Lansarea albumului One Life Left la Cluj şi Bucureşti / The One Life Left release concerts in Cluj and Bucharest

(scroll down for the English version)

Săptămâna trecută am avut primele două concerte de lansare ale albumului One Life Left la Cluj şi Bucureşti. A fost o experienţă interesantă.

Spre deosebire de primele mele două albume – Friday featuring Tom Smith şi Dissipatin’ – albumul acesta a fost produs de propria mea casă de discuri, Fiver House Records. Ceea ce a însemnat că a trebuit să mă ocup aproape singur de toate detaliile acestui mic turneu, de la închirierea maşinii şi plata motorinei până la cazarea prietenilor din Timişoara şi Cluj cu care am cântat.

Marţi am pornit spre Timişoara pentru a repeta muzica, atât piesele de pe album cât şi câteva mai vechi, re-aranjate pentru trei suflători. Am repetat la Casa Tineretului, locul unde am şi înregistrat albumul, cu Tavi Scurtu, Dan Alex Mitrofan, Petre Ionuţescu şi Uţu Pascu. Saxofonistul Lucian Nagy şi chitaristul Toni Kühn nu au putut participa la aceste concerte, având alte angajamente stabilite cu mai mult timp în urmă. Mi-a părut rău, dar sper ca la următoarele concerte de lansare să ne organizăm astfel încât să fim toţi.

Joi am pornit spre Cluj, unde ne-am întâlnit şi am repetat părţile de suflători cu Petre şi saxofonistul Zoltán Réman, care l-a înlocuit pe Lucian.

Concertul a avut loc la Cafeneaua L’Atelier, care a sprijinit substanţial producţia albumului. L’Atelier este, după mine, cel mai prietenos loc din Cluj. Am cântat acolo de câteva ori cu Sorin Romanescu în formula Three’s a Crowd şi ne-am simţit excelent. Singurul lucru de care mă temeam acum era lipsa spaţiului – cafeneaua nu e tocmai mică, dar e împărţită în camere, iar noi am fost şase, cu set de tobe, microfoane şi amplificatoare de chitară şi bas. Problema s-a rezolvat printr-o aranjare ingenioasă a meselor, iar cei care nu ne puteau vedea direct ne-au putut urmări pe un ecran.

Concertul a mers bine, iar lumea a fost foarte pozitivă şi entuziastă. Un moment special a fost apariţia prietenului meu Bogdan Octav Rakolcza (cunoscut fanilor drept Butters) cu instrumentul lui brazilian numit berimbau. La al doilea bis, am improvizat o baladă împreună cu el şi cu Dan Alex Mitrofan.

A doua zi am pornit spre Bucureşti unde urma să cântăm în Green Hours Jazz Cafe, locul care mă face să pot suporta Bucureştii. Am ajuns la timp pentru a ne putea odihni puţin (eu cu Uţu în Green, la o bere, ceilalţi la hotel ) înainte de soundcheck. Din pricina vremii reci a trebuit să cântăm în subsol şi nu în grădină, cum ne-am fi dorit.

A venit foarte multă lume, aşa că mulţi au rămas pe afară. Aşa că promit să încerc un nou concert, eventual cu ocazia apariţiei LP-ului. Le cer scuze şi celor cu care m-am purtat oarecum isteric, în special lui Edi Neumann, unul dintre saxofoniştii mei preferaţi. A fost din cauza emoţiei.

Concertul a fost un succes, chiar şi din punct de vedere financiar. În sistemul meu de referinţă, asta înseamnă că am putut acoperi costurile şi mai ales gajurile muzicienilor.

