Romanian Jazz - Part 2

This is the second part of our special episode focused on Romanian jazz music from the past, as well as from the present. Over the next couple of hours I invite you on another trip through the lush world of Romanian jazz.

In the first part we listened mainly to music released at Electrecord, simply because in the communist Romania, this was the only record label which was operating. After 1990, "Electrecord" gradually declined with the arrival of competition and the emergence of CDs. CD production began in 1990, and production of vinyl records ceased in 1996. Subsequently, Electrecord’s activity was reshaped on reissues and recordings. Like many brands that passed away after the Revolution, the life of Electrecord was not that easy after 1989. Other record companies appeared, the CD appeared, the presses which were manufacturing the vinyl records were sold, and the newly free access to the Western cultural space generated an increasingly free market. As an artist, aspirations inevitably begin to point towards West. It was a new moment in the history of Romanian music, when you could do whatever you wanted with your music.

This episode features a special guest, Romanian saxophonist Mihai Iordache. Besides being a founding member and creative force behind the famous Romanian band Sarmalele Reci, Iordache was also part of the art-rock ensemble Kumm and started his own jazz-funk ensemble Iordache. Since 2009, he is managing Fiver House Records, a record label that he started together with his wife Nina, dedicated to Romanian jazz music.

We’ll hear several musicians and bands which are forming the contemporary jazz scene, such as Arcuș Trio, And Then This, East Village, Sebastian Spanache Trio, Lucian Ban, Iordache, Ada Milea and more. We’ll also have a closer look at the Green Records catalogue, the label owned by Green Hours, one of the oldest jazz clubs and independent theatres in Bucharest.

Tune in! We're also on SoundCloud.

*special thanks to Victor Plastic for the contributions