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Interview with Eduard Keller, organizer of One Jazz Festival
From November 7th to 9th, Baia Mare will host the One Jazz Festival, now in its sixth edition. This year's program is highly attractive, featuring big names from the international scene. For more information, we interviewed Mr. Eduard Keller, the organizer of the One Jazz Festival.
Welcome!
Welcome to you and your listeners!
A festival that may not be very large in quantity, but rich in quality. What are those highlights you hinted at earlier?
In addition to the festival itself, which I will talk about later, we also have a series of related events under the banner of education. The festival spans three days at the ATP Tech Center, which has 542 seats. We have some renowned international artists; I would like to mention the Jan Akermann Band from the Netherlands, the Marcin Wasilewski Trio from Poland, and the Magnus Ostrom Group from Sweden. There are also other bands, like Trigon, quite well-known in our country, from the Republic of Moldova, and another famous quartet from Serbia, Eyot.
There will also be the vocalist Luiza Zan with an interesting accompaniment from Hungary.
Yes, Luiza Zan, one of the greatest figures in Romanian jazz, will perform alongside Gyarfas Itsvan, who is currently considered the greatest Hungarian jazz guitarist.
You mentioned related educational events connected to the festival. Can you give us more details?
On Wednesday, November 6th, in partnership with the College of Arts in Baia Mare, we are hosting an introductory jazz course led by professor and composer Dima Belinski. In the evening, at 7:00 PM, in the concert hall of the college, there will be a jazz concert by the jazz orchestra of the National Academy of Music. I would also like to mention the opening of the painting exhibition Social Mask by Baia Mare artist Paul Covaci, on November 7th, in the foyer of the ATP Tech Center. On Saturday, we will close at The Oak, in Liberty Square, with a jam session starting at 11:00 PM.
There will be more concerts than those on the official poster.
Yes, in various locations. I would also like to mention one at the County Museum of Art, at the Baia Mare Artistic Center, which will begin on Tuesday, November 5th, with the band Essential Notes.
This is the festival's sixth edition. Can you briefly tell us how you experienced the first five editions and how the festival has grown over the years?
I remember how we started. In 2018, we began at the Municipal Theatre in Baia Mare, with a slightly smaller but extremely friendly venue, with 290 seats. To our delight, it was a sold-out edition, and that's when we realized there was a need for this in the city. Over time, we have now reached the sixth edition, with names we never dreamed we could bring to Baia Mare. We've got here year by year, strengthening our position, not just as a destination for enthusiasts but also as a meeting point for the artistic and cultural community.
Please tell us more about an official website and social media pages where those interested can find more news about the One Jazz Festival.
The festival website, where you can find information and buy tickets, is onejazz.ro. We're also on social media, on Facebook and Instagram under One Jazz Festival. I'd like to add that the project is co-financed by the National Cultural Fund Administration.
Thank you very much, and good luck with this new edition of the festival.
Thank you.
Translated by Carmen Badea,
University of Bucharest, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures, MTTLC, year I
Corrected by Silvia Petrescu