A Jazz Forum és Magyarország - II. rész (1985-1987)

Volt egyszer egy lap, neve is volt: Jazz Forum. Európa kettéosztottsága idején, az 1970/80-as években fontos közvetítő szerepet tölött be a kontinens jazzéletében. A Nemzetközi Jazzszövetség Varsóban kéthavonta angol és német nyelven megjelenő magazinja az egyetlen nemzetközi kiadvány volt, amely a magyar jazz eseményeiről is rendszeresen hírt adott. Egyik magyarországi tudósítójaként 1981-1992. között 30 beszámolót és 5 kiemelt anyagot publikáltam benne, amelyekkel most digitalizált formában, folytatásokban a jazzma.hu olvasói is megismerkedhetnek.

A Glimpse at the Past

Although Hungary doesn't rank among the world’s great jazz exporters, its jazz history is richer than even many local experts might think. This is shown by a new book, “Hungarian Jazz Records 1912-1984” by Géza Gábor Simon, a jazz lover who has devoted himself to collecting data, articles and recordings relating to Hungarian jazz. His book is the first detailed catalogue of recordings made by foreign musicians in Hungary, and released under license in this country.

The listings follow the standard international discographical practice, making this work not only an indispensable handbook for Hungarian jazz researchers and fans but also for anyone interested in the jazz life of different countries. Although in the 1950s it was forbidden for political reasons to play or listen to jazz, it is surprising to see the long list of jazz and jazz-related recordings made between the two World Wars. Although rarely heard in its pure form, jazz had its impact on many of the then excellent Hungarian dance and entertainment bands.

Some of these jazz-influenced recordings can be heard on the album “Jazz and Hot Dance in Hungary 1912-1949”, recently released by Britain's Harlequin label as part of its series documenting historic jazz recordings from different countries. The collection was compiled by Simon and another Hungarian jazz researcher, Attila Csányi, who possess extensive collections of pre-World War II Hungarian recordings. Some of the recordings were made abroad in such cities as Berlin and Copenhagen for the labels Gramophon, Union, Electrola, Radiola Electro, Durium/Patria Budapest.

This British release presents the best material from four decades, starting with the Gypsy bandleader Béla Berkes’ 1913 rendition of Alexander's Ragtime Band and ending up with a composition by the famous accordionist Mihály Tabányi. Although the pieces are mostly jazz-related dance tunes, they reveal some talented arrangers and soloists. Among the featured players are Ede Buttola (as, bs), Schenkelbach Filu (ts), Lajos Solymossy (p), Gábor Radics (v), Lajos Martiny (p), Chappy (dr), Károly Kurcz (b), Bubi Beamter (dr), Kató Fényes (voc), Elek Bacsik (g), and Tommy Vig (dr). Some American and British musicians also make guest appearances on the recordings.

This album is a valuable historical document of Hungarian jazz, but it is a rather strange situation that the LP should be released in England. Contact: Géza Gábor Simon, Pf 654, 1365, Budapest 5.

Jazz Forum, 1985/3

Hungarian Notes

This year’s Budapest Spring Festival featuring drama, music and art was, for financial reasons, unable to include foreign jazz musicians. As a result, the three-evening event was devoted solely to Hungarian jazz. Featured were such top musicians as György Szabados, the János Gonda-Frigyes Pleszkán duo, and the Béla Szakcsi Lakatos-Gyula Babos duo. One concert highlighted a Hungarian-Yugoslavian workshop. The Benkó Dixieland Band provided entertainment at one of Budapest’s most exclusive restaurants for ten consecutive evenings.

Without doubt, the major event of the spring was the highly successful debut concert of the Pat Metheny Group at the inauguration of Budapest's new Congress Center on April 8. Over 2,000 fans, including many leading jazz and pop musicians who had turned out to see the latest in digital equipment, gave the group a warm reception. The technical display was quickly forgotten when the audience heard Metheny’s and Mays’ richly melodic and senti-mental music, which was a good blend of acoustic and electric sound. There are rumors of ad-ditional concerts for the group in late autumn.

