Hanul Gabroveni in Bucharest to host eight jazz concerts throughout 2024

From February to December 2024, the Great Hall of Hanul Gabroveni in Bucharest will host eight concerts part of the ARCUB Jazz Live 2024 program.

The shows are dedicated to jazz lovers and will feature the most recent musical productions or jazz collaborations.

On February 28, at 7:00 PM, the artists Petrică Andrei (piano), Ionuț Baranga (double bass), and Vlad Popescu (drums) will open the series of live concerts at ARCUB with Joy of Life, a tribute to the "joy of living," and the universality of jazz.

Presented over time on important jazz stages in Bucharest and the country, the Joy of Life project is a demonstration of virtuosity by the three acclaimed artists, a combination of lyrical jazz rhythms marked by bold improvisations that will create an authentic connection with the audience.

Tickets for the Joy of Life concert have been put on sale at the price of RON 50 (EUR 10), and can be purchased online at arcub.ro and entertix.ro, as well as at the ARCUB ticket office (84-90 Lipscani Street).

Petrică Andrei is a graduate of the National University of Music in Bucharest, the Jazz Composition and Light Music department, under the guidance of professor Anton Șuteu, and his career in jazz was strongly influenced by Marius Popp. He debuted at 18 in a trio, alongside bassist Cătălin Rotaru and drummer Dan Teodorescu, at the Sibiu Jazz Festival in 1993, where he won the first prize. In November of the same year, he won the third prize at the Jazz Pianists' Competition in Vilnius, Lithuania. In 1998, he was a finalist in one of the most challenging European jazz piano competitions: the "Martial Solal" contest in Paris.

Ionuț Baranga began his career more than 30 years ago. Over time, he built a laborious career, marked by performances on important European stages. With varied stylistic approaches, from classical music to jazz, he has established himself as a high-caliber musician, proven by his presence in renowned musical ensembles, such as the Flanders Philharmonic, or his collaborations with the Opera and National Orchestra of Belgium.

The experience of drummer Vlad Popescu was shaped starting in 1992, when he began his collaboration with the Big Band Radio Romania, uninterrupted until 2011. In 1996, he became the second percussionist of the "George Enescu" Philharmonic. The first concerts abroad in which he participated as a drummer and percussionist took place in 1997, in Italy, Spain, and Germany. He has performed in all editions so far (2000-2005) of the Bucharest International Jazz Festival.

Vlad Popescu is also the founder and coordinator of the Jazz Season project, which ran until the beginning of the pandemic, in partnership with ACT Theatre, a project produced by the Romanian Broadcasting Society.