[Na]: a chemical element of enthusiastic disobedience. This is found in the punctuated piano strokes of Monk or the Afro-Dutch distortion of The Ex and Getatchew Mekurya. The Chicago School, with its libertarian and supportive tendencies, from the Art Ensemble to Jaimie Branch, has written many treatises on it. The new trio of Selma Namata Doyen, Rémi Psaume and Raphaël Szöllösy experiments with these concepts, drawing on formulas haunted by Mandingue lyricism as much as by electric drones. Their first EP, recorded in a legendary barn in Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines, was released in May 2023. Concert presented as part of Jazz Migration, a support program for young emerging jazz and improvised music artists led by AJC, with the support of the French Ministry of Culture, the BNP Paribas Foundation, SACEM, ADAMI, SPEDIDAM, CNM, SPPF, and the French Institute.  

Stimulated by the desire to explore written music in greater depth and take some weight off improvisation, trumpeter Luís Vicente called on Gonçalo Almeida and Pedro Melo Alves to join him, bringing together three of the most exciting musicians in contemporary Portuguese jazz. After recent experiments with Hamid Drake, John Dikeman and William Parker, Vicente returns to his elastic writing on the album Come Down Here, designed for a trio comfortable with the abstract and free paths that shape his conception of music. In a constant game of approaching and retreating from rhythm, structure and melody, this encounter explores extremes and repeatedly escapes convention, both in writing and improvisation.  

“There is a devil at work in every bar, in every part, the sound is fizzling”, writes the critic of Magyar Narancs, who later describes a “charming boogaloo jazz”, and then declares that “the exuberant vigueur and the joy of making music shines through every note”. “János Bujdosó, the unique creator of the Hungarian alternative music world, presents a stylistic high school on his new album”, says another prominent Hungarian newspaper, HVG, whose eagle-eyed correspondent also attended one of the band's concerts and expressed his impressions as “the event turned into a real fiesta, where the gourmet live-music-consuming audience was once again convinced that János Bujdosó is as inimitable as a performer and leader of his mini big band as he is as a composer”.

For the first time this year, on the day of his birth, Babos' grand guitar will be played by Dávid Lamm on the Opus stage. From now on, every year it will be played by a different person, to commemorate Babos' musicianship. "It is a great honour for me to have been able to place this beautiful instrument in a display case at the entrance of Opus Jazz Club a year ago, and this year I will be the first in line to pay tribute to the Master and to remember him with music. It is a particular pleasure to be able to do this with such distinguished colleagues, who have been important participants in many of Babos' sessions and recordings, and who have been associated with his work and his music in the most diverse forms." Photo of Gyula Babos by Ferenc Mernyó

“We all represent different musical worlds, but we share a common goal: to tell stories through music. We don't just play notes – when we make music, we tell wonderful, unique stories that we might not be able to express in words. The magic of a live concert is that you never know what will happen when the next notes are played. We love this unknown musical world offered by improvisation. Every concert is a new discovery, where music, audience and moment shape sounds together. It is not the quest for perfection, but freedom and self-expression that drives us. We make music to experience the captivating, enchanting moments of the concert and share them with listeners ,” says János Nagy about the trio. The band’s first album, entitled Voyagers, will be released in spring 2025. The trio's repertoire consists mainly of compositions by pianist János Nagy Yancha. 

“They say leave me the birds and the bees, and I say yes, but leave me the TV and some fat cheese too” Anna Anderluh’s songs speak of the necessity of absurdity, audacity, and stupidity. She describes her music as “pop with a crack” that bridges the gap between tender poetry and harsh social criticism, between simple fragile songs and experimental vocal improvisation. Through humor and sensitivity, she finds magic in seemingly insignificant details that shine through without adding additional polish. As we listen, we are left with unconventional sounds that dispense with haste and showmanship, are constantly evolving, and refuse to give us the impression that they are finished. Because finished is bland.  

Martina Király started her career in the Equinox Jazz Quartet, then working with the Hobo Blues Band, Tibor Tátrai, Tamás Mohai, Zoohacker and Péter Novák, among others. Most of her songs are her own compositions. In 2013, she was awarded the Orszáczky Jackie Prize for the Popular Music Composer of the Year in Hungary. In her bands of recent years, she has teamed up with bassist Barnabás Tomor (Barnabás Tomor Project, Bluestone, Shot). The current quintet gathers the young generation's top talents: guitarist Vincent Szabó (Barnabás Tomor Project), also known from the fusion band Lawn Dogs, drummer Szabolcs Varga, and versatile keyboard player Tamás Antal K. (Tom and Jerries, Skyriders, Barnabás Tomor Project).

