A special event for Romanian jazz on Thursday at Sala Radio, at 19:00. "Ode to a Master" - The Spirit of Garbis Dedeian is a concert conceived by saxophonist Cătălin Milea in memory of his musical mentor. He will be joined by an ensemble made up of members of the Radio Big Band and a series of guests. More details are revealed in the interview conducted by Viorel Grecu with Cătălin Milea and guitarist Sorin Romanescu, another protagonist of the concert.

I do not hesitate to say that your gesture of organizing this concert is admirable. I would like you to tell us, Cătălin, what Garbis Dedeian meant to you.

Cătălin Milea: For me, Garbis Dedeian is one of those figures who, if we look at the history of jazz, influenced the jazz scene in general through their presence and their music. I could mention here a Miles Davis or a John Coltrane, and for the Romanian scene I believe that Garbis Dedeian represented this type of personality, both in terms of musical value and impact among young musicians of that time. For me, he is practically my first saxophone teacher, the one who showed me the first steps in the idea of studying jazz, and the method I received from him is golden, so to speak. I believe it is very important for any musician or young musician to have a master, and for me Garbis Dedeian was that master. Now, of course, information is everywhere on the internet, with all kinds of materials and educational resources, but direct contact with someone who can transmit these ideas to you and be close to you when they play, and to receive the raw and real sound from another saxophonist or instrumentalist, whatever it may be, is very important.

Because next to us is also one of the guests, Sorin Romanescu, I welcome you back to Radio Romania and ask you to tell me a few words about Garbis Dedeian, the one you are celebrating on Thursday evening.

Sorin Romanescu: For me, Garbis was one of the driving forces that determined me to become what I am today, even if it sounds very pompous, but this is the truth, because Garbis Dedeian, although he was a saxophonist and did not actually guide me in the "kitchen" of jazz guitar, so to speak, was nevertheless an important mentor who helped me gain the courage to go on stage and improvise, to accept my musical being with its imperfections, just like in life, something that at the time was very important for a young musician venturing into this world of jazz, where improvisation is the main element and is determined by personality, by everything that defines a person. He had the talent to intuit the musical material of young musicians and had the generosity to invite them on stage alongside him.

Speaking about the concert itself, Cătălin, we would first ask you to tell us the line-up.

Cătălin Milea: Alongside us there will be members of the Big Band, such as Silviu Groaza, Petru Adam and Laurențiu Moise on trumpets. On trombones we will have Ciprian Partenie and Alex Bucșe. We also have Florian Radu as a guest, and on saxophones there will be Cosmin Stanciu (on baritone saxophone and bass clarinet) and Paolo Profeti (on flute, alto and soprano saxophone). On piano Johnny Bîcă, on guitar of course Sorin Romanescu, on drums Laurențiu Zmău, double bass Mike Alex and, as a surprise, because initially I thought this concert would be without Simona Strungaru, Simona Strungaru will also be with us, which I believe will be a very big plus for this concert.

And I think there is someone else among the guests. You pass on what you received from Garbis Dedeian, I find his presence on stage on Thursday evening symbolic.

Cătălin Milea: Yes, it is about the young Ștefan Coman, a 16-year-old whom I have known since he was 14, and since then we have been working together and preparing for all kinds of his projects.

What can you tell us about the music itself, about the arrangements-will they be Garbis Dedeian's compositions, how did you conceive them for Thursday's concert?

Cătălin Milea: Thursday's concert was conceived as a story. I chose the titles of Garbis Dedeian's compositions as a natural thread of this story. There are also two compositions of my own. Basically, all the music is arranged by me and orchestrated for this ensemble, and it was a challenge because Garbis Dedeian had a particular way of writing his music very sparsely, in such a way as to leave room for the musicians he played with to contribute ideas and their own creativity, so for me it was also a compositional effort to turn this material into music suitable for this ensemble.