Florin Raducanu, pianist, composer, professor, jazz orchestra leader and conductor
Florin Raducanu graduated the Music Academy in Bucharest, took part in numerous national and international jazz festivals, met and played with important jazz musicians such as David Murray (SUA), Jorge Silvester (Afro-caribbean), Lee Pearsons (SUA), Jean-Louis Rassinfose (Belgium), Eric Legnini (Italy), Celline Rudolph (Germany), Zahid Ahmad (Malaysia), Joseph Pruesner (SUA-Malaysia), Jasper Bloom (Holland), Ari Roland( SUA), John Mosa (SUA), Zaid Naser( SUA), Keith Balla (SUA), Herwig Gradisching (Austria), Jari Perkiomaki (Finland), Daniel Rotem (Israel/SUA), Tal Gamlieli (Israel), Roy Oliel (Israel), Idan Walish (Israel), Paolo Morello (Germany/Brasil) and the great drummer Billy Cobham (S.U.A./ Panama)
Florin Raducanu is the founder of the Jazz Department of the “George Enescu Music College in Bucharest and Doctor of Musical Arts. He published numerous articles on jazz history and theory and has promoted many of his students in various concerts at home and abroad. In 2013 he published “Guide to jazz improvisation” a precious help for every aspiring jazz musician.
Over the years, he started and played in many projects, including his trio, sextet, big band and symphonic jazz orchestra, all of which performed his compositions and jazz standards. In 2007, he collaborated with the “Sibiu Philharmonic Orchestra”, to produce a Third Stream project for his “Tribute to Mary Magdalene” and “Mapamond Pictures” compositions. He was composer, conductor and piano player for this symphonic jazz project and later in the same year, the “Romanian Radio Society” invited him to perform a concert with the “Radio Jazz Big band & Chamber Orchestra”, which was broadcasted in 13 European countries.
So far, he recorded 8 CD’s and 1 DVD : 1. “Hermanstadt Jazz Town” 2. “Back To Bach” 3 .“Florin Raducanu plays Beethoven, Chopin, Enescu on Jazz”, 4.“Revealing the Romanian Traditional Music on Jazz” , 5.“Florin Raducanu Jazz Orchestra in Enescu Festival 2009” 6. “Florin Raducanu & Friends – Jazz Standard Mood from Vienna 2014” 7. “Florin Raducanu Live Jazz Portret at Radio Romanian Broadcasting Hall” 8.” Romanian Ukrainian Jazz Meeting”. 9. “Symphonic Jazz Poem by Florin Raducanu – Jazz Ecumenica” , this special DVD was realised by Florin Raducanu in collaboration with Belarusian Philarmonic Orchestra, filmed by National Television from Belarus
The Romanian Composers and Musicologists Union included his recordings on the albums series dedicated to jazz. He also recorded the first album with his young Romanian jazz students, “Young Jazz Musicians”, of which he was composer, performer, arranger and producer.
Raducanu played abroad in Europe and Asia. In May 2009, he was part of a Romanian-Dutch collaboration with saxophone player and Amsterdam professor Jasper Blom.In September 2009, Raducanu was invited to play classical jazz projects with his 16-musician orchestra “Florin Raducanu & Classical Troubadours Orchestra” at the most important classical festival in Southeastern Europe, the “George Enescu International Festival”.
He was a part of the 2008 “Sibiu Jazz Festival” and the 2009 Akademy Seny (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) jazz masterclass. Some of his awards include the Muzza Foundation Prize for Jazz – 2004, the Prize for Jazz of “Cuvântul” magazine – 2005, the prize for Jazz arrangements of the “Romanian Radio Broadcasting Society” and the prize for Jazz Symphonic Composition of the Romanian Union of Composers and Musicologists – 2007.
In 2009 he won the Jazz musician of the year award in Romania.
In 2010 he presented his “Improvisations about music of the world” project at the famous jazz club “Porgy & Bess” in Vienna, Austria and in Graz as well. His album “Florin Raducanu plays Beethoven, Chopin, Enescu on Jazz” is promoted on international jazz page : “Jazz Corner”, “Jazz Review” and “JazzWorldQuest”.
Florin Raducanu’s album “Revealing the Romanian Traditional Music on Jazz” was awarded “Jazz Album of the Year 2011” in Romania.
In 2014 he was invited in Kiev, Ukraine, to perform together with top Ukrainian jazz musicians in Ednist Jazz Festival. The project was called Romanian –Ukrainian Jazz Meeting. On this occasion he was invited to give a masterclass for students of the “P.I Ceaikovsky” Academy of Music in Kiev.
On April 30, 2014 Florin Raducanu was invited to celebrate “Jazz Day” concert at Porgy & Bess Jazz Club from Vienna, Austria.
