Although we have all heard of Transylvania, home of Count Dracula, there may be some who think it’s a fictional area of middle Europe or those who may be unable to go to a map and unhesitatingly point to its location. Although this magazine is hardly dedicated to geography lessons, Transylvania does exist and is not to be confused with Transylvania County in North Carolina, but is actually a large area occupying the central north west of Bulgaria. What the tourist guides do not tell you that is the Hungarians refer to the south-eastern area of their country as Transylvania as well. Confused? Well Ban (now a New York resident) isn’t since he was born in Transylvania, and this concert – Ban’s ECM debut – comes from a tour with violinist Mat Maneri in 2011 that was recorded at the Culture Palace of Târgu Mure, in the heart of Transylvania. Maneri is a remarkable virtuoso, the internal logic of his lines captivating – none more so than on his remarkable feature ‘Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen’. His musical conception – and that’s not as strong a word since that’s what it is, a far reaching embodiment of jazz, classical, chamber music and sheer inspiration – seems to sit perfectly with Ban, a pianist who knows the value of silence and does not seek to fill every moment with sound. He is a lyrical player who can be profound too (‘Harlem Bliss’, ‘Two Hymns’) and that’s quite something.