Marian Petrescu Trio

This trio is a treat for the ears of a kind rarely heard. The internationally acclaimed piano virtuoso Marian Petrescu and his two kindred musical spirits, Joel Locher and Patrick Manzecchi, embark on a journey through time to honour one of the greatest heroes of jazz: Oscar Peterson! Anyone who has ever had the pleasure of hearing Marian Petrescu will not have failed to notice the influence of the great Canadian master.

Yet this evening will be more than just a tribute to Mr Peterson; Petrescu and his fantastic trio infuse Peterson’s style and finesse – as well as those of other pianists – with their own artistic touch. Anyone who is a fan of the classic piano trio format and, moreover, of extraordinary artistic flights of fancy, should by no means miss this moment of brilliance!

Marian Petrescu was born in Bucharest in 1970 and comes from a large family of musicians. At the age of four he began playing the piano. He studied at the Conservatory of Classical and Jazz in Sweden and then at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. In the context of a solid classical education, his career as a jazz pianist obviously inspired by Oscar Peterson has been marked by international successes, with performances together with world-renowned jazz greats sore at important festivals, including the Montreux Jazz Festival.

It is not for nothing that his mentor in Paris, Martial Solal, calls him the “Horowitz of the Jazz Piano”. He played with Toots Thielemans, Didier Lockwood, Ulf Wakenius, Ray Charles and many more. He was also awarded the Grammy as a member of the Resonance Big Band.

Joel Locher from Stuttgart is a busy and highly esteemed double bass player in Modern Jazz, Gipsy Jazz, Classical Music, among others.In addition, he plays and worked with musicians such as Martin Taylor, Howard Alden, Ludovic Beier, André Ceccarelli, Pee Wee Ellis, Roby Lakatos, Dusko Goykovich, Biréli Lagrène, Jim Rotondi, Scott Hamilton, Charly Antolini, Giovanni Weiss, Marius Preda, Harry Allen, Gerd Dudek, Philip Catherine, Shihiro Yamanaka, Stochelo Rosenberg – with the Gismo Graf Trio, Gee Hye Lee Trio, Wawau Adler Quartet, among others.

He has toured all over Europe and internationally in Japan, Canada, Korea, Turkey, New Zealand, Australia, Africa, etc. Joel Locher’s debut album “Intensity of Bass” was also released on the GLM label at the end of 2018 and the new CD live at Jazzhus Montmartre in Copenhagen was released in June 2022.

Patrick Manzecchi has been one of the most experienced sidemen in Germany for more than 25 years. Koriphäen such as Sheila Jordan, Pee Wee Ellis and Fred Wesley, Paolo Fresu, Arthur Blythe, Harry Allen, Bobby Watson, Robin Eubanks, Richie Beirach and George Mraz, but also German Koriphäen such as Gregor Hübner, Steffen Schorn, Sebastian Studnitzky, Torsten Goods, Thomas Siffling, Lyambiko, Anke Helfrich and Lisa Bassenge are only a few names that need to be mentioned when it comes to the musical qualities of the drummer.

But also as a bandleader he makes talk of himself again and again: After 5 productions under his own name between 2000 and 2022 - including the two last CDs "Rectilinear" (2017) and "Talking To Myself" (2022) nominated for the best list of German record critics - Manzecchi brings out a live recording again in early 2024: "Tenderly" with Scott Hamilton, André Weiss and Joel Locher.