In 2014 he was part of The Romanian Broadcasting Corporation jazz series performing in a show that has been recorded and launched on CD as “Florin Raducanu Live Jazz Portrait Pianist, Composer, Orchestrator
Florin Raducanu performed at the Bucharest Jazz Festival 2015. Later that year he published “Romanian Carols Collection of Re-Harmonized Manner Arranged for Piano Jazz”.
In 2015 he presented the world premiere of his Symphonic Jazz Poem in collaboration with the Belarusian Philarmonic Orchestra. The performance has been filmed by the Belarus national television and released on DVD.
His past performances include:
▪ Bydgosky Jazz Festival, Poland, 1995
▪ Costinesti Jazz Festival, Romania, 1997
▪ Iasi Jazz Festival, Romania, 1998
▪ 1st edition of the International Musical Fair, Bucharest, 1999
▪ Napocensis Jazz Festival, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, 2000
▪ Bucharest Jazz Festival, Romania, 2002
▪ Sibiu Jazz Festival, Romania, with his sextet, special guest Tom Smith(SUA), 2004
▪ Bucharest jazz Festival, with Florin Raducanu Big-Band, 2004
▪ Symphonic Jazz Concert of Sibiu Philharmonic Orchestra at the Sibiu Jazz Festival as a composer, pianist and conductor, 2006
▪ Symphonic Jazz Concert broadcasted live in 13 European countries, 2007
▪ Swinging Jazz Fest, Vienna, 2007
▪ Malaysian tour (2008) including duo with Dalila Cernatescu at panflute produced by the Japanese “Soka Gakay Foundation”, and concert with Joseph Pruesner-bass(USA) &
Zahid Ahmad- drums(Malaysia) at the “No Black Tie Jazz Club”, Kuala Lumpur
▪ George Enescu International Festival, Bucharest, Romania, with “Florin Raducanu & Classical Troubadours Orchestra”, 2009
▪ Austrian shows with the “Improvisations about the music of the world” project in Vienna at the “Porgy & Bess” Jazz Club, and Graz, 2010
▪ Jam Session w Ari Roland Quartet/ Florin Raducanu-piano Ari Roland- d.bass John Mosca- trombon Zaid Naser- alto sax Keith Balla- drums, Bucharest 2010
▪ Dalila Cernatescu & Florin Raducanu Art Factory Jazz Ensemble / Tirgoviste, Festivalul “Crizantema de aur”, 2011
▪FLORIN RADUCANU & LATIN JAZZ SOCIAL CLUB FROM BUCHAREST
▪ArtJazz Club and Green Hours , Bucharest, 2011
▪ EDNIST Festival and Masterclass, Kiev, Ukraine, 2014
▪ Porgy & Bess Jazz Club, Viena, Austria, International Jazz Day, 2014
▪ Concert at Sala Radio, Bucharest, Romania, 2014
▪ Concert during the Bucharest Jazz Festival 2015
▪ Masonic Concerts, Christmas Jazz with Florin Raducanu, December 2015
▪ Izmir Jazz Festival, Florin Raducanu Jazz Balance, March, 2016
▪ World premiere of the symphonic jazz poem “Jazz Ecumenica”, Minsk, Belarus, April 2016
▪ Florin Raducanu Trio: concerts in Bruxelles, Belgium at the Jazz Station and The Music Village, May 2017
▪ Tribute to John Coltrane at the Jaffa Jazz Festival Israel, September 2017
| Collaborations: |
David Murray(USA), Jorge Silvester, Lee Pearsons(USA), Jean-Louis Rassinfose(Belgium), Eric Legnini(Italy), Celline Rudolph(Germany), Zahid Ahmad(Malaysia), Joseph Pruesner(USA/Malaysia), Jasper Blom(Netherlands), Ari Roland(USA), Herwig Gradisching (Austria), Jari Perkiomaki (Finland), Daniel Rotem (Israel/SUA), Tal Gamlieli (Israel), Roy Oliel (Israel), Idan Walish (Israel), Paolo Morello (Germany/Brasil) and the great Billy Cobham
| Awards |
- 1st Prize for Jazz Composition at the “Jazz Composition Contest, Iasi, Romania 1995
- 1st prize at the Napocensis Jazz Festival, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, 2000
- National Radio Broadcast Society Award for Composition, 2004
- Romanian Radio Broadcasting & Muzza Foundation, Prize for Jazz Orchestration & Arrangements, 2004
- “Best in Jazz” awarded by the Romanian cultural magazine “Cuvantul”, 2005
- Prize for Jazz Symphonic Composition of the Romanian Union of Composers and Musicologists, 2007
- “Romanian Jazz musician of the year”, at the Romanian Jazz Annual Awards, 2009
- Muzza Foundation : “Revealing the Romanian Traditional Music on Jazz” – Album of the year, 2011
- “Excellence in Music” by Municipality City of Targoviste, Romania, 2016