About violist Mat Maneri, a Grammy nominee, All About Jazz wrote that he “changed the way the jazz world listens to the violin and viola,” while Downbeat Magazine described pianist Lucian Ban as “undoubtedly in the major league of contemporary pianists… rarely does one find anyone to match him.” The duo began collaborating in 2010 with the Enesco Reimagined project, releasing over ten albums together and performing worldwide.

The pairing of Romanian-born pianist Lucian Ban and American violist Mat Maneri is internationally acclaimed for their profound blend of folklore and improvisation, their recontextualizations between classical music and jazz, and their pursuit of an ideal chamber jazz aesthetic. The Financial Times described “the complex interplay between Mat Maneri’s unique viola sound and Lucian Ban’s rich piano as one of the pleasures of contemporary jazz for more than a decade.”

The duo’s collaboration began in 2008 with the Enesco Reimagined project, an octet of New York jazz stars reimagining the instrumental works of the great Romanian composer George Enescu. The eponymous album, recorded at the Enescu Festival, received numerous international awards, critical acclaim, and was presented on major stages across America and Europe.

They continued their artistic partnership, debuting as a duo on ECM Records with the album “Transylvanian Concert”in 2013, which brought them international recognition and global tours. The Guardian praised this album for its “original voice and unorthodox beauty.”

In 2019, the duo collaborated with Evan Parker, one of the leading voices of European avant-garde jazz of the last half-century, on the album “Sounding Tears”, followed by a trilogy of albums with Mat Maneri’s microtonal ensemble and the album “Blutopia” (All About Jazz Best Album of the Year), a quintet featuring renowned saxophonist Alex Hardingand legendary tubist Bob Stewart.

In 2023, the two artists created a radical reworking of George Enescu’s Oedipe for a jazz ensemble and two singers, with the album “Oedipe Redux” earning a full-page feature in Downbeat Magazine, the most important jazz publication.

Over the course of nearly four decades, Mat Maneri has redefined the sound and role of the viola in jazz and improvised music. Born in Brooklyn in 1969, Maneri has gained an international reputation as one of the most original and challenging artists of his generation, praised for his individuality, his fusion of microtonal music and jazz, and his collaborations with legendary figures of improvised music. All About Jazz noted that “Maneri changed the way the jazz world listens to the viola,” while the Wall Street Journal called him “the jazz viola virtuoso.”

Described by The Guardian as “A name to watch” and considered “one of the most talented jazz pianists to have moved to NYC” (Bruce L. Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery), Lucian Ban has earned acclaim on the international jazz scene through a series of albums and collaborations with first-rate artists. He is known for his deeply personal synthesis of jazz and Romanian traditional music, for reimagining George Enescu’s work through the lens of improvisation, and for his quest for an ideal form of chamber jazz. His music has been described as “a triumph of emotional and musical communication” (All About Jazz), “ravishing, mysterious” (New York Times), “unorthodox yet fascinatingly beautiful” (The Guardian), and “timeless and vibrant” (Downbeat).