Johnny Răducanu (born Răducan Crețu; 1 December 1931 – 19 September 2011) was a Romanian

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

pianist of Romani ethnic background, whose family has a long musical tradition dating back to the 17th century. He was born in

Brăila Brăila (, also , ) is a city in Muntenia, eastern Romania, a port on the Danube and the capital of Brăila County. The Sud-Est (development region), ''Sud-Est'' Regional Development Agency is located in Brăila. According to the 2021 Romanian ...

and started playing the double bass at the age of 19 before switching to piano. During his musical career, some of his many collaborations outside Romania were those with

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(trumpet) and

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(trombone), and

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(piano). In 1987, Răducanu received an honorary membership in the

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

Academy in

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. He was the founder of the Romanian Jazz school, and during a musical career spanning over half a century, he discovered, nurtured and trained several generations of Romanian jazz musicians.

Leonard Feather Leonard Geoffrey Feather (13 September 1914 – 22 September 1994) was a British-born jazz pianist, composer, and producer, who was best known for his music journalism and other writing. Biography Feather was born in London, England, into an u ...

called him "Mr. Jazz of Romania". He was the President of the Romanian Jazz Federation. Răducanu was married to Geta Costin from 1962 to 1970. Răducanu died at his apartment in Oltarului Street in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

and is interred in a local cemetery in Cernica,

Ilfov County Ilfov () is the Counties of Romania, county that surrounds Bucharest, the capital of Romania. It used to be largely rural, but, after the fall of communism, many of the county's villages and communes developed into high-income commuter towns, whi ...

, close to the capital.Notice of death of Răducanu
Adevarul.ro. Retrieved on 9 May 2017.

Discography

* ''Jazz trio'' – ''Seria jazz'' nr. 4 (Electrecord, 1966) * ''Jazz în țara mea (Jazz in my country)'' (Electrecord, 1967) * ''Confesiuni'' (Electrecord, 1979) * ''Confesiuni II'' (Electrecord, 1982) * ''Confesiuni III'' – ''Seria jazz'' nr. 21 (Electrecord, 1986) * ''Jazz Made in Romania'' (Electrecord, 1987) * ''To His Friends'' (Alpha Publishing, 1996) * ''Jazz Behind the Carpathians – Johnny Raducanu meets Theodora Enache'' (Green Records, 1999) * ''Jazz antifanariot'' (Anastasia, 2002) * ''Jazz Made in Romania – Live in San Francisco'' (Mediaround Inc./Intercont Music, 2002) * ''Jazz Bestament'' (Tescani Productions, 2005) * ''Chamber Jazz Music'' (Soft Productions, 2008) * ''Inside Stories – Jazz Poems'' (Tvr Media, 2009)

Books

* ''Singurătatea, meseria mea'' (Regent House Printing & Publishing, 2002) * ''Țara lui Johnny'' (Vivaldi, 2005)

References

External links

Recording in Meudon, Johnny Răducanu – Mister Jazz of Romania

Johnny Răducanu at All About Jazz
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Raducanu, Johnny 1931 births 2011 deaths People from Brăila Romanian Romani people Mainstream jazz double-bassists Romani musicians Romanian jazz double-bassists Romanian jazz pianists 20th-century Romanian pianists