In June, the well-known American RQVA Saxophone Quartet played three concerts at Club Kassák, which is a meeting point for new directions in jazz and contemporary music. The quartet revealed its dexterity with both chamber-type and avant-garde pieces to about 150 listeners per evening. On one occasion, they were joined by two young Hungarian reedmen, Mihály Dresch and István Grencsó.

Summer offerings included the Debrecen Jazz Days on July 18-21 and two clinics for musicians and fans. One of these, a week-long course in Százhalombatta for students of music schools and other beginhers, was led by professor János Gonda and included such leading musicians and teachers as drummer Imre Kőszegi, pianist Béla Szakcsi Lakatos, and guitarist Gyula Babos. In addition, the third Sikonda jazz camp was organized in August for fans and club members, with a program devoted to Hungarian jazz.

Despite financial difficulties over the past few years, Hungarian jazz has witnessed the birth of big bands in various parts of the country. As a result, a concert was organized in Székesfehérvár for four big bands from the following towns: Pécs; Szekszárd, Szombathely and the host city, which offered a brand-new band sponsored by the Videoton Electroacoustic Factory. Although many Hungarian musicians do not deal exclusively with jazz, the success of the concerts proves that there are those all over the country who need to express themselves with such orchestrated jazz music. Of course, they need the support of sponsoring firms and cultural centers.

Jazz Forum, 1985/5

Debrecen Jazz Days: Hungarian Rhapsody

Now in its second decade, Hungary’s top jazz festival holds a unique position in the country’s jazz life. All the other festivals (Nagykanizsa, Szeged, Miskolc) have fallen behind in recent years, but not the Debrecen Jazz Days. Despite the economic and cultural recession, the Debrecen organizers have successfully maintained or even raised the level of the festival.

Oddly enough, the festival is produced by the Hungarian Radio’s jazz department, which has become a quasi-professional concert agency in its own right. This town of 200,000 in the middle of the Hungarian plain, has managed to include jazz among its main summer cultural programs, providing all the facilities for the festival.

Thanks to this fruitlful co-operation, the Debrecen Jazz Days has started to gain an international reputation. Youngsters with sleeping bags came to Debrecen not only from Hungary, but also from neighboring countries. Although the town lacks truly suitable concert halls for jazz, this does not dampen the enthusiasm of the audience which otherwise has little opportunity to hear top quality live jazz. The audience expresses its feelings so demon-stratively that some of the foreign groups are almost snooked by the warm and ecstatic atmosphere.

This year’s festival, which ran from July 13-17, offered some 33 different lineups, with some European and American stars joining the leading Hungarian musicians. The organizers, conscious of their tight budget, put together a program without any big bands but full of small combos. The radio and television networks of other Eastern European countries officially sent six groups to the festival. The Hungarian Radio’s jazz department did its part to promote international musical cooperation by inviting different guest soloists to perform with Hungarian groups.

For the organizers the catchwords were “variety” and “quality”. A festival such as Debrecen can neither present a complete overview of the present-day jazz scene nor limit itself to any particular style. The program was well-balanced with a strong representation of most styles from dixieland to the avant-garde. There might have been fewer “big names” than at other festivals, but as usual there were some big surprises from some of the lesser-known but nonetheless talented musicians.

The first evening was devoted entirely to Hungarian jazz, with the bass virtuoso Aladár Pege’s quartet opening the proceedings. Pege’s dynamic bop and swing oriented music was enriched by the sound of the young pianist László Gárdonyi. After a diversion into rock, Pege has now returned to his genuine roots which he treats with a unique buoyancy and naturalness.

The most original of Hungary’s jazz musicians, György Szabados, has staked out an individual claim by mining ancient musical cultures. Going back into the history of the Hungarian nation, the pianist is integrating Kazakh and Far-Eastern motives into the mixture of pentatonic and chromatic scales, but at the same time he uses European classical and contemporary musical elements to place his compoisitions in a more universal context. His piece on prepared piano, with chords and sounds of an almost mythological quality, was especially interesting.

