Damian Drăghici is a Romanian

Romanians

The Romanians are an ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania....

-Romani musician, best known as nai (pan flute)

Nai (pan flute)

The nai is a Romanian and also Moldavian diatonic pan flute used since the 17th century and used in lăutari bands.-Structure:...

 player, and possibly the most noted exponent of this particular instrument in the world of jazz.

Early life

Drăghici was born in Bucharest to a family of lautari

Lautari

The Romanian word Lăutar denotes a class of traditional musicians. Most often, and by tradition, Lăutari are members of a professional clan of Romani musicians , also called Ţigani lăutari. The term is derived from Lăută the name of a string instrument...

whose distinguished musical heritage dates back at least seven generations. He started to play lăutărească music in the family and tried an array of instruments but couldn't settle on one particular one. At ten, he was playing the pan flute in a Romani band (taraf

Taraf (musical band)

Taraf is a kind of Romanian and Moldovan lăutărească music band....

), when suddenly everybody stopped because he was playing wrong. He was so ashamed that he decided to stick to the pan flute and practice the instrument very hard everyday up to fifteen hours a day for the next 5 years. His dedication paid off as, by fifteen, he was a renowned prodigy in Romania, performing and recording with the country's National Radio Symphony Orchestra and starring in the National Festival of Romania.

Flight from Romania

In 1989, life under the communist regime being unbearable, he clandestinely crossed the border with Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....

 and from there he crossed to Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

. There, he busked in the streets before landing a nightclub gig playing keyboards.

USA Berklee College of Music and international recognition

In 1996 he auditioned for faculty members visiting Athens

Athens

Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...

 from the Berklee College of Music

Berklee College of Music

Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...

 in Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

.

Berklee College of Music offered Drăghici a full scholarship. Following the granting of a visa for the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, he began to study with George Garzone

George Garzone

George Garzone is a saxophonist and jazz educator residing in New York city.Saxophonist George Garzone is a member of The Fringe, a jazz trio founded in 1972 that includes bassist John Lockwood and drummer Bob Gullotti, that performs regularly in the Boston area and has toured world wide. The...

, Jerry Bergonzi

Jerry Bergonzi

Jerry Bergonzi is a jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and educator. Bergonzi received a B.A. Degree in Music Education from the University of Massachusetts Lowell and is the founder of Not Fat Records....

 and Hal Crook

Hal Crook

Hal Crook is a jazz trombonist. He has a degree from the Berklee College of Music and is considered to be a leading teacher and author in the field of jazz improvisation.- Discography :* Hello Heaven * Only Human...

. After only a short time in America, he has become recognized for his outstanding ability and talent. Following graduation from college with a Magna Cum Laude majoring in Jazz Performance he relocated to Los Angeles where he start working with major Hollywood film composers. music producers and some of the best musicians in the world, and where he worked on his first major EMI release Damian's Fire with the London Symphony Orchestra and highly acclaimed musicians such as: Vinnie Colaiuta

Vinnie Colaiuta

Vincent Colaiuta is an American drummer based in Los Angeles. Originally from Republic, Pennsylvania, he began playing drums as a child and received his first full drum kit from his parents at the age of 14...

, Dave Weckl

Dave Weckl

Dave Weckl is a highly acclaimed jazz fusion drummer. Weckl attended Francis Howell High School in St. Charles, MO and graduated in 1978. He majored in jazz studies at the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut...

, Abraham Laboriel

Abraham Laboriel

Abraham Laboriel, Sr. is a Mexican bassist of Garifuna descent who has played on over 4,000 recordings and soundtracks. Guitar Player Magazine described him as "the most widely used session bassist of our time". Laboriel is the father of drummer Abe Laboriel Jr. and of producer, songwriter, and...

, Neil Stubenhaus

Neil Stubenhaus

Neil Stubenhaus is an American bass guitarist.-Career:He started his musical training playing drums and switched to bass guitar at the age of 12. He studied at the Berklee College of Music where he graduated in 1975...

, Jimmy Johnson (bassist)

Jimmy Johnson (bassist)

Jimmy Johnson is an American bass guitarist best known for his work with James Taylor, Allan Holdsworth, Lee Ritenour and Flim & the BB's...

, John Robinson (drummer)

John Robinson (drummer)

John Robinson is an American drummer and session musician...

 , Mike Miller (guitarist)

Mike Miller (guitarist)

Mike Miller is a Los Angeles-based guitarist known for playing various styles of music including jazz fusion, rock, pop and more, and has played with Chick Corea, Bette Midler, Yellowjackets, Gino Vanelli, Chad Wackerman, Vinnie Colaiuta, Quincy Jones, Brand X, and Burton Cummings...

