"Soon I realized that the blues was a way of living and it carried a very deep message about life. And I found in blues a music that resonated very well with my life experiences…"

Marcian Petrescu: Romanian Blues Spells

Marcian Petrescu is considered at this moment by the public as the best blues harmonica player in Romania. He was born in a small town called ONESTI, in the north-eastern part on Romania, on 1^st of January 1974. He discovered the music when he was only 8 years old, listening blues, rock & roll, soul, classic rock, country on his grandfather’s mono reel-to-reel recorder. This way he discovered the music of Santana, Ray Charles, Kenny Rogers, Johnny Cash, B.B. King, Elvis, Harry Belafonte, etc. After the end of the communist period, he was able to collect a lot of blues recordings and start to build a pretty impressive collection. He taught himself harmonica at the age of 22, learning from records of Sonny Boy Williamson II, Paul Butterfield, Little Walter, Charlie Musselwhite and Sugar Blue. Being an avid blues collector from his early teens that leads to become a radio blues promoter in 1996 (he stopped his radio show in his native town Onesti in 1999). Since 2007 until today, in Bucharest, he has a weekly radio show called “Blues Stories”, on the internet radio station.

His professional career started in 2000, when he founded the band "Trenul De Noapte" (The Night Train). Their mixture of classic and modern blues is combined with elements of country, rock & roll, funk, Cuban and Brazilian music. In concerts they're playing both in English and in Romanian language and Marcian is recognized already for his ironic lyrics, in the style of Sonny Boy Williamson (Rice Miller). Since 2000 Marcian released three albums with his projects: Dependent De Blues "Blues Addicted" & "Blues Spells" with Charlie Musselwhite, and Povestile Bluesului "Blues Stories" with Sugar Blue. Since 2007, Marcian and his band were opening act for some major blues artists, such as: Sugar Blue, Charlie Musselwhite and Rick Estrin & The Nightcats. Marcian is the only Romanian blues musician that manage to have great names from the USA as special guests on his albums. A very dynamic blues act, Marcian Petrescu and his band manage to promote this apparently humble instrument - the harmonica - as a major force in the Romanian blues scene. Also, he put his harmonica mark on records of artists from other genres such as: folk, pop, hip-hop. In 2005 he started to teach the basics of blues harmonica to everyone who was really interested to discover the wonders of this instrument. He’s also a harmonica repair technician and he’s very busy investigating the sound of the harmonica and, in the last 2 years, he spent a lot of times perfecting a special system for capturing, amplifying and mixing in a live situation the acoustic and the amplified sound of the harmonica.

Interview by Michael Limnios

Photos from Marcian Petrescu's archive / All rights reserved

What do you learn about yourself from the blues and what does the blues mean to you?

Well... considering that I discovered the blues when I was only 7 or 8 years old... I can tell you that was a huge shock for me.  But a good one! Let’s say that I was in a “wrong” time frame... I listened to a music that was, at least according to some people, unsuited for a person of my age. Other kids from my generation not even listened any kind of music... or maybe... just what they heard on the radio. But during that time (communist period) the options were extremely limited. On the National Romanian Radio “capitalist” music wasn’t allowed. Only from time to time you’re able to hear some ABBA, Boney M, some Italian and French music, maybe some country... but no blues or classic rock. The records market was inexistent. At least officially... some people had connections outside Romania and manage to leak some serious blues and rock records... it was a very bad period. Who had a decent or good radio was able to capture some stations such as: The Voice Of America, Radio Free Europe, Radio France... and were able to be in touch with all the new albums...

After I discovered the blues and I was able to understand the subtleties of the lyrics, when I managed to understand the interplay between the instruments and the beauty of the instruments solos... well, from that moment I was completely hooked. I realized very soon that blues was the basic language of the modern popular (pop) music. I understood that the blues was a key part of rock & roll, soul, funk, etc. Soon I realized that the blues was a way of living and it carried a very deep message about life. And I found in blues a music that resonated very well with my life experiences…

"Me and few other serious blues musicians are fighting to make a decent living here. And believe me... we are working hard to keep this music alive and making a living playing this music..."

How do you describe Marcian Petrescu sound and songbook? What characterize your music philosophy?

I don’t have a specific philosophy about music. For me exists only good music and “bad” music! If a song don’t have a good melody and a credible story... is not music... is only a collection of noises... at least this is my opinion. My sound... I think is a compilation of ideas, techniques and melody lines heard on the records of the past and present blues masters, that melts in my head and I try to put my own mark on this blend and I try to tell a story... with the help of the lyrics or just through an instrumental solo...

