Gheorghe Zamfir /'ge̯or.ge zamˈfir/ (born April 6, 1941, in Găeşti, Romania) is a musician who is a virtuoso of the pan flute. Originally wanting to become an accordionist, at 14 years of age he began his pan flute studies and was initially self-taught. He continued his education at the Bucharest Academy of Music where he was a pupil of Fanica Luca at the Conservatory of Bucharest (1968). He came to the public eye when he was "discovered" by Swiss ethnomusicologist Marcel Cellier who extensively researched Romanian folk music in the 1960s. Made from the finest Chinese bamboo, he expanded the traditional Romanian-style pan flute ("nai") of 20 pipes to 22, 25, 28 and 30 pipes to increase its range, obtaining as many as nine tones from each pipe by changing the embouchure. April 6 is the 96th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (97th in leap years). ... For the movie, see 1941 (film). ... GăeÅŸti is a town in DâmboviÅ£a county, Romania with a population of 16,598. ... A musician is a person who plays or composes music Musicians can be classified by their role in creating or performing music: A singer (or vocalist) uses his or her voice as an instrument. ... The pan flute (also known as panpipes) is an ancient musical instrument based on the principle of the stopped pipe, consisting usually of ten or more pipes of gradually increasing length (and, at times, girth). ... Fănică Luca (5 April 1894 - 26 October 1968) was a Romanian musician and a pan pipe virtuoso, who was the first to make this instrument popular outside his own country. ... A musicologist is someone who studies musicology. ... Marcel Cellier (1925- ) is a Swiss organist, ethnomusicologist and music producer. ... “Folk song” redirects here. ... The embouchure is the use of facial muscles and the shaping of the lips to the mouthpiece of a wind instrument. ...

Entertainment career

Zamfir was rumored to join the legendary power pop band Raspberries on their aborted 1976 tour.^{[citation needed]}

Throughout his 50-year-long career, Gheorghe Zamfir has won an overall 120 golden and platinum disc awards and sold over 120 million albums.

Zamfir wrote an instructional book, "Traitė Du Naï Roumain: méthode de flûte de pan", Paris: Chappell S.A., 1975, ISBN 88-8291-286-8, and an autobiography "Binecuvântare şi blestem" ("Blessing & Curses)", Arad: Mirador, 2000, ISBN 973-9284-56-6.

Zamfir currently resides and teaches panpipe in Bucharest, Romania (2006). Pan pipes (also known as the panflute or the syrinx or quills) is an ancient musical instrument based on the principle of the stopped pipe, consisting usually of ten or more pipes of gradually increasing length. ... Status Capital of Romania Mayor Adriean Videanu, since 2005 Area 238 km² Population (2005) 1,924,959[1] Density 8,088 inh/km² Geographical coordinates Web site http://www. ...

Largely through the numerous television commercials for his many albums, he introduced the pan flute to a modern audience and revived it from obscurity. One of his most famous contributions was to the soundtrack for the classic Australian film Picnic at Hanging Rock. His music has also been heard on the soundtracks of many Hollywood movies. He was asked by Ennio Morricone to perform the pieces "Childhood Memories" and "Cockeye's Song" for the soundtrack of Sergio Leone's classic 1984 gangster film Once Upon A Time In America, his music is heard throughout the 1984 film The Karate Kid, and his song "The Lonely Shepherd" which was penned by James Last, and was recorded with the James Last Orchestra is featured in Quentin Tarantino's film Kill Bill Vol. 1. The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... Picnic at Hanging Rock is the title of a 1967 novel by Australian author Joan Lindsay, and the 1975 film adaptation directed by Peter Weir. ... ... Ennio Morricone (born November 10, 1928; sometimes also credited as Dan Savio or Leo Nichols) is an Italian composer especially noted for his film scores. ... Sergio Leone (January 3, 1929 – April 30, 1989) was an Italian film director who is considered by many to be on the short list of the greatest film directors of all time. ... Once Upon a Time in America (Italian title Cera una volta in America) (1984) is the last film by director Sergio Leone, and features Robert De Niro and James Woods as Jewish ghetto youths who rise to prominence in New York Citys world of organized crime. ... The Karate Kid is a 1984 John G. Avildsen film starring Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita. ... James Last 2006 James Last together with fan Guenter Krueger from Berlin James Last (born Hans Last on April 17, 1929 in Bremen) is a German composer and big band leader with a large fan base in Europe and world-wide. ... James Last Orchestra 1968 The James Last Orchestra is a German big-band orchestra with strings. ... Quentin Jerome Tarantino (born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, actor, and Academy Award-winning screenwriter. ... Kill Bill is the fourth feature film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino released in two parts: Volume 1 & Volume 2. ...

Cultural references

• Late night talk show host Johnny Carson often mentioned Zamfir in his Tonight Show monologues.

• In an episode of the animated television series King of the Hill, "Propane Boom", Hank Hill suggests Zamfir as a corporate spokesman for Strickland Propane, mentioning that he's sold more records than the Beatles and "his music's better too".

• Zamfir was mentioned in two separate episodes of the television series Sports Night. In the episode "The Apology", Casey seeks advice as to what is or isn't "cool", and asks whether or not Zamfir is cool. In the episode "Kafelnikov", Casey uses Zamfir's name and status as "master of the pan flute" in a fake news story.

• Zamfir once had a cameo on the Warner Bros. animated series Histeria!, in which he is one of a group of other historical musicians in a Dating Game-style show called "Duets". He is the only prospective bachelor that the bachelorette, Miss Information, is not interested in.

A talk show (U.S.) or chat show (Brit. ... For other people named John Carson, see John Carson (disambiguation). ... The First Lady of the United States, Laura Bush and current host Jay Leno. ... King of the Hill is a satirical American animated television series created by Mike Judge (creator of Beavis and Butt-head) and Greg Daniels for the FOX Network. ... The Beatles appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964 as part of their first tour of the United States, promoting their first hit single there, I Want To Hold Your Hand. ... This article is about the American television series. ... Warner Bros. ... Histeria! was a short-lived animated television series of the late-1990s, created by Tom Ruegger (who also created Tiny Toons, Animaniacs, and Pinky and the Brain) at Warner Bros. ... as an ABC television show that first aired on December 20, 1965 and was the first of many shows created and packaged by Chuck Barris from the 1960s the 1980s. ... Miss Information is a fictional character featured on the Warner Bros. ...

External links

• Official Homepage
• Gheorghe Zamfir Album Collection
• Gheorghe Zamfir at the Internet Movie Database
• Gheorghe Zamfir sings "Păstorul singuratic" (The Lonely Shepherd)