The group Kaszakő (Scythe-stone) played fluently swinging mainstream jazz, largely based on Latin rhythms. They showed some of the typical characteristics of Hungarian musicians – technical ability and a sense of style – but despite their professional skill the performance somehow lacked true feeling and emotion. Reedman László Dés’ Acoustic Quartet with its smooth but monotonous compositions likewise did not make a strong impression on the audience. And lastly, pianist Gyula Balogh displayed his talents in a solo recital that on this occasion was without any firm and original musical content.

The next day began with a quite new program by the Debrecen Jazz Group, which is now headed by Csaba Fazekas following the death of its former leader and pianist Ernő Kiss. The quartet is now searching for links to the mainstream and bebop traditions.

One of the most interesting free workshops of the festival matched György Szabados’ quintet with trombonist Conrad Bauer and reedman Ernst-Ludwig Petrowsky from the G.D.R. The seven-piece band played Szabados’ new compositions, written especially for the occasion. The meeting of two musical worlds resulted in an exciting interplay of similarity and divergence, tension and release, total collective improvisations and individiual solos. Though based on Hungarian folklore, the music strived for universality, emphasizing the unity of the intellectual and emotional approach.

The evening concert by the trio Gateway began with an ill omen, because the musicians’ instruments failed to arrive on time. But such first-class professionals as Jack DeJonnette, Dave Holland and John Abercrombie had no difficulties expressing themselves on whatever they could borrow. It was a pleasant experience to observe their attitude towards the jazz tradition, especially the way they gave qualities to the basically mainstream and rock-like pieces, keeping but at the same time changing their stylistic characteristics. Drummer DeJohnette in particular enchanted the audience with his fantastic polyrhythmic and polymetric figures.

The Binder Quartet, one of Hungary’s most creative groups, teamed up again with John Tchicai. But their reunion was less fruitfiul than their first meeting at last year’s festival. Probably the group’s material was less inspiring, because there were many empty spaces. Even the unaccompanied joint improvisations by Tchicai and tenorist Mihály Dresh seemed more like private conversations rather than fitting into any strict and organic musical context.

The young piano virtuoso, Frigyes Pleszkán, took the audience into a completely different realm of jazz. He revealed his special technical dexterity and a feeling for the blues, playing compositions by Erroll Gamer and Bill Evans, among others. The second day ended with the performance of a Hungarian-Polish workshop. Pianist László Gárdonyi, who fomer-ly worked with Imre Kőszegi, was joined by saxophonist Zbigniew Namyslowski, a long-time favorite of Hungarian jazz fans. This matchup proved to be very successful. Though the quartet showed a strong Keith Jarrett influence, it energetically performed Gárdomyi’s soul and rock compositions. Namyslowski seemingly took delight in the music, filling the air with his warm and pervasive saxophone sound.

Friday’s program began with a real surprise for the local audience from a duo that was hardly known in Hungary. Flutist Chris Hinze and guitarist Sigi Schwab made their Hungarian debut, performing gentle and pleasing chamber jazz. The interaction of the instruments, vivid improvisations, crystal-clear intonation of Hinze’s flute and nice tone of Schwab’s Ovation guitar, and serious yet popular musical content of the compositions all combined to make the duo’s appearance one of the festival’s highlights. Czechoslovakia’s Péter Lipa sang the blues, standards and his own songs, but failed to make an equal impact, although his band included the excellent guitarist Lubos Andrst.

But the triumph of the evening belonged to Oregon. The unusual instrumentation (guitar, synthesizer, oboe, tabla, oddly-tuned bass), really beautiful (sometimes a bit too beautiful) melodies and harmonies, and some of the solos by Paul McCandless and Ralph Towner in particular had their effect on the audience. Oregon’s music certainly is a departure from the bebop and black avant-garde traditions, but these sensible and lyrical musicians manage to avoid the pitfalls of eclecticism, producing a refined and total sound effect. The audience, eagerly awaiting the American stars, rewarded Oregon with an enthusiastic standing ovation that even surprised the musicians.

It was a hard act to follow, but the Ernst-Ludwig Petrowsky Trio did its best. Instead of searching for harmony and beauty, this group from the G. D. R. reflects the harsher and oppressive side of life. The trio played more written matarial than usual, but still it was a special brand of free improvised music. Beneath Petrowsky’s fixed mask-like expression, there are suppressed but strong emotions which stimulate his partners to create hard musical statements.