The instrumental dialogue of the two musician friends modulates a harmonious atmosphere into the carefree summer evening with mysterious sounds. The musical world of the Zádor – Kováts Duo puts usual jazz structures in a unique light; their compositions are rooted in modal jazz, but the familiar turns are sometimes interspersed with a Northern breeze or repetitive rhythms pulling into reverie, providing an excellent setting for the instrumental meditations of two musicians. Their songs are typically the result of joint improvisation, in which composed sections are given as much space as spontaneous instrumental reflections almost reminiscent of free music. On this occasion, they present their album 2, also performing the most popular hits from their album Thoughts from the Outskirts.  

The Coltrane Legacy sextet was founded in 2017, on the 50th anniversary of Coltrane's death, by one of the most sought-after musicians on the Hungarian jazz scene, bassist György Orbán. In the decade and a half from the mid-1950s until his death in 1967, the saxophonist laid new foundations for modern jazz. He created a legacy of music that has influenced generations of musicians ever since, reaching ever more spiritual dimensions. An experienced bassist who has played in many bands, György Orbán thought the best way to honour the saxophonist's legacy was to create a group that would play both original compositions inspired by Coltrane's music and new arrangements of Coltrane’s songs. The compositions, of course, take Coltrane's tradition as their starting point and continue to reflect the abstract spirit and tools of our time, thus continuing the spiritual jazz tradition. The members of the band are outstanding personalities of the Hungarian jazz scene, their progressive way of thinking and unique musicality have enabled them to work together as a team with unbroken creative enthusiasm.  

BMC commemorates Béla Szakcsi Lakatos, who passed away in 2022, with a concert each year. He maintained a two-decade working relationship with BMC, enriching the catalogue of BMC Records with a total of 10 albums, covering a wide variety of musical styles. In keeping with the diversity of his career, different musicians and formations will perform at the commemorative concerts, including those who have played with Szakcsi for many years, as well as who have had little or no opportunity to accompany him on his musical adventures, but they all share a common spirit of creation that is close to the artistic world of the legendary jazz pianist. The concerts will bring Szakcsi's recordings to life on stage again, and his compositions will be performed in a reimagined form.    

Jazz PH combines the energy of classic swing with a sophisticated performance style to showcase the lighter, more accessible and tradition-oriented side of the genre. Their songs draw from the world of jazz and swing between the 1940s and 1960s, with a repertoire of lesser-known tunes from this period, including pieces by Ike Quebec, Duke Ellington, Stanley Turrentine, and Gerry Mulligan. All members are committed to evoking an acoustic sound and playing style that is true to the era. In addition to harnessing their musical interests and strengths, they aim to lead themselves and their audiences to (re)find a state of calm through songs with a pleasant atmosphere, acting as an anchor to counterbalance the rush of our world.

The concert of one of the most characteristic percussionists of our country, Tamás Geröly and his friends promises to be a real treat for fans of contemporary free music with complex structures. The outstanding Hungarian masters of the genre – representing two generations of musicians – have been playing together for three years in this band, where the astonishingly live electronics of Bálint Bolcsó, and the exciting guitar playing of Ádám Czitrom are organically interwoven with the stylistic characteristics of the acoustic-avant-garde Geröly trio, which has been performing for 14 years. The spirit of the music dances in this new, colourful guise in the space between the artists, to which the name of the ensemble refers.

The Salamon Tűzkő Quintet was formed by members of the younger generation of musicians, whose commitment and talent have also been recognised by awards. They enjoy enriching their musical world with guest artists, and this time they are preparing a special evening with Austrian tenor saxophonist Lukas Gabric. Gabric's tone and virtuosity brought him numerous awards since the beginning of his career, including the Best Soloist and Audience Award at the Getxo Jazz Festival in 2014. He appears on over 15 recordings, including a Grammy-nominated album. Their programme draws mainly on the gems from the golden age of hard bop, like the Art Blakey Jazz Messengers and the Miles Davis Sextet, as well as original arrangements by the band – appealing to music lovers and fans of hard bop alike.

Um/Welt is a developing musical research project conceived by double bassist and composer Marco Centasso. The German word Umwelt corresponds to “environment”, literally meaning “surrounding world”. The particular salience of this concept caused biologist Jacob Uexküll to adopt it to denote the particular perspective of any organism as it relates to the world. In this way, each person’s Um/welt is not merely his or her environment, but his or her subjective universe, his or her horizon of interaction with the world, continuously determining and transforming the subject’s way of being, experiencing, and communicating in relation to the surrounding world. The Um/Welt project investigates the creation of worlds in interaction with each other through sound. By creating a space for dialogue between band members, the project asks questions on the interaction between different worlds, in a quest to create new ones that can give possibilities to communicate through sound beyond the barriers of human communication.