Le mulţumesc din suflet lui Uţu Pascu, care a cântat la bas şi a înregistrat albumul, trompetistului Petre Ionuţescu – care a condus şi maşina până la Cluj şi apoi până la Bucureşti, pentru ca după aceea să cânte ca un leu, bateristului Tavi Scurtu şi chitaristului Dan Alex Mitrofan, care m-a şi găzduit la Timişoara, lui Zoltán Réman care a înţeles imediat muzica, deşi nu o mai cântase până joia trecută, Dianei şi lui Ami, care au vândut CD-urile la Cluj, prietenilor din L’Atelier şi celor de la Green Hours, care ne-au susţinut fiecare în felul lor, şi bateristului Vali Potra de la Blazzaj care a dus maşina înapoi la Timişoara. Şi, bineînţeles, lui Lucian Nagy şi lui Toni Kühn, fără de care albumul nu ar fi sunat aşa cum sună.

(In English)

Last week I had the first two release concerts for my album One Life Left, in Cluj and in Bucharest. It was an interesting experience.

Unlike my first two albums – Friday featuring Tom Smith and Dissipatin’ –this album was produced by my own label, Fiver House Records. This meant I had to handle by myself all the details for this small tour, everything from renting the van and paying for the gasoline to finding the accommodation for my friends from Timişoara and Cluj whom I played with.

On Tuesday I took the train to Timişoara to rehearse the music, the tunes from the album and some older ones, re-arranged for three horns. We rehearsed at Casa Tineretului, where we have also recorded the album, with Tavi Scurtu, Dan Alex Mitrofan, Petre Ionuţescu and Uţu Pascu. Saxophonist Lucian Nagy and guitarist Toni Kühn couldn’t play these concerts, because they had other engagements that had been booked earlier. I was very sorry for that, but I hope to organize the next release concerts so as to include everybody who is on the album.

On Thursday we left for Cluj, where Petre and I rehearsed the arrangements for horns with saxophonist Zoltán Réman, who subbed for Lucian.

The concert took place at L’Atelier Cafe, which also partially supported the production of the album. In my opinion, L’Atelier is the friendliest place in Cluj. I had played there a few times with Sorin Romanescu, as Three’s a Crowd, and we felt great. The only thing I was afraid of was the lack of space – the café isn’t really small, but it is divided into several rooms, and we are a six-piece band, complete with drum set, microphones and guitar and bass amplifiers. This was solved by an ingenious re-arranging of the tables and chairs, and those who couldn’t see us directly could watch us on a screen.

The concert went well, and everybody was very positive and enthusiastic. There was a special moment at the end, when my friend Bogdan Octav Rakolcza (also known to his fans as Butters) appeared with his Brazilian instrument called the berimbau. For the second encore, I improvised a ballad with him and guitarist Dan Alex Mitrofan.

The next day we left for Bucharest, where we were scheduled to play at the Green Hours Jazz Cafe, the only place that makes Bucharest a livable place for me. We got in time to catch some rest (myself and Uţu in the club, the others at the hotel). We couldn’t play outside, as we would have liked to, because of the cold weather.

A lot of people came to the concert, so many couldn’t get in. I am sorry for that and I promise to try a new concert, maybe for the release of the LP. I also apologize for the moments when I acted hysterically, especially to Edi Neumann, one of my favorite saxophone players. It was on account of the emotions.

The concert was successful, even financially. By my standards, this means I could cover the costs and pay the musicians.

It was my first tour where, as the label owner, I had to deal with the logistics. I have been playing in different bands for the last twenty years or so. Every musician knows what it means to wait for hours, to play clubs that don’t pay what they promise, to have to sleep in unsafe or seedy places. None of this happened this time, which makes me almost proud of myself.

I would like to thank Uţu Pascu, who played the bass and recorded the album, trumpet player Petre Ionuţescu, who drove the van for about 1000 kilometers and then played like a lion, drummer Tavi Scurtu and guitarist Dan Alex Mitrofan, whose guest I was in Timişoara, Zoltán Réman who immediately understood the music, although he hadn’t played it until last Thursday, Diana and Ami, who sold the CD’s in Cluj, our friends at L’Atelier Cafe and Green Hours, who helped in all the ways they could, and drummer Vali Potra from Blazzaj who drove the van back to Timisoara. I also thank saxophonist Lucian Nagy and guitarist Toni Kühn, without whom the album wouldn’t have sounded the way it sounds.