Before the evening concluded with a jam session by a British-Hungarian workshop, the Toto Blanke-Tony Lakatos Group merited attention. The West German guitarist has been working together for several years with the young Hungarian, who is one of the few European saxophonists to play bebop in a really hard-driving American style. But even so the group would have sounded better with more thoroughly arranged compositions.

An open-air theater was the setting for the Saturday afternoon matinee concert by two Hungarian groups, the Supertrio and the Csaba Deseő Quartet. Both played correct, solid modern or mainstream jazz filled with tasty improvisations. As an added attraction, the Super-trio featured singer Kati Bontovics.

The evening portion of the program first offered an unusual musical delicacy with two percussion groups. The Debrecen Percussion Ensemble consists of music teachers who have dedicated themselves to interpreting contemporary percussion pieces. While their music had little in common with jazz, the ensemble used a whole arsenal of percussion instruments to give an interesting rhythmic and melodic dimension to the strictly composed material. Drummer Imre Kőszegi’s Percussion Workshop Orchestra had a jazzier sound, thanks in particular to the naturally gifted pianist Béla Szakcsi Lakatos, but the quartet’s compositions were less convincing. The interaction seemed to be built more around personal games among the players rather than a well-considered musical concept.

The marathon evening program then presented several groups without break. Yugoslavia’s Gut-Divjak Jazz Summit played strong, straight-ahead jazz as well as some folk tunes. England’s Siger Small Band was the discovery of the festival. Led by saxophonist George Halsam, the quartet adds a contemporary feel to the driving avant-garde style of the ‘60s. The other musicians, drummer Nigel Moris, bassist Tony Moore and saxophonist Pete McPhail, are unknowns but highly talented. The band captivated the audience with its dynamic bursts and pulsating energy.

The Garanyan-Kuznetsov-Kurashvili Trio (saxophone -guitar-bass) tastefuly presented chamber jazz treatments of standards and bebop numbers from the ‘50s, but one would have liked to hear something else from a Soviet combo. On the other hand, the top Polish jazz singer Stanislaw Sojka let no doubt that for him, music is a means of present-day communication. He poured out his soul, finding emotional release in depicting the sorrow and suffering of people living under the burden of physical and psychological pressure, searching for peace and freedom. Sojka was ably supported by some of Poland’s leading jazzmen, in particular Tomasz Szukalski whose “dirty” black saxophone sound was a hit with the audience.

After such an experience, the Hungarian jazz-rock band Saturnus was not able to deliver music of equal importance. Yet the evening, rather night since it was close to 4 a.m., came to a pleasant close with the gentle mainstream and Latin-spiced music of drummer Vilmos Jávory’s quartet. Ferenc Schnétberger’s flamenco playing earned him a special place among the festival’s many excellent guitarists.

The last day started as usual with an open-air concert by the Benkó Dixieland Band which attracted thousands of people. In the afternoon four groups took the stage. With his drum-synthesizer, Joe Gallivan provided some strange and not always adequate sound accompaniment to Peter Ponzol’s restrained saxophone lines. The young Hungarian saxophonist Péter Horváth took his trio back to the bebop era, “in the tradition” like Arthur Blythe but much less genuinely. The Bulgarian combo Club 88, with the noted Simeon Shterev on flute, showed its skill at playing mainstream jazz. And last but not least, the Binder Quartet, appearing this time without any guests, had one of their less inspired days, giving a performance that lacked the usual fire and inventiveness in the free-style pieces.

The closing concert gave the audience a rare chance to hear musicians from Japan, and the set by the Aki Takase-Nobojusi Ino Duo was closely followed with much interest. This really gifted pianist demonstrated her talent at playing different styles of jazz from traditional to free. Though perhaps a bit eclectic, she is technically well-versed and displays a wide range of emotions, finding the right means of expressing lyricism as well as energy.

