Transylvanian Dance (Live) Lucian Ban & Mat Maneri

• 1Poor Is My Heart (Live)04:21
• 2Romanian Folk Dance (Live)07:48
• 3Lover Mine of Long Ago (Live)08:22
• 4Transylvanian Dance (Live)08:45
• 5The Enchanted Stag (Live)05:04
• 6Harvest Moon Ballad (Live)07:45
• 7The Boyar’s Doina (Live)07:40
• 8Make Me, Lord, Slim and Tall (Live)05:44
• Total Runtime55:29

Info for Transylvanian Dance (Live)

On their second ECM duo album Romanian pianist Lucian Ban and US violist Mat Maneri find fresh inspiration as they follow the trail of Béla Bartók, revisiting the folk music that spurred the imagination of the great Hungarian composer who, in the early 20th century, collected and transcribed numerous pieces from Transylvania.

For the duo these songs have become “springboards and sources of melodic material” for arrangements “that capture the spirit of the original yet allow us to improvise and bring our own world to them. If you go deeper into the source material, new vistas open up. These folk songs teach us many things.” Recorded live in October 2022 in the context of the Retracing Bartók project in Timișoara, these performances also bear testimony to the finely attuned understanding that Lucian Ban and Mat Maneri have achieved in their long-running musical partnership.

Lucian Ban, piano
Mat Maneri, viola

Lucian Ban
Twice nominated in 2005 & 2006 for prestigious Hans Koller “Best European Jazz Musician Preis“Award, pianist, bandleader, composer & arranger LUCIAN BAN is originally from Cluj, Transylvania, Romania. He currently lives in New York City where is part of the next generation of performers & composers at the forefront of contemporary modern jazz.

He leads several projects and writes innovative music that reinvents the idiom of jazz music. His compositions are performed & recorded by other musicians and ensembles. Mr. Ban leads the super group ELEVATION featuring world renowned tenor sax Abraham Burton, Eric McPherson on drums and bassist John Hebert, the ASYMMETRY Quartet feat. Jorge Sylvester (alto sax), Brad Jones (bass) and Derrek Phillips (drums), and The TUBA PROJECT a group featuring the famous Bob Stewart on (tuba), Alex Harding (bari sax), Bruce Williams (alto sax) and Derrek Phillips (drums).

He co-leads with renowned bassist John Hebert the acclaimed project “Enesco Re-Imagined” an ensemble that presents a radical re-interpretation of 20th century classical genius George Enesco. An all star group featuring Badal Roy, Tony Malaby, Ralph Alessi, Mat Maneri, Albrecht Maurer and Gerald Cleaver the group toured extensively performing at London Jazz Festival, Barcelona Jazz Fest, Jazz d’Or, Guimaraes Jazz Fest, Glenn Gould Hall, Le Poisson Rouge & Merkin Hall among others. The album was released on Sunnyside Records in 2010 to rave reviews and won several “Best of 2010 Lists”

He also co-leads with soprano sax great Sam Newsome “The Romanian-American Jazz Suite” group, a project that presents Romanian Folk music from a jazz perspective. In 2008 their CD bearing the same name was released to great success by Jazzaway Records, followed by successful tours on both sides of the Atlantic. In 2003 the Lumination Ensemble featuring drum legend Barry Altschul was voted "One of the best shows of 2003 " by the All About Jazz Magazine NYC along with Cecil Taylor and Joe Lovano groups.

Mr. Ban has released 9 critically acclaimed albums as a leader for US and European based labels. 2003 sees his US debut recording with "Something' Holy" a duet CD with Alex Harding followed by "Premonition" a Quintet album featuring Alex Harding, Damion Reid, Erik Torrente and Chris Dahlgren both for CIMP Records. In 2006 he releases on Jazzaway Records “PLAYGROUND” by his Asymmetry Quartet one of his best albums to date, followed by a sideman appearance on Alex Harding’s acclaimed “The Calling“ CD (featuring Nasheet Waits, Brad Jones and Andrew Daniels).

In 2005 he releases the first album of the unique TUBA PROJECT band featuring Bob Stewart, J.D.Allen, Alex Harding, and Derrek Phillips. And in 2008 “The Romanian-American Jazz Suite” by Sam Newsome & Lucian Ban Ensemble is released to great success on Jazzaway Records. In 2010 Sunnyside Records releases the acclaimed Enesco Re-Imagined CD to rave reviews. His first 2 recordings as a leader, “Changes – Live at Green Hours” and “From now on” were released on the Romanian label Green Records.

He performs and tours regularly with his projects and as a sideman in New York jazz clubs and Europe Festivals and between 2002 -2005 was a member of The BMI Composers Jazz Workshop. Lucian Ban has performed/recorded with among others: Alex Harding, Barry Altschul, Gerald Cleaver, Bob Stewart, Badal Roy, Tony Malaby, Mark Helias, Sam Newsome, Art Baron, Curtis Fowlkes, Gene Jackson, Nasheet Waits, Mat Maneri, Pheeroan AkLaff, Reggie Nicholson, Drew Gress, J.D.Allen, Willard Dyson, Carlo DeRosa, Damion Reid, Jorge Sylvester, Josh Roseman, Abraham Burton, Essiet Essiet, Chris Dahlgren, Brad Jones, John Hebert, Bruce Williams, Bruce Cox, Hill Greene, Eric McPherson, etc.

Mat Maneri
Mat Maneri, born on October 4th, 1969 in Brooklyn, New York is an American composer, improviser and jazz violin and viola player, specifically derivatives such as the five-string viola, the electric six-string violin, and the baritone violin. He is the son of the saxophonist Joe Maneri.

Maneri has recorded with Cecil Taylor, Matthew Shipp, Joe Morris, Joe Maneri, Gerald Cleaver, Tim Berne, Borah Bergman, Mark Dresser, William Parker, Michael Formanek, John Lockwood, as well as with his own trio, quartet, and quintet.

He has also played on various band releases: Club d'Elf, Decoupage, Brewed by Noon, Paul Motian's Electric Bebop Band, Buffalo Collision. Maneri has worked with Ed Schuller, John Medeski, Roy Campbell, Paul Motian, Tomasz Stanko, Robin Williamson, Drew Gress, Tony Malaby, Ben Monder, Barre Phillips, Joëlle Léandre, Marilyn Crispell, Craig Taborn, Ethan Iverson, David King and many others.

Maneri started studying violin at the age of five and received a full scholarship as the principal violinist at Walnut Hill High School. He also studied at the New England Conservatory of Music, he then went on to pursue a professional career in jazz music.

He is an experienced educator who has taught at the New England Conservatory and the New School among others. He has taught privately for over 15 years and has frequently presented specialized workshops on improvisation, performance technique, ear training and theory both in Europe and North America. In 2006, Maneri was nominated for a Grammy award in the category "Best Alternative Music Album" for the CD Pentagon.

Mat and his wife Lucy live in Brooklyn.

Booklet for Transylvanian Dance (Live)