We have to admit, we had never heard of Romanian musician Gheorghe Zamfir until Quentin Tarantino featured Zamfir’s classic, “The Lonely Shepherd” in Kill Bill Vol. 1. It was love at first listen and we’ve gone on to buy a number of his works.
Believe it or not, the 66-year old flutist originally wanted to play the accordion – a direction that would no doubt make reader Bryan squeal with glee – but turned to the flute instead. Zamfir studied at the Bucharest Academy of Music and shot to fame in the 1960s after Marcel Cellier helped spread his Romanian folk music. Zamfir’s aural aesthetic may be bound to his “ethnic” roots, but he’s not one for stagnation. He extended the Romania flute – known as a “nai” – from twenty bamboo reeds to thirty, giving it more range, depth and emotion.
This video may not be flashy, original or particularly entertaining, but one has to watch in awe as Zamfir manipulates those pipes.
RSL
Did you not see all those commercials for Zamfir in the 70s and 80s? I was born in 1970 and I remember Zamfir and his pan flute like he was my cousin. And who can forget my spinster aunts, Anne Murray and Cristy Lane. “One Day at a Time, Sweet Queerty!”
el polacko
yep.. those zamfir ads were all over late-night tv. he was considered a bit of a joke, but the music is kinda pretty .. for a couple of minutes.