And finally, Jan Garbarek’s new group scored a success matched only by that of Oregon. The Norwegian saxophonist still has his unique tone, but seems to be venturing into more popular musical directions. With Eberhard Weber and Michael DiPasqua providing a solid rhythmic foundation, Garbarek built his dynamic solos with long notes, unexpeeted modulations and chord changes on top of guitarist Ross Traut’s rockish harmonies. This intense performance by four strong musical personalities combined appealing melodies with driving rhythms.

This was the last impression of the 1983 Debrecen Jazz Days, leaving the audience with good memories to bide the time until next year’s festival.

Jazz Forum, 1985/6

Budapest Big Band

January, 1986 marked the debut concert of the Budapest Big Band. The new 20-piece band was formed with the help of the Soros Foundation, named after György Soros, a Hungarian expatriate living in the States who sponsors cultural and scientifical programs. The BBB, a democratic association of young musicians, was lucky enough to receive half a million forints to start its career.

The BBB’s spiritual “fathers” are reedman László Dés, trumpeter Endre Sipos, and trombonist Károly Friedrich, who lead their respective sections. The band's premier concert at Budapest Congress Hall was a good first effort. With arrangements of music by Thad Jones, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and other noted Americans, the band displayed its skill in orchestration. The concert proved to be the highlight of an otherwise uneventful local jazz life. It signalled that the BBB is ready to take the next step, i.e. to start working on its own sound and repertoire.

Jazz Forum, 1986/3

Spring Festival

The Budapest Spring Festival, the capital’s main cultural attraction, offered jazz programs this year. A concert by John McLaughlin and Gato Barbieri attracted about 12,000 fans. McLaughlin arrived with a single acoustic guitar, but in the company of bass virtuoso Jonas Hellborg, he captivated the audience with his unique technique and sensitive musicality. Unfortunately, the same could not be said of Mr. Barbieri, whose empty, mechanical repetition of his 1970 Latin-rock style was utterly unconvincing.

Some days later the Music Academy of Budapest was host to another jazz event, one of several programmatic concerts of the general assembly of the International Society for Contemporary Musicians. The evening was intended to show the relations (or lack thereof) between jazz and contemporary music. In the first part, an eight-piece band performed János Gonda's new composition titled Improvisations for Eight Instruments, which in eight movements represented the different contemporary elements in jazz. In the second part, György Szabados played a piano solo and conducted his new composition for strings and reeds, which combined repetitive techniques with (Hungarian) flair and improvisational freedom. Both programs were convincing and well received by the partly foreign audience.

Jazz Forum, 1986/3

Debrecen Jazz Days

The I5th Debrecen Jazz Days, held on July 24-27, featured the finals of a jazz competition sponsored by Hungarian Radio. After more than a decade’s break, the competition focused attention on a new generation of young and talented musicians. The jury included an international roster of musicians, promoters, and critics, such as Aki Takase, Horst Weber, Aladár Pege, Bert Noglik and János Gonda. The Grand Prize was given to Károly Binder, a 30-year-old pianist who, in his impressive set of original compositions synthesized different kinds of musical elements in a “world music” concept.

Other prize winners were the cool-based No-Spa quartet, the Synapsis modern chamber orchestra, and the Vasvári combo which played fusion music.

In all honesty, without the competition, the festival would have been very mediocre. Among the highlights were James “Blood” Ulmer, Aki Takase, Jasper van’t Hof, the Manfred Schulze Quintet, and some fine moments in the performances by Poland’s New Presentation, Tone Jansa Group, and Bireli Lagrene (though with a blues-rock set). Hungary’s jazz scene was represented by Aladár Pege, János Gonda, the Supertrio (with American vibraphonist Tommy Vig), Rudolf Tomsits, Béla Szakcsi Lakatos, the Dresch Quartet, the Benkó Dixieland Band, the Debrecen Dixieland Band, Gyula Babos, Péter S. Horváth, and the Things Combo, led by Tony Lakatos.

The biggest problem was probably lack of funding. There is no doubt that more financial support is needed to help develop this worthy jazz program. Otherwise it may lose its central inspirational role in the country's jazz life.