I took a lot of ideas from Sonny Boy Williamson (Rice Miller) – phrasing and economic harp lines. Listening to Paul Butterfield it definitively helped me to develop and perfect my vibrato. Sugar Blue was an inspiration for me to explore and develop my playing in the upper register of the harmonica. Charlie Musselwhite inspired me somehow to approach in a mellower way my tone and my vocal parts. From all these masters I just mentioned and from many others (Little Walter, Billy Branch, Carey Bell, etc.), I was inspired to approach and to investigate the subtleties of the amplified harmonica. That’s why, these days, I managed to have an excellent amplified sound of my own, that is a mixture between the classic “Chicago” type sound and a more modern sound, in the manner of Paul Butterfield or Sugar Blue...

The songs I play with my band are a mixture of classic and modern songs from the great American Blues Songbook, spiced with some Latin, Cuban and Brazilian sounds on some songs. I have also a good batch of my own songs, with lyrics in Romanian language. I choose to write my songs in my native language because I realized that many people in the audience of my concerts weren’t able to understand the meaning of the lyrics from the American blues songs... So, I tried and I was successful in my approach... and many people realized how deep or how funny is the message of this music.

What were the reasons that made a Romania musician to start the Blues searches and experiments?

In my case, at least, was an early empathy with this music. I understood the message and I confounded with this music since an early age... It was also a curiosity... If I’ll be able to play this music at a highest level as possible. I can tell you for sure that other people here in Romania that approached the blues were doing that only for some kind of fun... nothing serious... many of them don’t have any clue about the history of this music, about the political context of how this music was developed along the decades… about the importance of this music in the history of the modern pop culture... many of them approached this music in a snobbishly manner... for me... this is stupid... and this is all I can say about this. I know that I’m playing blues because I really feel this music, I have a great respect for all the past and present masters and I want to promote their work. I don’t want to see the blues becoming an extinct art... NO WAY!

Which meetings have been the most important experiences for you? What is the best advice ever given you?

Recording my first album (in 2007) was a very intense experience. I was so proud about it and I realized that I’ll leave a mark on the Romanian music scene. When I got the feedback from the public I realized that my work is appreciated and that felt good.

But, being able to bring Sugar Blue in Romania for a first small tour in 2007 was a dream come true... This musician was such a huge inspiration for me. Not in my wildest dreams I dared to think about being able to see and hear one of my musical mentors on a stage in Romania. Playing as an opening act for him and jamming with him on all the concerts was an amazing experience. And I was so thrilled when he told me at the end of that tour that he wanted to record something together... I thought he was kidding... but that idea became reality in 2008 when Sugar Blue was back in Romania for another tour and I told him that I have a song ready for him. I think he really liked the song and recorded a killer solo on it. From the first take!!! He advised me to keep developing my style and never to be afraid to innovate.

And came the year 2009, when I met another living legend and another of my harmonica heroes – Charlie Musselwhite. It was an instant empathy between us. We talked for few hours after the soundcheck and I was lucky to be his host for another 3 days he spent in Bucharest, relaxing and resting with his wife, after his European tour. Charlie realized I was so much in love with the blues and with the harmonica and he told me to keep the blues alive in Romania for as long as possible and to keep singing blues in Romanian language to offer the audience a chance to understand that this music is an universal language !!! And he told me in an email, few months after, that he’ll be happy to record some harmonica on one or two songs on my future album. That happened in 2011, when, with the help of the wonders of the 21^st Century internet technology, Charlie recorded in California his solos on 2 of my songs and sent them to me with internet transfer and I mixed them on my album. It was another dream come true.

"Charlie Musselwhite inspired me somehow to approach in a mellower way my tone and my vocal parts." (Photo: Marcian Petrescu & Charlie Musselwhite, jammin' on stage, Bucharest Romania) 

Are there any memories from gigs, jams, open acts and studio sessions which you’d like to share with us?

Those experiences I had with Sugar Blue, with Charlie Musselwhite and with Rick Estrin, playing live with them on the same stage... and have them on my records... those are some inestimable memories. I can put in words what I felt back then... You have to live such an experience to understand what I felt...

What do you miss most nowadays from the blues of past? What are your hopes and fears for the future of?

