Born and raised in the Transylvanian region of Romania, but resident in the USA since 1999, pianist and composer Lucian Ban has twice been nominated as "Best European Jazz Musician" in the prestigious Hans Koller Awards, and has been described as "one of the most gifted pianists to move to New York in the past decade".

He is associated with other leading members of New York's downtown scene such as Ralph Alessi, Curtis Fowlkes and Nasheet Waits, but also maintains links with his roots through projects such as the Romanian-American Jazz Suite and his reworkings of music by acclaimed composer George Enescu.