A. S. Tarmu

I love jazz because it is the music of freedom. I was first exposed to jazz in childhood, through my parents' record collection. I met Eldad Tarmu in 2006 at a party, after one of his concerts in my hometown. He was a visiting jazz professor at a Romanian university, touring the region with a Latin-Jazz ensemble featuring his former California State University professor, jazz pianist Paul de Castro. I was blogging about music and broadcasting a jazz show at an underground radio station. We started a music production company together, toured together, relocated to the US East coast, and in 2009 we got married. The best show I ever attended? There were many great ones, and I rarely rank music. The first jazz record I bought was a Romanian free jazz vinyl by pianist Harry Tavitian, purchased after a show I attended in college. My number one advice to new listeners: use online jazz radio in discovery mode.