Well... to be honest... these days it seems to me that more and more super technical blues musicians (instrumentalists) appear on the market... but 90% of them have a serious lack of transmitting the emotions specific on this music. Fortunately, there are a lot of new blues musicians emerging, especially on the USA scene, that have a real feeling of the blues. They are composing songs with very good, clever and wise lyrics and are good on their instruments. They have respect for tradition and are not afraid to innovate. Also, many masters from the classic period and from modern times are still extremely active and they are releasing excellent albums.

In my opinion, as long as this music will be broadcasted on air or on internet, blues will never die!

Make an account of the case of the blues in Romania. Which is the most interesting period in local blues scene?

I don’t know what to say about this. It wasn’t a real good or interesting period for the blues in Romania. Me and few other serious blues musicians are fighting to make a decent living here. And believe me... we are working hard to keep this music alive and making a living playing this music... Especially if you think that this music is basically not promoted at all on big FM radio stations with national coverage... Only few local radios and some internet radios have some dedicated programs. But... WE’LL NEVER RETREAT AND WE’LL NEVER SURRENDER!

"My sound, I think is a compilation of ideas, techniques and melody lines heard on the records of the past and present blues masters, that melts in my head and I try to put my own mark on this blend and I try to tell a story with the help of the lyrics or just through an instrumental solo"

What are the lines that connect the legacy of Blues from United States and UK to Romania?

These lines are very thin... well... maybe when we think about the approach of some Romanian blues musicians... some guitar players I know (to be honest 90% of them...), are playing especially in the manner of Eric Clapton or Jimmy Page (speaking about some famous UK musicians) or in the manner of Jimi Hendrix or Stevie Ray Vaughan (main influences from USA guitar players)… Unfortunately there aren’t many blues guitar players that are trying to incorporate elements from some famous black blues guitar players from the past or from the modern period (I’m thinking about B.B. King, Albert Collins, Albert King, Freddie King, Otis Rush, Robert Cray, etc...) You’ll never find a guitar player in Romania that is approaching the west-coast blues style on guitar... for example...

When it come to talk about harmonica... hmmm... I can tell you for sure that except me (and I’m not bragging here!), there are nobody else that is really interested to try to develop a serious blues harmonica language... there are few harmonica players (but not real and serious professionals!) that are trying to “emulate” in the manner of Sonny Boy Williamson or Little Walter... but to be honest... you can feel a serious lack of study in their sound.

If you could change one thing in local blues scene and it would become a reality, what would that be?

Hard question... I want to see that blues music is promoted on the FM radio on a more steady base... not in heavy rotation! No! But in a constant and balanced manner, with songs from both UK and USA artists and also with songs from the albums released by Romanian musicians. This will be a huge improvement and help for the local blues scene... and that will lead to other improvements (more interest from the club owners, more blues festivals, etc.).

"Sugar Blue was an inspiration for me to explore and develop my playing in the upper register of the harmonica." (Photo: Marcian Petrescu & Sugar Blue, jammin' on stage, Bucharest Romania)

Do you know why the sound of harmonica is connected to the blues? What are the secrets of Mississippi sax?

Well, as my good friend Charlie Musselwhite told me...  the harmonica is an extension of the human voice. IS THE ONLY MUSICAL INSTRUMENT IN THE WORLD THAT ALLOWS YOU TO BREATH THROUGH and allows you to obtain sounds in both directions of your breathing, no matter if you inhale or exhale...  If you study enough this apparently humble instrument you can make it speak, moan, cry, you can make it sounds happy or sad in the same song... and that is an amazing feature and secret of this instrument that some people used to call affectionately “the Mississippi Saxophone”...

Are there any similarities between the blues and the genres of local folk music and forms?

Well...  to be honest I don’t have a proper training when it comes to talk about the Romania folklore… I was born in the city and I was living in the city all my life... and I didn’t come enough in touch with the Romanian folklore... at least to express some kind of professional opinion. But, some old instrumental folk music has some similarities with the structure and the melodic harmonies found in blues...

And, in my opinion this is not such an amazing aspect, if you think that the main population in USA (except the native Americans) is a combination of immigrants that came from England, Ireland, Scotland, France, Holland, Italy, China, Israel, Russia and other eastern European countries (including Romania), etc., and all of them brought their music there... when this music and some of their musical instruments blended with the musical background and some of the instruments of the black population (during the slavery times and way long after that) something new appear... and eventually a part of that “something” became THE BLUES... so... it is possible that some elements from Romania folklore to be traced in blues and vice versa…