Born out of a melting pot of multicultural influences, “Ginga” succeeds in filling a unique musical space at the crossroads of jazz, Brazilian and Venezuelan styles. DansBand features a supremely musical collection of songs, including original compositions and unique arrangements of traditional Latin-American masterpieces. Aside from a plethora of traditional and modern instruments including 8-string guitars, cuatros and cajons, the album makes use of many unique home-made instruments. A beer can filled with rice plays the part of the Brazilian caxixi; a shoe brush fills in for the Puerto Rican guiro; and a homemade coconut kalimba brings it all together to seamlessly introduce the rhythm of the album’s title track.When asked about the concept behind the album, guitarist, composer and bandleader, Dan Ionescu explains, “This album is a quest for expression, fluency, and meaning; it is without a doubt the story of my European background meeting the Latin-American musical tradition”. No stranger to the music scene, Dan Ionescu has had an outstanding musical career spanning over three decades in both Europe and Canada. Acclaimed by jazz critics as the best Romanian jazz guitarist for 12 consecutive years, Dan spent his early career recording and touring Yugoslavia, Hungary, Germany and France. His own group, Dan Ionescu Electric Version, saw great success in the early '90s on the European music scene, playing festivals alongside some of the finest jazz performers, including Chick Corea, Steve Coleman Five Elements, John McLaughlin Trio, Charles Lloyd, Bob Berg Quartet, and others. Since arriving to Toronto almost 20 years ago, Dan has made a considerable mark on the Toronto jazz scene, appearing on eight albums with musicians from Toronto, Montréal, and Japan. Now, Dan is ready to unveil the next phase in his musical career. The DansBand project is influenced by a long time passion for Brazilian music, as well as a unique line-up of multi-instrumentalists, among which is his youngest son. Featuring Codin Deboveanu, Tiago Ciccone, and Gil Ionescu, the musical origin of DansBand can be traced across three continents, all converging in Canada’s multicultural music scene. On the album’s namesake, Dan explains that, “One meaning of the word “ginga” refers to a skilful capoeira step, but it also means grace, creativity, coordination, and soulfulness”. This is exactly why this album stands out: it is a rare oasis of artistic expression that has already been enchanting audiences from its very inception earlier this year.