This is a CD to place on the shelf next to Miles Davis’ Sketches of Spain. Trumpeter Emil Bizga plays with lyricism, imagination, intelligence, and yes soul, in a program ranging from Gershwin to Jobin, the Irish folk song “Danny Boy” (outstanding) to music by Romanian composer Ciprian Porumbescu. Romanian born Emil Bizga is sure to become one of the major performers on today’s jazz scene with a very personal style that combines a full knowledge of jazz’s past with a keen awareness of jazz’s present.
Jack Kleisinger – “Highlights in Jazz” NY