's, San Francisco, CA / Sets at 8 & 10 PM, 1330 Fillmore Street, San Francisco, CA 94607, (510) 238-9200, Yoshi’s, yoshis.com
- July 3: Jazz Bakery, Los Angeles, CA / Sets at 8 & 9:30 PM 3233 Helms Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90034, (310) 271-9039, www.jazzbakery.com
- July 8: Regatta Bar at the Charles Hotel, Boston, MA / One set at 8 PM, 1 Bennett Street, Boston, MA 02138, (617) 395-7757, www.regattabarjazz.com
- Sam Newsome & Lucian Ban Ensemble will be touring Europe in October 2008.
The Romanian-American Jazz Suite CD is distributed in the US by North Country Distributors (www.cadencebuilding.com, 315-287-2852). In Europe and the rest of the world it is distributed by Jazzaway Records (www.jazzaway.com).
The Romanian Cultural Institute in New York aims to promote Romanian culture to the public in both the US and internationally and to build sustainable connections and collaborations between American and Romanian cultural organizations. The Institute serves as a catalyst for all artistic and creative fields, and strives toward the strengthening of academic associations and the enhancement of perspectives regarding Romania and its present cultural dynamics.
For more info visit: www.lucianban.com / www.samnewsome.com
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 Sunday, 07 September 2008
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