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Lucian Ban: Transylvania's Rhapsody in Blue
by Jason West
One of the most creative new musicians on the New York City scene, Lucian Ban is a Transylvanian pianist and composer whose collaborations with fellow NYC jazzers continue to produce a burgeoning collection of original music. Recordings with Bob Stewart, Alex Harding, and Jorge Sylvester highlight Lucian's prodigious recent output, a body of work that includes five releases in the last five years.Raised in the tiny farming village of Teaca, situated in the center of Transylvania, Ban grew ...
Continue ReadingLucian Ban & Alex Harding: Tuba Project
by AAJ Italy Staff
Che il jazz sia una musica internazionale è ormai un dato di fatto ed un'affermazione quasi scontata, eppure ci sono ancora dei musicisti che, spostatasi dalla periferia del mondo a New York, riescono a dare nuovi impulsi. Il pianista transilvano Lucian Ban da alcuni anni collabora con il sassofonista baritono Alex Harding. Le sue composizioni ed arrangiamenti sono un ottimo esempio di come sia possibile fare jazz mainstream con originalità rinnovando questo linguaggio dall'interno: nella sua scrittura troviamo pochi riferimenti ...
Continue ReadingLucian Ban & Alex Harding: Tuba Project
by Derek Taylor
Several years have elapsed since Lucian Ban and Alex Harding's last CIMP collaboration, but their artistic rapport has only deepened in the interim. Their latest project carries a signifier that stresses the novelty of the instrumentation. The duo dispenses with string bass completely. In its stead, Bob Stewarts' bulbous, bell-shaped horn sits as co-resident of the bottom end, right alongside Harding's heavyweight sax. Stewart slides naturally into the brass bass role standard to early-20th Century street bands, but also steps ...
Continue ReadingLucian Ban / Alex Harding: The Tuba Project
by Jeff Stockton
Lucian Ban (piano) and Alex Harding (baritone saxophone) have previously recorded for CIMP as a duet (Something Holy) and as part of a quintet (Premonition), as well as on the recently released quartet disc The Calling (Jazzaway). As for The Tuba Project, the title tells the tale. The quintet centers around Bob Stewart's burping tuba bass lines. He, Harding and tenor man JD Allen make a formidable front three. A group with this much rhythmic sense is ...
Continue ReadingLucian Ban and Alex Harding: The Tuba Project
by Budd Kopman
With The Tuba Project, Lucian Ban and Alex Harding have put together a raucous, bluesy, energetic, and at times ecstatic album. Drawing from deep roots in jazz and Afro-American music, these musicians play with a contagious abandon. The CIMP recording technique, which takes great care in capturing the sound of the band live and uses no post-processing, works to great effect here. The record sounds very alive and in-the-moment, with a very palpable feeling of being there. ...
Continue ReadingLucian Ban/Alex Harding Quartet: Premonition
by Terrell Kent Holmes
Fans of the fabulous pianist Lucian Ban and baritone saxman Alex Harding will rejoice that this dynamic duo is back, leading a quintet on Premonition. Joining them on this date are Erik Torrente on alto sax, bassist Chris Dahlgren and drummer Damion Reid. Ban did yeoman work on this disc, writing or co-writing all of the songs, doing the arrangements, and playing some damned fine piano along the way. The disc opens with “Harmology," an up-tempo tune with ...
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