, Ramon Stagnaro

Ramon Stagnaro

Ramón Stagnaro, born in Peru, is a guitarist who has toured or recorded with artists such as Diana Ross, Celine Dion, Pedro Eustache, Alejandro Sanz, Enrique Iglesias, Nelly Furtado, Andrea Bocelli, Shahyar Ghanbari, Vangelis and appears on Yanni's live concert video, Tribute.-References:* an...

, Luis Conte

Luis Conte

Luis Conte is a Cuban percussionist.-Early years:As a child in Cuba, Conte began his musical odyssey playing the guitar. However, he soon switched to percussion, and that has remained his mode since....

, Oscar Castro Neves.

In 2004, Drăghici joined as one of the headliners, James Brown

James Brown

James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...

, Joe Cocker

Joe Cocker

John Robert "Joe" Cocker, OBE is an English rock and blues musician, composer and actor, who came to popularity in the 1960s, and is most known for his gritty voice, his idiosyncratic arm movements while performing, and his cover versions of popular songs, particularly those of The Beatles...

, reggae star Shaggy

Shaggy (musician)

Orville Richard Burrell , better known by his stage name Shaggy, is a Jamaican-American reggae singer and rapper. He is perhaps best known for his 1995 single "Boombastic" and 2000 single "It Wasn't Me"...

, Cyndi Lauper

Cyndi Lauper

Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and LGBT rights activist. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album...

, Zucchero

Zucchero

Adelmo Fornaciari, Commander , more commonly known by his stage name Zucchero Fornaciari or simply Zucchero /ˈtsukkero/, is an Italian rock singer. His music is largely inspired by gospel, blues and rock music, and alternates between ballads and more rhythmic boogie-like pieces.Zucchero is the...

, Gypsy Kings, Roger Hodgson

Roger Hodgson

Charles Roger Pomfret Hodgson is a British musician and songwriter, best known as the former co-frontman, and founding member, of progressive rock band Supertramp....

 (Supertramp

Supertramp

Supertramp are a British rock band formed in 1969 under the name Daddy before renaming to Supertramp in early 1970. Though their music was initially categorised as progressive rock, they have since incorporated a combination of traditional rock and art rock into their music...

) and The Pointer Sisters for one of Europe's most esteemed musical events the Night of the Proms

Night of the Proms

Night of the Proms is a series of concerts held yearly in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and Poland. Regularly there are also shows in France, Spain, Austria, Switzerland and Luxembourg...

 tour.

Damian & Brothers project

In 2006 Drăghici decided to come back to his roots,with a new concept and a new group with “his gypsy brothers” as he likes to called them. One of the purposes of “Damian & Brothers, Filarmonika Rromanes” was to change the international perception and the stereotypes over Romani minority through their music. The impact and the huge popularity achieved during three years period of the project now are a confirmation of their common effort.

The official recognition of Drăghici’s efforts and dedication to promoting Romani people came on 20 March 2007 when he was designated by the President of Romania, as Romania’s Ambassador for the Romani minority in the 2007 European Year of Equal Opportunities for All

European Year of Equal Opportunities for All

The European Year of Equal Opportunities for All was held in 2007. This designation was made on 31 May 2005 by the European Commission's Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities...

 and in 2008 as the Ambassador for European Year of Intercultural Dialogue.

Pan flute in jazz

On November 12 2010, he showcased his ability to perform jazz on the panflute live on stage in a Bucharest concert together with Clarinet

Clarinet

The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...

 player Eddie Daniels

Eddie Daniels

Eddie Daniels is an American musician. Though he is best known as a jazz clarinet player, he has also played alto and tenor saxophones, as well as classical music on the clarinet....

 and vocalist Diane Schuur

Diane Schuur

Diane Schuur is an American jazz singer and pianist. Nicknamed "Deedles", she has won two Grammy Awards, headlined many of the world's most prestigious music venues, including Carnegie Hall and The White House and has toured the world performing with such greats as Quincy Jones, Stan Getz, B. B...

.

On May 8th of 2011 Classical Meets Jazz was a historical event, Damian Drăghici and the well known Violinist Nigel Kennedy

Nigel Kennedy

Nigel Kennedy is a British born violinist and violist. He made his early career in the classical field, and he has performed and recorded most of the major violin concerti...

 perform together in the Palace Square, the repertoire included Classical, Jazz and Romanian lăutăreasca music.

External links

List of Berklee College of Music alumni