Mediaround INC.
Phone:
650-996-6609 - Email: ltoma@senvid.com
Producer
Laura & Horia Toma and Aurel Velicanu
2002
copyright Mediaround Inc. (www.mediaround.com)
Conceived as an homage to Maria Tanase (1913-1963), who is considered the
greatest Romanian folk singer, this
original ethno-jazz
project transcends both it's initial mission and the realm of it's illustrious
predecessor, by skillfully overlapping jazz and traditional music.
The Romanian village culture remains today a rich treasure of folk traditions kept alive in all art
forms that accompany and are an integral
part of ancient customs.
Celebrated annually, they vary from village to village and across regions. Many
of these songs were rescued from oblivion by the dedicated efforts of music
researchers of the 20th century, joined during many years by Maria Tanase, who
made a lasting contribution to making these songs known to both the Romanian
and world cultures. Maria Tanase -referred
to as "the Edith Piaf of Romanian folk music"- was heard and admired by US President Hoover, Andre Gide, Yehudi Menuhin, Constantin
Brâncusi, George Enescu, Walter Gieseking, Ionel Perlea and Jascha Heifetz.
Today, nearly forty years after her death, Maria Tanase continues to occupy a special place in the Romanian
musical culture and in the heart of all Romanians. Recent reissues of some of
her recordings continue to enjoy a large worldwide appreciation.
Known primarily for her very
personal interpretations of Romanian folk music, Maria Tanase herself
recognized the powerful impact of presenting folk tunes in jazz arrangements.
In 1939, she introduced these arrangements on a radio program titled "Folk
songs on a jazz rhythm" (Cântece populare în ritm de jazz), accompanied by
the Melody Jazz Band conducted by Steve Bernard.
Teodora Enache about
"Radacini/Back to my Roots”
"The idea for this record came from my quest for deeper meaning.
Singing these tunes made me experience the pain, the joy, and the struggles we
fight from birth to death…The exchange was so intense, that I did not know, and
still don't, if I was singing my roots or my roots were singing me ?!! For me
jazz is more than a musical style: it is a space in which you are not attached
to any predetermined form of expression, pure vibration in which the "nudity"
with which you are telling your story frees you from convention “.
Laura Toma, Mediaround Inc.
(www.mediaround.com)