The second album of Bendegúz Varga's band, Chasing Your Dreams, released on Tom-Tom Records, is the follow-up to Goldmund, with perhaps an even more sophisticated sound and a clearer commitment to experimental contemporary jazz. The compositions and arrangements of the band leader and members are carefully crafted, with consistent emotional and atmospheric characteristics, and their playing is of a high quality and sensitivity. The material on the album is varied yet coherent, and offers an accessible musical world even for those new to the jazz genre. This evening, the quartet will give us a taste of their most recent material and upcoming new album, featuring iconic grunge jazz songs in a jazz guise. They also welcome a special guest on stage, singer Júlia Karosi, who enriches the performance with her unique artistic world.  

For many years, singer Eszter Lukács and guitarist István Gyárfás have played their favourite jazz standards in a duo, taking advantage of the air and freedom of the most intimate chamber line-up. They have since been joined by Árpád Dennert on saxophone and Márton Soós on double bass, but this expanded ensemble still aims to preserve the atmosphere of the original duo, which is also emphasised by the absence of percussion instruments. The members of the Eszter Lukács Jazz Core are highly regarded and successful players on the Hungarian jazz scene, contributing to some of the most sought-after bands in the country.  

Gábor Füsti Balogh (1958–1988) was a prominent Hungarian jazz pianist and composer who learned the piano on his own, studying at the Béla Bartók Conservatory for only six months and briefly under Béla Szakcsi Lakatos. His bands, such as Kis Rákfogó and Füsti Balogh Ensemble, greatly promoted jazz-rock and modern mainstream jazz in Hungary. Prize-winning double bassist János Egri, a member of Füsti's Crazy Trio, founded a quintet in 2022 to pay tribute to his work. The band brings together the best musicians from three generations of Hungarian jazz to preserve and promote the legacy of Füsti. In their concerts, they perform original compositions inspired by the jazz legend's music, and breathe new life into his works. Their first album, The Big Things (Tom-Tom Records, 2024), with guest appearance by Tony Lakatos, features many of the compositions recorded by Füsti for his 1981 album Cream, in the spirit of the present day.

The dynamic collaboration between the Greek vibraphonist and the German-Romanian double bass player has birthed an artistic partnership that defies the constraints of rigid genre categorizations. Their musical journey is an exploration that draws sustenance from a myriad of sources, ranging from the intricate compositions of 20th and 21st-century classical music to the spirited rhythms of jazz and the evocative tales woven within folklore traditions. This union of sonic exploration transcends the limits of predefined labels, for the essence of their work lies in the realm of boundless creativity. The intertwining of their unique backgrounds results in an exquisite tapestry of sound, where the vibrancy of Balkan heritage converges with the cosmopolitan influence of contemporary European musical landscapes. Like a delicate thread of free improvisation, their performances unfold in an unscripted dance that mirrors the flow of life itself. In this tapestry, notes cascade like rivulets of emotion, merging and diverging, encapsulating moments of sorrow, joy, and the indefinable spaces in between. The duo's exploration resonates with a shared pursuit of personal expression. In a world colored by their diverse influences, they craft an auditory experience that is both timeless and contemporary – a testament to the way musical traditions and innovations intermingle at the rhythmic core of human experience. Next to the leading jazz venues and festivals in Europe, the duo which is really dedicated to building community and sharing the artistry, also performs in schools, community centers, back yards and everything that serves the purpose. Before the concert, they are also recording a new album for BMC Records.

Frankie Látó, a violinist working on the borders of classical music and jazz, formed his new quartet in 2023. Their work focuses on jazz-rock and fusion jazz, with an improvisational approach and purely instrumental arrangement. Their repertoire consists of original compositions, most influenced by the electronic bebop era of Miles Davis and the work of Joe Zawinul and Weather Report. The quartet's performance style resurrects the sound of American and European jazz-rock bands of the 1970s, innovatively complementing it with the musical demands and technical possibilities of our time. Through this reimagined chamber jazz playing, their aim is to create an exciting, virtuosic atmosphere that is enjoyable for all ages.

“Be more open, universal, more cosmically oriented. Sooner or later, when one has achieved this consciousness, one will travel there as a cosmic tourist and by that show that everything exists at once.” – Karlheinz Stockhausen Kat and the Devil is a genre-bending quintet of improvising classical and jazz musicians using spoken and sung texts to explore wide-ranging themes. Their performances are comedic, melodic, pan-idiomatic, theatrical, and full of surprise (for the audience and also for the performers themselves). Previous evenings have explored Witches, Basho, Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce, Hallucinogens, Communing with the Dead, Architecture, Satire, and Crime. The group takes its name from their first project: a concert based on James Joyce’s short story The Cat and the Devil. Each concert dives into a new theme. This evening, they turn their attention to bad advice – drawing from the world of internet life hacks, quick fixes, and misguided guidance. Text and musical material may be drawn from László Krasznahorkai, Jenny Offill, Noémi Kiss, Rumaan Alam, Noémi László, Dave Eggers, and Karlheinz Stockhausen – the classical music emblem of artistic risk and questionable philosophies. Join the ensemble for a night where bad advice never sounded so good.

