Bucharest’s Armenian neighborhood in the spotlight at event featuring jazz concerts, guided tours, and traditional gastronomy

Simona Fodor

Romania Insider

Armenian Street Pop-Up: All That Jazz, an event focusing on the city’s Armenian neighborhood, community and living heritage, takes place on the weekend of May 24 – May 25.

The first edition, meant as an overture to the Armenian Street Festival, brings to the fore the cultural heritage of the Armenian community in Romania and the diaspora, with a special focus on the contribution of Armenian jazz musicians to the Romanian jazz scene.

During the two days, the Armenian District is transformed into a festival space, with live concerts, DJ sets, exhibitions, guided tours, discussions, traditional gastronomy, Armenian coffee, a craft fair with guests from Yerevan, and activities for children, the organizers announced.

Artists from Armenia, Romania, France, and the diaspora will perform a varied musical program at the event. They are pianist Harry Tavitian, performing in a duo with percussionist Cserey Csaba; Yerevan-born and Slovakia-based Karin Sarkisjan, performing alongside her ethno-jazz quartet; pianist and composer Mircea Tiberian, Paolo Profeti and Cătălin Milea on saxophone, Petrică Andrei on piano, Ionuț Baranga on double bass, Sorin Romanescu on guitar and Vlad Popescu on drums in a tribute concert dedicated to the brothers Garbis and Capriel Dedeian, essential figures of Romanian jazz; Sevana Tchakerian, presenting a project created exclusively for this edition, together with artists from the Armenian diaspora; Simona Delegeanu; and Dl Goe, set to bring a festival vibe with sound fusion: poetic pop, urban blues and gypsy-jazz accents. A segment of DJ Sets will come from Paul Breazu, with rare collections of Romanian and Armenian jazz, Miko Baghdasarian, with selections of world music and Caucasian rhythms, and Ligia Keșișian, on the soundtrack of the cultural diversity of the Armenian neighborhood.

In addition to the stage program, the public can see several exhibitions on topics such as Armenians of Romanian Jazz – a visual tribute to Armenian musicians who made an essential contribution to the development of jazz in Romania, with photographs taken by Emilian Săvescu and from the community archive; Revolutionaries  – Armenian Women Who Changed the World –stories of women who left their mark on culture, science and history; The Centenary of Ararat – exploring the history of the newspaper of the Armenian community in Romania, founded in 1924 by Vartan Mestugean; and A Little Serenade for a Centenary, a tribute to the journalist, composer and director Arșag Bogdan Căuș (Arșag Bogosian), on the 100th anniversary of his birth.

The public can also explore the Armenian Quarter through tours led by cultural guides. These will include visits to the Armenian Church, the Dudian Library and Museum, and historical landmarks of the community.

There will also be a craft fair, a food court area, activities for children, an Armenian dance workshop from the Vardavar Ensemble, a concert by soprano Armine Khachatryan in the Armenian Church, and more.

Admission to the event is free.