sebastian spanache
jazz pianist and composer
new album coming soon
upamercado
Sebastian’s latest project ‘UPAMERCADO’ - a new series of completed works for a larger ensemble - a nonet - inspired by his travels in Central and South America from 2017 to 2020, was put on gigging hold during the pandemic.
This has given him the opportunity to take on the challenge of creating piano solo reductions of the pieces, and presenting them live on Jazz Festival stages in Europe, as well as producing his first solo album to be released soon.
bio
Romanian jazz pianist and composer Sebastian Spanache started his musical journey in his home town Timisoara, where he began playing the piano at age 5, and then took up the study of jazz in ninth grade while attending the National College of Arts ‘Ion Vidu’. While still studying classical piano in high-school, Sebastian founded his first jazz/funk ensemble at age 14, later to have toured all over Romania and win numerous prizes at student competitions.
After college, Sebastian shifted his playing and compositional directions towards a more modern edge- leading and composing for several student latin-jazz and funk ensembles. While attending the National Conservatory of West University, Sebastian also attended the first jazz-pop faculty in Central-Eastern Europe, the ‘Richard Oschanitzky’ Faculty of Tibiscus University.
Pursuing the intricate stage life of cruise ship gigging next, Sebastian has had the opportunity to play with and learn from some of the most influential up-and-coming musicians in the world for more than a decade; notably performed live in fleet-wide entertainment overhaul project ‘Fun Ship 2.0’ with Carnival Cruise Line; debut a one-of-a-kind show in partnership with Oscar, Grammy, and Tony award-winning composer of Wicked - Stephen Schwartz’s ‘Magic to Do’ with Princess Cruises; and mentored rehearsals and managed repertoire for ‘The Voice of The Ocean’ (wildly popular TV singing competition adaptation for the cruise industry), among a multitude of onboard musical projects.
Sebastian’s lyrical playing unfolds itself beautifully on his acclaimed records with his trio with multiple outings on Europe’s most influential jazz stages. Compositions and performances placing them at the leading edge of the new generation of young Romanian jazz musicians with award-winning original material- by fans and critics alike.
The debut recording ‘Humanized’ awarding them the ‘Grand Trophy’ prize at the prestigious ‘Johnny Raducanu’ International Competition in 2013; second outing ‘A Pasha’s Abstinence’ snagging ‘Album of the Year’ award from Sunete Magazine in 2014, and premiering with the first ‘silent live concert’ in Romania; and third recording ‘The Furnace’ in 2017 presenting a five movements modern jazz suite developing an original, strong, and genre transcending voice as a pianist and composer. In 2016 and 2017 Sebastian was awarded the ‘Pianist of the Year’ and ‘Artist of the Year’ distinctions by BJA.
When not gigging, Sebastian is busy composing for picture (since the old Demo Scene days) and video game soundtracks; sound designing AR/VR and serious games and apps, as well as taking on the role of Audio Director with the responsibility of creating and producing audio content, defining and staging the artistic direction for music and SFX, providing corporate consultancy, and internal technical documentation.
music & projects
SOLO:
as LEADER (Sebastian Spanache Trio):
as SIDEMAN: