16 Facts About Anca Parghel

Anca Parghel was a Romanian jazz singer, composer, arranger, pianist, choir conductor, and music teacher.

Anca Parghel's voice had a four octave range, this being one of the reasons she was compared to Yma Sumac in the Romanian music press.

Anca Parghel had an exceptional ability to interpret songs in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, or Portuguese.

Anca Parghel left home at age 14 to enroll at the Music High School in Iasi.

Anca Parghel attended the Iasi Music Conservatory, from which she graduated in 1981, having as primary instrument piano, and secondary bel canto.

Anca Parghel lived in Bucharest in the first part of the 1990s, before moving to Brussels in 1997.

Anca Parghel was a professor of vocal jazz at the Royal Conservatory in Brussels and the Lemmens Institute in Leuven.

Anca Parghel lived in Brussels for eight years before making a return to her home country around 2005.

Anca Parghel was a gifted jazz pianist and frequently played "one-woman shows" where she accompanied herself in the crooner's tradition.

Anca Parghel composed her own jazz songs, including original poetical lyrics as in the Primal Sound album, and frequently arranged music for Big Band orchestras, frequently performing with the Romanian Big Band conducted by Ionel Tudor in Bucharest.

Anca Parghel toured extensively in Europe, mostly playing in local jazz clubs in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, Austria and Switzerland.

Anca Parghel made unannounced late night appearances at jazz clubs in New York City, where she played with the local bands led either by Pat Higgins at the "Lennox Lounge", "St Nick's Pub" or by Manny Duran at Cleopatra's Needle.

Anca Parghel recorded an electro-pop album in 2007, and submitted the tune "Brasil" to National Selection Contest 2008 for Eurovision.

Anca Parghel died in Timisoara from late complications of breast cancer.

Anca Parghel appeared on stage one month prior to her passing.

Anca Parghel was buried on the "Artists' Alley" at Bellu Cemetery in Bucharest, not far from Romanian artists Maria Tanase, Florian Pittis, and Adrian Pintea.