After three years of absence, Bucharest Jazz Festival will return this year between September 16 and September 18. Marking its ninth edition so far, the festival will take place at Combinatul Fondului Plastic, a well-curated space dedicated to performing arts events. The organizers are Arte Cultură București (ARCUB) and the Culture, Education, Tourism Directorate of the Municipality of Bucharest.

"After a two-year break, we want to take the pulse of jazz music from our country. Who are the artists of the new wave, what recent collaborations have appeared among the Romanian jazz virtuosos, and how does the music of jazzmen from the diaspora still sound? These are questions that we are trying to answer in this year's edition," says Mihaela Păun, the director of ARCUB.

A lot of exciting jazz artists will kick off the festival, including ZMEI3, Sorin Zlat, Ion Ţunţu Baciu Jr., Trigon, Eva Maria Gârlea & Robert Cozma, and collaboration between Luiza Zan and Big Band Radio directed by Ionel Tudor.

In the previous editions, Bucharest Jazz Festival has brought Jan Garbarek (Norway), Dave Douglas (USA), Grammy-nominated Carmen Lundy (USA), and the late bebop legend Lee Konitz (USA) to Romania.

Throughout three days, spectators will be welcomed warmly on three "thematic" evenings. The first day carries the concept of "Young Blood Jazz Musicians," which showcases some of the most exciting young local talents of the genre. The second day means "Jazz Diaspora," an evening non-stop celebration of Romanian jazz artists from abroad before it closes with "Jazz Virtuoso" on the third day, a concept that brings established jazz musicians to the stage - along with DJ sessions, musical workshops for children, and more.

In other news, the "Jazz in the Park" festival is set to kick off at Parcul Etnografic, Cluj-Napoca, on September 1. The event brings the likes of The Comet Is Coming, Asaf Avidan, Yussef Dayes, and more to the heart of Transylvania.

rafly@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Bucharest Jazz Festival Facebook page / Photo credit: Petru Ivu)