Anca Parghel (September 16, 1957– December 5, 2008) 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, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
singer, composer, arranger, pianist, choir conductor, and music teacher. As a jazz vocalist, she excelled in scat, vocal percussion, and improvisation. Her voice had a four octave range, this being one of the reasons she was compared to
Yma Sumac
Zoila Augusta Emperatriz Chávarri del Castillo (September 13, 1922 (birth certificate) or September 10, 1922 (later documents) – November 1, 2008), known professionally as Yma Sumac (), was a Peruvian-American coloratura soprano. She was one ...
in the Romanian music press. She had an exceptional ability to interpret songs in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, or Portuguese.
Biography
Early years
Born in
Câmpulung Moldovenesc,
Suceava County,
Communist Romania, to a poor family,
she began singing at the age of three and performed onstage as a prodigy child. She also sang in the local church choir.
She left home at age 14 to enroll at the Music High School in
Iaşi. Anca Parghel attended the Iaşi Music Conservatory, from which she graduated in 1981, having as primary instrument piano, and secondary
bel canto. However, since jazz was not exactly popular nor officially encouraged in this part of the world living behind the
Iron Curtain, she studied jazz on her own from tapes and vinyl albums that were hard to find. At the age of 18, she married painter Virgiliu Parghel (divorced 2001), with whom she had two sons, Ciprian and Tudor, who became jazz musicians themselves.
Teaching
Anca Parghel taught music in
Suceava
Suceava () is the largest urban settlement and the seat town ( ro, oraș reședință de județ) of Suceava County, situated in the historical region of Bukovina, northeastern Romania, and at the crossroads of Central and Eastern Europe. Klaus Pet ...
(
Bucovina
Bukovinagerman: Bukowina or ; hu, Bukovina; pl, Bukowina; ro, Bucovina; uk, Буковина, ; see also other languages. is a historical region, variously described as part of either Central or Eastern Europe (or both).Klaus Peter Berge ...
, Northern part of Romania) at the local Arts high-school before turning to a professional singing career (c. 1988–1989). She lived in
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
in the first part of the 1990s, before moving to Brussels in 1997. She was a professor of vocal jazz at the
Royal Conservatory in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
and the
Lemmens Institute in
Leuven (1997–2002). She lived in Brussels for eight years before making a return to her home country around 2005. Her Conservatory diploma dissertation work was about the improvisation of
Charlie Parker
Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...
. As a music instructor and choir conductor, she taught many generations of aspiring singers and professional musicians, and led many workshops across Europe in Bucharest,
Chișinău, Brussels,
Namur, in Germany and England.
Performing
She was a gifted jazz pianist and frequently played "one-woman shows" where she accompanied herself in the crooner's tradition. She composed her own jazz songs, including original poetical lyrics as in the ''Primal Sound'' album, and frequently arranged music for Big Band orchestras, frequently performing with the Romanian Big Band conducted by Ionel Tudor in Bucharest. She toured extensively in Europe, mostly playing in local jazz clubs in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, Austria and Switzerland.
She performed in Canada, most notably at the Rimouski Jazz Festival 2003 where she preceded and eclipsed famed French singer
Anne Ducros (cf. Rimouski local press, in early September 2003 reporting on "Rimouski Festi Jazz"), and sporadically in the United States (2003–2006). She performed on-stage and recorded with well-known jazz performers such as
Aldo Romano,
Archie Shepp
Archie Shepp (born May 24, 1937) is an American jazz saxophonist, educator and playwright who since the 1960s has played a central part in the development of avant-garde jazz.
Biography Early life
Shepp was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but ...
,
Billy Hart,
Bruno Castellucci
Bruno may refer to:
People and fictional characters
*Bruno (name), including lists of people and fictional characters with either the given name or surname
* Bruno, Duke of Saxony (died 880)
* Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne, ...
,
Charles Loos,
Claudio Roditi, Decebal Badila,
Eric Legnini, Felix Simtaine,
Gustavo Bergalli,
Hein van de Geyn
Hein van de Geyn (born 18 July 1956) is a jazz double bassist, composer and band leader from the Netherlands. Van de Geyn also teaches double bass and music.
Early life
Hein van de Geyn was born in Schijndel, Netherlands on 18 July 1956. He st ...
,
Ivan Paduart, Jean-Louis Rassinfosse,
John Dankworth
Sir John Phillip William Dankworth, CBE (20 September 1927 – 6 February 2010), also known as Johnny Dankworth, was an English jazz composer, saxophonist, clarinettist and writer of film scores. With his wife, jazz singer Dame Cleo Laine, he ...
, John Engels,
John Ruocco,
Jon Hendricks
John Carl Hendricks (September 16, 1921 – November 22, 2017), known professionally as Jon Hendricks, was an American jazz lyricist and singer. He is one of the originators of vocalese, which adds lyrics to existing instrumental songs and re ...
,
Klaus Ignatzek
Klaus Ignatzek is a German jazz pianist, composer and band leader who has recorded as leader for Nagel-Heyer Records, Red Records, Timeless Records, and Candid Records
Candid Records was a jazz record label first established in New York City.
...
,
Larry Coryell, Marc Levine, Mark Griffith,
Mircea Tiberian
Mircea Tiberian (born May 4, 1955 in Cluj, Romania) is a jazz musician and professor of music at the National University of Music in Bucharest. He coordinates the Jazz Department, which he set up in 1991.
