Camilla George among the highlights at Jazz In The Park, Romania

There have been many ‘Jazz In The Park’ themed events but I doubt many have been situated in such a remarkable location. In Cluj-Napoca, in Transylvania, lies the Parcul Etnografic, a beautiful, green and undulating landscape dotted with fruit trees and ancient buildings that have been donated and perfectly rebuilt from across the region since 1929. Centuries old farm houses made of black wood with straw and mud roofs and other dwellings provide the backdrop for this well organised and forward-looking festival that has become the leading jazz event in the Romanian calendar.

On its 11th edition, the festival nearly didn’t happen due to a terrible fire at their warehouse that destroyed their entire logistics stock but typical of the energy of director Alin Vaida and his team, with only a month until the event, they didn’t blink and impressively made it happen!

The festival had more than jazz artists on show but it contained a generous and intriguing selection of up-and-coming and seasoned musicians alike to please the aficionados and jazz-curious.

Heading the veterans list were Billy Cobham and the Ethio-jazz maestro Mulatu Astatke, both of them 79 years young and still in the mix. Cobham’s show on the opening night was a hard-hitting fusion affair that showcased his still powerful and complex drumming chops, but for me, it was a little two-dimensional and only when they played ‘Strata’ did the template show any variation. On Saturday, however, Astatke and his band were in phenomenal form, with razor tight horn arrangements, extended percussion workouts from Jon Scott and Richard Ọlátúndé Baker, and fluid, sensational musicianship including some electrifying solos from Byron Wallen on trumpet and James Arben on sax.

Earlier on the hot opening afternoon, the melancholic iceberg jazz of Norway’s Jan Gunnar Hoff Trio explored some sinewy trio energy with a repertoire that went from icy Jan Hammer style keys work to sweltering Afro-Cuban numbers. Theo Croker brought a warmly received performance of romantic post-bop with subtle nods to other genres. A superb trumpeter, Croker’s playing exuded a lovely feeling of hopefulness that entranced the crowd as the sun slowly set.

The Heliocentric’s cosmic stew was a Saturday highlight. The shamanic grooves deep and circular, Malcolm Catto and Jake Ferguson the rhythmic foundation of a gripping set that lent an otherworldly soundtrack to this otherworldly location.

The prodigiously talented Mansur Brown followed The Heliocentrics with his trademark R&B-jazz hybrid. Never one to push the tempo, his quiet storm had a more organic warmth than on his releases, his intricate guitar shredding touching a Balkan audience that grew up on guitar music, the post-D’Angelo rhythm section keeping it smooth and bass heavy. Brown’s atmospheric music radiates emotion and the relentlessly tough riff on ‘Highs and Lows’ became the earworm of the evening.

Despite an early deluge, Sunday was a day of welcome surprises. The influence of UK jazz on the young bands of the region was palpable with fine sets from the high energy Polish septet, Klawo, and by Romanian octet 7th Sense who opened their show with an afrobeat influenced number containing some impressively sophisticated chord changes.

Camilla George provided the best ‘jazz’ performance of the weekend. Captivating and with a lyrical, flighty tone to her alto saxophone playing, she was backed by a muscular three piece mostly playing material from her new album Ibio-Ibio. The performance oozed vitality and enjoyment, George’s compositions seamlessly melding Nigerian melodic patterns with the influence of London. On ‘Creation- Abasi and Atai’, one could hear 80s’ jazz-boogie with its bubbling bass and Rod Youngs’ hard but stripped back drums, an invincible groove for Renato Paris’ sensitive keys and the storytelling prowess of George’s sax. Solos were offered and taken with exceptional improvising from Jihad Darwish on bass and some wonderful keys and vocals interplay from Paris. The Sunday evening crowd were thrilled and when the set ended with an extended and ecstatic version of ‘How Nehemiah Got Free’ from her breakout album ‘The People Will Fly’, the cheers rolled into the night.

A fantastic and welcoming festival in a beautiful location. Never been to Transylvania? It’s time.