Jazz Forum, 1986/5

Tatabánya Jazz Camp

Now in its fourth session, the biannual Tatabánya jazz camp has gained a special place among the many European summer jazz courses. Located in an industrial town 60 kilometers (37 miles) from Budapest, the camp offers practical and theoretical investigations in creativity and improvisation. It features classical music as well as jazz teachers, and the program includes lectures on the use of improvisation in classical and jazz teaching methods. Among this year’s lecturers were Pavel Blatny from Prague and György Szabados from Budapest.

The 1986 session held on July 29-August 8 attracted students from as far away as Australia. Participants had a full-time job of practicing and playing jazz, either solo or in group-contexts. Among the teachers were Jasper van’t Hof (keyboards), Béla Szakcsi Lakatos (piano), Tony Lakatos (saxophone), Dezső Lakatos (saxophone), Balázs Berkes (bass), Gyula Babos (guitar), Imre Kőszegi (drums) and Rudolf Tomsits (trumpet). Unfortunately, students had to do without NAJE’s president Richárd Dunscomb who, at the last moment, had to travel back home for family reasons.

Jazz Forum, 1986/5

Club for the Avant-garde

University clubs often provide fertile ground for new developments in jazz. The jazz club of the Economics University is one which, in this experimental tradition, offers a well-rounded program of avant-garde jazz. Leading Hungarian performers of the genre are regularly featured in Saturday evening programs which have included György Szabados, The Dresch Quartet, the Grencsó Kollektíva, Károly Binder, and Attila Lőrinszky.

In addition to local musicians, the organizers occasionally invite musicians from abroad. As a result, the club’s small but enthusiastic audience has met many personalities from the East German jazz scene, E. L. Petrowsky, Conny Bauer, Uwe Kropinsky, Ulrich Gumpert, Hannes Zerbe, Günter Sommer, Klaus Koch, Manfred Hering, and Joe Sachse among them.  Appearances were also made by Elliott Sharp and The Carbon (USA), the Peter Brötzmann-Phil Minton duo (West Germany and England), Jiri Stivin (Czechoslovakia), and Leonid

Chizhik (SU). This falil the Steve Lacy-Steve Potts duo and the Ganelin Trio were the most prominent guest stars in the jazz club which earned the reputation as the capitol's center of avant-garde.

Jazz Forum, 1986/6

Youthful Promise

Last winter's most important jazz event was a concert series at the University Theater in Budapest. The 13 evenings revealed the strength and promising future of the younger jazz genera-tion. Somé of the more established groups deserve special mention here as well.

The ‘80s brought a revival of traditional music in Hungary. The nine-piece Budapest Ragtime Band, for instance, was formed in 1983 by classically trained musicians. Since then, the group has released an LP and toured in many European countries. For the most part, its repertoire consists of Scott Joplin and James Scott piano originals transeribed into multicolored, witty instrumental arrangements.

Bop Art, led by keyboard player Attila Malecz, represents the fusing efforts of modern jazz. Due to its use of synthesizers and the orchestration, this combo’s sound is symphonic and big band-like at the same time. It also integrates the traditions of classical music and the rhythmic variety of rock. The group has emerged as a finalist in many competitions, for example in Dunqerque and San Sebastian.

The quartet Dimension was förmed in 1980 and reformed in 1985. With the personnel changes, the quartet’s fusion style has moved toward a more intimate, emotional, acoustic chamber music, relying largely on the outstanding improvisational capacities of its members, especially reedman László Dés. Dimension has appeared at various important European festivals and won the critics prize at the Wroclaw Jazz Festival.

Found in 1984, the Dresch Quartet plays the compositions of its leader, reedman Mihály Dresch, whose musical inspiration and roots can be found in Hungarian folk music. In his pieces, the Hungarian musical idiom meets the progressive, avant-garde attitude of the '60s black movement, resulting in a music with a distinctively ethnic flavor. The quartet also draws inspiration from pianist György Szabados.

The Grencsó Kollektiva is alsó influenced by the musical world of Szabados. The five-plus-members group plays the witty, strongly accented, often ironical compositions of leader, reedman István Grencsó, consciously avoiding and mocking the clichés of traditional and mainstream jazz.