Refrection is the first project by drummer Dániel Serei as a bandleader. The quintet is a musical reaction to the experience of the first decades of the 21st century, to the joyful and traumatic moments lived every day. The contradiction of sometimes frolicking in a world of technological developments and communication networks, and at other times wanting to hide from everything and everyone. Refrection, while pushing genre boundaries and mixing musical styles, focuses on the musical representation of everyday beauty and harmony. The bandleader has previously performed with the Budapest Jazz Orchestra, Pankastic and the Krisztián Oláh Quartet, among others. In 2015, he was named Best Soloist in the Hungarian Jazz Combo Competition.

Virág Czakó is one of the promising talents of the new generation, who founded her current band 3 years ago, and although she has been performing less often in Hungary due to her studies abroad, she is time and again back on stage at Opus. She has been inspired by great artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Carmen McRae and Diana Krall, but she is also influenced by young singers who are exploring new paths, including Samara Joy. This evening will feature popular American jazz standards, with Latin bossa nova and some groovy arrangements. The songs are orchestrated with characteristic ease by the excellent guitarist Attila Rieger, complemented by his harmonious guitar playing. The band includes excellent young drummer Zoltán Fekete, and Péter Czakó, an experienced musician from the older generation, who is well versed not only in jazz but also in Hungarian folk music.

Sitmob, an unusual keyboard-drum duo by Áron Tálas and Ádám Klausz perfectly combines the pulsating grooves of modern hip-hop, funk or drum'n'bass with the harmonic and melodic world of jazz. The band was born out of the idea of street music, with a hidden intention of bringing this kind of music to people who would probably never encounter it otherwise. Pianist-drummer Áron Tálas has shown in the Borbély Quartet and in his own trio, among many other projects, that professional knowledge and a mischievous sense of humour strengthen rather than cancel each other out when it comes to creation, while Ádám Klausz has demonstrated his versatility and openness as drummer with Co Lee and Emma Nagy Quintet.

The Chris Devil Trio is driven by the combined energy of members with diverse musical tastes. The band leader, Krisztián Ördögh, is interested in the tradition of jazz saxophone playing as well as in folk musics, bassist Viktor Paczári seeks the impulses of rock and heavy metal, while Dániel Serei, in addition to technical jazz drumming, also immerses himself in the field of free music. Formed more than ten years ago from first-year jazz students, the band is a workshop of three creative minds, as each member contributes to the sound with their own compositions. Their repertoire is largely made up of these pieces, but their concerts also feature evergreens with a unique approach. This time, they perform songs from their upcoming album which experiments with the possibilities of a lineup without harmony instrument, sometimes using the devices of traditional or fusion jazz, sometimes those of free music.

The Malek Andi Soulistic band was formed in 2016 by the collaboration between award-winning singer-actress Andrea Malek and pianist, composer and producer Bandi Jáger. This special project combines jazz and Latin styles with Hungarian folk music. Their repertoire includes ancient Hungarian songs, original compositions and folk song arrangements. The two renowned founders are joined by equally seasoned and well-respected musicians, bassist György Orbán and drummer András Lakatos “Pecek”. Their chosen name, Soulistic refers to the close ties between soul and music.

The ‘Less Is More’ trio has been involved in the Budapest free music scene for over fifteen years. Now renamed ‘Less Is More 4’ to reflect the addition of Bálint Bolcsó’s electronics, and with Attila Gyárfás having recently replaced longstanding drummer Zsolt Sárvári Kovács, their basic concept remains unchanged: total improvisation. 100% spontaneously-created vibraphone, double bass and acoustic drum sounds are manipulated live and in real time by Bolcsó’s arsenal of effects, creating genre-bending atmospheric soundscapes. Future jazz of the highest order.  

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The collaboration of three top jazz guitarists is a real curiosity in the Hungarian music scene: István Gyárfás, Attila Rieger and Gábor Szalay are not only excellent players of their instruments, but also outstanding bandleaders, composers and music teachers. Márton Soós (bass) and Balázs Cseh (drums) are also among the most sought-after jazz musicians in Hungary. Last year, the band released a new album, Hommage à Gábor Szabó, which pays tribute to the unique work of the most famous Hungarian jazz musician of all time. The music consists of original compositions by the members, the titles and mood of which refer to the stages of the guitar legend's extraordinary life – from the beginnings, through the height of his success, to his return home, his illness and his premature death. The album strongly indicates that the band is not just offering guitar treats, but their primary goal is to focus on and keep alive the musical legacy of Gábor Szabó.

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