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The complex interplay of Mat Maneri’s raspy viola and Lucian Ban’s full-bodied piano has been a jazz delight for more than a decade. Ban’s Romanian roots, never far from the surface of his music, add an original twist to contemporary jazz, and Maneri, a skilled and personable collaborator, is equally strong.

Their first duo album for ECM, Transylvanian ConcertRecorded live in 2011, the album mixed plaintive originals with stirring free improvisations, delivering a stirring take on the spiritual “Nobody Knows the Troubles I’ve Seen.” Ban’s roots were evident in the undercurrent of simmering emotion and rhythmic diction, but the overall aesthetic was that of New York left-field jazz.

Transylvanian Dancethe subsequent ECM release, recorded live in Romania in 2022, makes Ban’s legacy even clearer. As on the 2020 trio album Transylvanian folk songsThe inspiration comes from compositions collected by Béla Bartók in the early 20th century. Pieces like the mournful “Harvest Moon Ballad” and the brooding “Lover Mine of Long Ago” resonate with Transylvanian grief, and uptempo pieces evoke village festivities. But now the influence of downtown Brooklyn is stronger, viola and piano are more closely linked, and the mood is downcast.

The album opens with the wistful melody of “Poor is My Heart” and its spectacular viola trills and ringing piano accompaniment. “Romanian Folk Dance” follows next with a complex melody that evokes many moods and borders on the abstract. Later, the title track develops over a rousing piano riff, “The Enchanted Stag” is magical and “The Boyar’s Doina” rumbles to a climax and fades away over a gentle rhythmic motif.

Overall, the emotions tend toward the darker side, and the viola and piano are engagingly closely linked. Maneri’s mid-range slurs and upper-register sustains add mystery to Ban’s confident harmonic attack and a sense of foreboding as the vocal lines thicken. The set ends with the traditional “Make Me, Lord, Slim and Tall,” which captures unfulfilled desires as blues cadences and Romanian scales combine.

★★★★☆

“Transylvanian Dance” is released by ECM