The virtuoso unit of premier guitar ists John McLaughlin, Al DiMeola, and Paco DeLucia was a challenge for guitarists all over the world. The Hungarian Guitar Trio response to that challenge is modern mainstream jazz spiced with boppish phrasing and Latin rhythms. Attila László, Gábor Gadó, and Ferenc Snétberger, known from other formations as well, are true “professors” of their instrument.

By the mid-‘80s, saxbphone player Tony Lakatos had become the best known and accomplished young Hungarian musician in Europe. He has appeared at a number of famous jazz festivals and played with such musicians an Rainer Brüninghaus, Toto Blanke, Jasper van’t Hof, Charlie Mariano, Michael Sagmeister,  and Kenny Wheeler. He is an all-round musician who fits into various contexts from bop to modern swing, and free jazz to fusion. He is a virtuoso instrumentalist with a distinctive personal sound. His present Hungarian unit is the fusion band Things, although he spends half his time in Western Europe.

The Makám ensemble was formed in 1984 and plays a sort of improvisational chamber music containing elements of classical music as well as contemporary jazz and rock. Its melody and rhythm are influenced by East European folk and oriental music, and most of the group’s exotic instruments were made by its members.

The No-Spa Sextet favors the reflective, controlled lyricism of cool, which it combines with the rhythmic and harmonic devices of present day jazz. Its original compositions are mostly written by leader, keyboard player Mihály Farkas.

The Synapsis Quartet has won festivals in Karlovy Vary, Kromeriz, and Debrecen, and is an original representative of today's jazz trends in Hungary. Leader László Süle’s idea is to create a compositional chamber-like jazz music that sounds contemporary yet relates to Hungary's valuable jazz heritage. Süle is the most promising composer-pianist in the younger generation.

Finally, the vocal quartet Vocaleast consists of two male and two female voices, featuring evergreens and modern standards in its repertoire, and lending a special color to the local jazz-palette.

Jazz Forum, 1987/3

Spring Thaw

It can’t be said that spring rejuvenated Hungarian jazz, but some important events did occur that, despite economic difficulties, revealed continued signs of jazz life.

This year the Budapest Spring Festival featured four or five concerts in its program, including the Hungarian Jazz Quartet, the János Gonda Group, FRG's Overtone, and, as a highlight, the McCoy Tyner trio at the Erkel Theater, which in the ‘70s used to be the regular concert hall for the great American jazz musicians visiting the country. Although Tyner spent only 70 minutes on stage, his repertoire, based mostly on standards and popular tunes, spotlighted his musical devotion and muscular pianistic approach.

The University of Economics continued its series of avantgarde jazz concerts, including such noted names as the String Trio of New York and Elliott Sharp. The jazz club’s managers plan to take their programs to the countryside, even where international groups are concerned.  There have been, for example, conversations about a longer tour for Peter Kowald and Peter Brötzmann, with the help of the Goethe Institute.

The Alba Regia International Jazz Festival, held every third year in Székesfehérvár through the sponsorship of Videoton Electronic Co., took place this time in mid-May. The two-day program focused on the local scene, featuring the Budapest Big Band, Things, the Hungarian Jazz Quartet, the Molnár Dixieland Band, Dimension, the Babos Trio Plus, the Super Trio, and as guest soloists, Ted Curson, Jiri Stivin, Severi Pyysalo, and Canadian singer Jean Samion.

At the end of May, the mining town of Salgótarján hosted an international Dixieland festival, featuring bands from Poland, F. R. G., Czechoslovakia, and Hungary.

There is little good news concerning the intentions of Hungaroton, the nation’s only official label. In the first five months of the year, only three jazz recordings were released. One is a blues album by Philadelphia Jerry Ricks, the second is a fusion offering by the Dimension Quartet, and the third is a kind of third-stream, composed music by the Super Trio and the Budapest Brass Ensemble, under the name Creative Art Ensemble.

The most important news for summer was the postponement of the Debrecen Jazz Days to October because of problems with the concert halls.

Jazz Forum, 1987/4

Előzmény: A Jazz Forum és Magyarország 1.

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