American jazz and the music of Romania would not seem to have obvious linkages.
But, as frequently happens when players from one improvising musical culture meet those of another, common ground -- even fascinating common ground -- is discovered. Which is exactly what happened Thursday night at the Jazz Bakery in the performance of the “Romanian-American Jazz Suite" by a six-piece ensemble uniting three Romanian players with three Americans.
Their empathetic partnership was more easily achieved by virtue of the fact that all were experienced jazz artists. But what made the performance one of the more unusual musical encounters of the year was the blending of roots elements that filtered through each piece: the traces of the blues and the propulsive swing of the Americans, soprano saxophonist Sam Newsome, tenor saxophonist Abraham Burton and drummer Willard Dyson; the modal references and off-beat rhythms of the Romanians, pianist Lucian Ban, guitarist Orin Romanesque and bassist Arthur Balogh.
