Gărâna Jazz Festival – July 9 and 10, 2026
Gărâna Jazz Festival kicked off its 30th anniversary edition in a truly idyllic atmosphere. The weather was on our side on Thursday, and the main stage in Poiana Lupului (Wolf’s Meadow) provided the perfect backdrop for the opening night.
Søren Bebe Trio (Søren Bebe – piano, Mattias Hjorth – double bass, Knut Finsrud – drums) offered a very dreamy, atmospheric opening. In the pleasant sunshine, it was an immensely intimate performance that demanded deeper attention. Fortunately, I managed to strategically secure a front-row spot on the logs, from where I could fully appreciate it – at the back, this delicate experience would probably have been lost. I really liked the fact that they tastefully incorporated a Billy Joel cover at the end of the set.
Pete Roth Trio feat. Bill Bruford (Pete Roth – electric guitar, Mike Pratt – bass guitar, Bill Bruford – drums) was quite a ride. The lads were in high spirits and played brilliantly. The group’s founder, guitarist Pete Roth, blends his experience of rock and blues with contemporary British jazz. Bass guitarist Mike Pratt, for his part, brings a solid foundation in funk, fusion and orchestral composition, whilst the presence of drummer Bill Bruford – a legendary figure in rock and jazz – lends the trio a distinctive energy and a constant thirst for discovery. Bill’s ‘If Summer Had Its Ghost’ was a tribute to Ralph Towner. Their very free, improvised version of Dvořák’s 9th Symphony was a real treat – it sounded like part of one big jam session. They also performed the title track from their new album, Group Chat, and overall it was a very successful performance.
The first evening of the festival drew to a close with a performance by ØKSE (Mette Rasmussen – saxophone, Petter Eldh – double bass, Savannah Harris – drums, Val Jeanty – turntables and percussion), who were, after all, “a bit of a wild bunch”. It was a proper dose of electronics, samples and heavy textures with an almost metal-like intensity, which really hit the spot for me – it sounded like a musical apocalypse. I enjoyed the ethnic motifs on the electronic percussion, which added a bit of flair. Occasionally there were passages where things ‘fell flat’ and the energy slowed down a bit, but honestly, it can’t be non-stop mayhem for a whole hour. In any case, it was a brilliant way to end Thursday.
Friday’s programme at Wolf’s Meadow offered a colourful mix of moods, ranging from meditative passages to pure fusion energy.
The OKworld Quartet – Bugge Wesseltoft, Shri Sriram, Sanskriti Shrestha and Carolina Katún – ended up performing as a trio, as the Swiss singer Carolina Katún broke her leg two days before the concert. Bugge Wesseltoft returned to Garana with a project that reflects one of the central themes of his career: music as a common language between cultures. He was joined by Indian bassist Shri Sriram and Nepalese percussionist Sanskriti Shrestha, and together they created music that bridges traditions, rhythms and contemporary sound. In this line-up, they premiered ‘Garana’, a piece written especially for the occasion. Long, meandering introductions characterised the entire performance, and although I adore the tabla, I wasn’t particularly moved by this music – it simply didn’t captivate me.
Bang / Aarset / Kraft / Zach presented a sombre soundscape in After the Wildfire, evoking tracks such as City Never Sleeps and Fire Dancer from the collaborative album by Jan Bang and Eivind Aarset. It was purely ambient, but to be honest I’m not sure whether this meditative music was appropriate for the programme whilst it was still light outside, or whether it’s even suitable for a live performance at all.
Fusion Experience Quartet featuring Dave Weckl, Richard Bona, Mica Lecoq and Ciro Manna offered the complete opposite. Here we saw what ‘above-and-beyond’ fusion really means – when the masters are at it, it just flows. Richard Bona was funny, constantly clamouring for a shot of pálenka to warm up, and in the Brecker Brothers’ ‘Skunk Funk’, he and Weckl really got the crowd going. I also enjoyed watching Dennis Chambers, who watched his colleagues – and no doubt friends – perform with rapt attention from the sound engineer’s booth, nodding his head contentedly to the beat. A concert featuring Richard Bona wouldn’t be complete without the traditional warm-up for the audience (this time with the humorous “don’t stop pálenka”) and it worked a treat once again. The joy of the music and the superb performances by everyone involved made for what was probably the best show of the festival so far.
For me, however, Friday evening only really reached its climax with Bushman’s Revenge, featuring Even Helte Hermansen on electric guitar, Rune Nergaard on bass and Gard Nilssen on drums. They’ve had more than two decades to refine their style and develop a unique musical language, the result of constant exploration. They’ve even released 11 albums by now, which makes it all the more surprising to me that I hadn’t actually come across this band before. Well, it’s high time to put that right… After the previous, more accessible fusion, their occasional abstraction and subtle ‘disruption’ came as a welcome change. They’re a power trio through and through, unafraid to shift from gentle passages to a proper rock blast. They’re absolutely brilliant live – check out the video!
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