“iQuest Evening” - an Extraordinary Jazz Concert in Romania
October 2007
Sponsored by iQuest, Cluj-Napoca welcomed on October 11, 2007 two great talents of contemporary Jazz: Billy Cobham and Teodora Enache.
Billy Cobham, a living legend, is singled out as the world-class master of his instrument. For over 30 years he has received international acclaim as the total consummate percussionist, sharing the stage with other Jazz legends like Miles Davis, Chick Corea, Grover Washington, Carlos Santana, Tito Fuente, Quincy Jones, Isaac Hayes. With his matchless, dazzling, ambidextrous skills as a drummer, the legendary Billy Cobham has applied the same insistent fervour to his long list of monumental achievements. He’s equally an accomplished composer and record producer, and was at the forefront of the electronic music industry and its development through Jazz. He has performed on hundreds of records with his own groups and with some of the music’s most luminary artists, and his trademark drumming has energised the international stages of concerts, symphonies, Broadway, festivals, television and video. His stylistic influence, which has literally created a category of music, is an outstanding part of the history of modern music.
Teodora Enache has quite often been described as “a new Ella Fitzgerald” after her latest US tour. She is considered one of the most important Jazz musicians in Romania. She participated in numerous Jazz concerts and festivals in Romania, France, Italy, Germany, the USA, Switzerland, Hungary, Russia, Canada, for instance Montreux Jazz Festival, Jazz in Marciac, Montreal Jazz Festival, Library of Congress, Iridium Jazz Club. She performed with internationally acclaimed stars such as Stanley Jordan, Les Paul, Al Copley, Curtis Fuller, Johnny Griffin, Rick Condit, Johnny Raducanu, Guido Manusardi and Philippe Duchemin. She is among the few female singers whom, due to her musical spontaneity, one completely discovers only by listening to her live singing. Teodora’s distinctive trait is her natural use of the scat technique, her inborn swing as well as her joy of singing that bursts out on stage.
iQuest took great pleasure in offering this concert within the Transilvania Jazz Festival 2007.
Cluj-Napoca is a city with a decade of tradition in international jazz festivals. This year the event took place in parallel in two cities of Romania, Cluj-Napoca and Sibiu, between October 10 - 16, 2007.
It aimed at bringing together famous jazz musicians and jazz bands (international and Romanian) in Transylvanian opera houses, concert rooms, as well as local pubs and clubs.
At the top of the bill stood the legendary drummer Billy Cobham from the USA, the Romanian musicians Johnny Raducanu and Teodora Enache, as well as world-renowned jazz players from Belgium, France, Poland, Hungary. The artists not only delighted their audience with their live interpreting, but they also held masterclasses and workshops for young students from the Music Academy.
iQuest thanks all those who participated in this festival, the talented musicians who offered us such a great show.