Musical career
Tiberian spent his childho ...
,
Norma Winstone
Norma Ann Winstone MBE (born 23 September 1941) is an English jazz singer and lyricist. With a career spanning more than 50 years, she is best known for her wordless improvisations. Musicians with whom she has worked include Michael Garrick, ...
,
Paolo Radoni,
Peter Herbolzheimer
Peter Alexandru Herbolzheimer (31 December 1935 – 27 March 2010) was a Romanian-German jazz trombonist and bandleader.
Biography
Herbolzheimer was born to a Romanian mother and a German father in Bucharest, Romania. His family emigrated in 1 ...
,
Peter Hertmans,
Philip Catherine
Philip Catherine (born 27 October 1942) is a Belgian jazz guitarist.
Biography
Philip Catherine was born in London, England, to an English mother and Belgian father, and was raised in Brussels, Belgium. His grandfather was a violinist in the ...
,
Pierre Vaiana,
Pierre Van Dormael
Pierre Van Dormael (24 May 1952 – 3 September 2008) was a Belgian jazz guitarist and composer.
In 1988, he played in the James Baldwin Project with David Linx
David Linx (born 22 March 1965) is a Belgian jazz
Jazz is a music ...
,
Riccardo Del Fra
Riccardo Del Fra (born February 20, 1956, Rome) is an Italian jazz double-bassist, bandleader, composer, and arranger.
Del Fra first played guitar, then switched to upright bass when he was sixteen years old. He studied at a conservatory, playe ...
, Rob Radna, Ron Van Rossum,
Stéphane Galland, Theo de Jong,
Tomasz Stanko Tomasz is a Polish given name, the equivalent of Thomas in English.
Notable people with the given name include:
*Tomasz Adamek (born 1976), Polish heavyweight boxer
*Tomasz Arciszewski (1877–1955), Polish socialist politician and Prime Min ...
, and the Romanian Radio Big-Band.
She made unannounced late night appearances at jazz clubs in New York City, where she played with the local bands led either by Pat Higgins at the "Lennox Lounge", "St. Nick's Pub" or by Manny Duran at
Cleopatra's Needle. Her concert in
Danville, Virginia
Danville is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States, located in the Southside Virginia region and on the fall line of the Dan River. It was a center of tobacco production and was an area of Confederate activity ...
, at the North Theater on November 10, 2006, was played to an enchanted full house and created a local sensation (cf. Danville, Virginia press).
Anca Parghel recorded an electro-pop album in 2007, and submitted the tune "Brasil" to National Selection Contest 2008 for Eurovision. The song was not selected, but "Brasil" gained commercial success in Romania and in Europe.
Anca Parghel died in
Timișoara
), City of Roses ( ro, Orașul florilor), City of Parks ( ro, Orașul parcurilor)
, image_map = Timisoara jud Timis.svg
, map_caption = Location in Timiș County
, pushpin_map = Romania#Europe
, pushpin_ ...
from late complications of breast cancer. She appeared on stage one month prior to her passing. She was buried on the "Artists' Alley" at
Bellu Cemetery
Șerban Vodă Cemetery (commonly known as Bellu Cemetery) is the largest and most famous cemetery in Bucharest, Romania.
It is located on a plot of land donated to the local administration by Baron Barbu Bellu. It has been in use since 1858. Th ...
in Bucharest, not far from Romanian artists
Maria Tănase,
Florian Pittiș, and
Adrian Pintea.
Discography
* ''Tinerii dansează'' (
Electrecord
Electrecord is a Romanian record label which was founded in 1932. It was subsequently transformed into the national recording company following the socialist doctrine of centralization and was the only record label in Communist Romania.
History ...
, 1986)
* ''Soul, My Secret Place'' (Blue Flame, 1987)
* ''Magic Bird'' (with Mircea Tiberian) (Electrecord, 1990)
* ''Indian Princess'' (Blue Flame, 1990)
* ''Octet Ost'' (
Amadeo, 1990)
* ''Ron und Tania'' (
Polydor
Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States ...
, 1991)
* ''Is That So?'' (Koala, 1992)
* ''Airballoon'' (Nabel, 1992)
* ''Beautiful Colours'' (Nabel, 1993)
* ''Carpathian Colours'' (Nabel, 1994)
* ''Jazz, My Secret Soul'' (Intercont, 1994)
* ''Noapte albă de crăciun/White Christmas Night'' (Prima Club, 1994)
* ''Indian Princess'' (Jazz Specials Edition) (Miramar 1995)
* ''Midnight Prayer'' (Intercont, 1996)
* ''Primal Sound'' (Acoustic Music, 1999)
* ''Zamorena'' (feat. Tom Boxer; Roton, 2008)
* ''Brasil'' (Re-release of ''Zamorena'' feat. Tom Boxer and Fly Project; Roton, 2009)
References
External links
Evenimentul Zilei(
Romanian
Romanian may refer to:
*anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania
**Romanians, an ethnic group
**Romanian language, a Romance language
*** Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language
** Romanian cuisine, tradition ...
)
Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parghel, Anca
1957 births
2008 deaths
People from Câmpulung Moldovenesc
Academic staff of the Royal Conservatory of Brussels
Romanian jazz musicians
20th-century Romanian women singers
20th-century Romanian singers
Women music educators
Deaths from breast cancer
Deaths from cancer in Romania
Burials at Bellu Cemetery