After having left Sarmalele Reci I played with Vlaicu Golcea's Rebop Factory then I started transcribing big band music to develop my ear. One of the most difficult things I had chosen were written by Sun Ra so I sought up some of his other records and also read his biography by John Szwed. Out of this came the idea of a band called "Outer Space Seven", a septet dedicated to Sun Ra's music. After two concerts, the Seven had turned into Five.

Around 2001 after an event which changed some of my ideas about life I started writing my own music. At first it was performed alongside the Sun Ra material by the Outer Space Five (with Sorin Romanescu on guitar, Vlaicu Golcea on bass....and whatever drummer we could find). Then as the new tunes were replacing the old playlist I met Tom Smith, an outstanding trombone player and big band director who had come to Bucharest as a Fullbright scholar to create and rehearse a big band within the Academy of Music. The concerts where he played as a guest with Outer Space Five (then with "iordache"...I changed the name to get more gigs and capitalize on the remains of my brief rock career) were, in a sense, the only real jazz lessons I ever had. Then I rehearsed briefly with the big band, shortly before it disbanded. Hearing Tom play and talk is listening to a true master. My first album( "friday - featuring Tom Smith") has been released by A&A records. Check out the Sounds link to enjoy some songs from this album.

Since 2003 I'm the saxophonist of rock band Kumm, from Cluj.

... and as a timeline

1983/1984 - I had my first instrument, a wooden recorder.
1986 - I played at the jam session at the Costinesti Jazz Festival.
I met Harry Tavitian, a free jazz pianist
I played a few concerts and festivals with his band Creativ
1987 - I participated in the newcomers contest at Sibiu Jazz Festival and got a popularity prize
1988 - My group opened for Harry Tavitian at a concert he gave for students.
Bought my first saxophone.
1991 - I played with Timpuri noi.
1993 - I started Sarmalele Reci and also got into writing pop songs
1994 - Sarmalele Reci played in Wuppertal, Germany then I toured for three months in jazz clubs around Wuppertal and Hannover with pianist Zoltan Andras and guitarist Sorin Romanescu. I met the late free jazz bassist Peter Kowald
1995 - 1996- Lucian Ban started Jazz Unit and we played several concerts and festivals.
1997 - Sarmalele Reci played at the Mediawave Film Festival in Györ, Hungary.
1998 - Sarmalele Reci played at the University Of London Union and in the London club "Hope and Anchor"
1999- I quit Sarmalele Reci.Harry Tavitian called me to join his Orient Express nonet, an ethno jazz outfit.
2000 - Orient Express was invited to play at the Expo 2000 in Hannover, Germany.
2001 - I got called to play in bassist Vlaicu Golcea's Rebop Factory, a short-lived but interesting band.
I started Outer Space Seven, (then Five, then Quartet...) to play the music of Sun Ra.
2002 - Touring Germany and Italy as a tenor player and flutist (?!) with an orchestra accompanying American singers who did Broadway musicals. The manager ran away with the money. Great trip.
2003 - Orient Express was invited to play at an ongoing jazz festival in Graz, Austria along with famous European jazzmen.
Outer Space Five invited American trombonist Tom Smith for a few concerts in Bucharest clubs.
I renamed the band by calling it "iordache" and played at the Bad Man Festival in Petrila.
Joined the alternative rock band Kumm to record the album "Yellow Fever Dance" soon to be released in Italy.
2003 - My first album "friday - featuring Tom Smith" was released by A&A Records
2004 - Kumm made two Italian tours and opened for James Brown in Milan and Marostica.We also recorded the band's third album, "Angels and Clowns" for a legendary Italian label, Cramps Records (their catalogue includes John Cage, Steve Lacy and Area)
2005 - My second album "dissipatin'"was released by A&A Records. Unfortunately, they also decided to stop producing "friday...". More about this on www.no-more-friday.altpro.net . Kumm's "Angels and Clowns" was released in Italy by Cramps Records, then in Romania by Macondo, an independent label.

Kumm made a short tour of southern Germany.

I played with Harry Tavitian at the Porgy and Bess Jazz Club in Vienna ( www.porgy.at )

I played with Eugene Chadbourne's trio, which featured Pat Thomas on keyboards and Jimmy Carl Black (a founder, with Frank Zappa, of the Mothers of Invention) and Vlaicu Golcea at the Nova Cinema in Bruxelles. I also recorded an album with guitarist/songwriter Guillaume Maupin.