Klára Hajdu is an outstanding singer-songwriter and teacher of Hungarian jazz life. He sang for almost a decade with the popular Fonogram Award-winning Balázs Elemér Group. In 2008, he founded his own quartet, with which he has released three albums that have been highly appreciated by the profession and the audience. Come with me – released in 2013 – features jazz standards, folk song adaptations, and Klara’s own compositions, and the Plays Standards Dedicated to Chet Baker – released in 2015 – is a tribute to legendary jazz trumpet player and singer. On the disc, Chet Baker's compositions and jazz standards he made famous, were played in their own style, in collaboration with the great Hungarian trumpet player, Kornél Fekete-Kovács. The album was nominated for a Fonogram Award in early 2017 in the "Hungarian Jazz Album of the Year" category. In 2019, Gábor Cseke replaced Krisztián Oláh in the role of pianist, and bassist Márton Soós and drummer Marcell Hoff, the founding members of the band, continue to sit in the rhythm section. Klára was also noticed as a songwriter, as her composition You're Gonna Rise, which she orchestrated with Milán Szakonyi, was selected as one of the top thirty by the professional jury of the television show Dal2019. The new album of the quartet, Journey was recorded during last summer, and was nominated for  Fonogram Award. Klára won the award of "Singer of the Year" in the jazzma.hu audience and in the editorial vote of MagyarJazz.hu.

The vocal-bass duo formation may seem unusual at first hearing, but pairing the two instruments with a large amount invention is enough to create a complete sound image. The duo’s music pays homage to the traditions with the acoustic sound, but at the same time they use electronics to respond to contemporary trends. The backbone of the complex and varied musical material is mainly the own compositions of the two musicians. Minimal ambient or throbbing groove spiced with a chorus of vocals. The question arises: two swallows are not doing summer, or yet ...? Linda Kovács is a trailblazing musician who found her own voice in jazz. She knows no compromise in self-expression. Her unique voice and musical thinking elevate her among the greats of Hungarian contemporary jazz. She is also the winner of several Hungarian jazz competitions, and her creativity is also reflected in her compositions: in May 2016 she debuted as a composer-arranger with a cycle of big bang compositions performed by the Budapest Jazz Orchestra. Her name is also highly rated as a jazz instructor. Ádám Bögöthy is one of the most sought-aftert musicians of the young Hungarian jazz generation. Most people know him as a double bassist, but he also graduated in jazz guitar. He is as characteristic of his openness to genres and musical humility as his detailed instrumental playing. He has appeared in many bands and genres from folk music, pop music, to experimental productions, but his most native genre is jazz and its many varieties. In addition to playing the instrument, he also places great emphasis on songwriting and composing music, including a number of commercials and soundtracks.

"We all have a super power an unbreakable point that leaves within us and this is something I feel compolled to explore as an artist and human being," says Prim. Billy Prim began playing drums at the age of 15, inspired by his older brother, a drummer himself. He is an active musician on the Hungarian – Greek jazz scene and also regularly collaborates and performs internationally with Attila Blaho , Adam Bogothy , Gergo Mucsi, Matthew Mitchell and George Kontrafouris. Thalassa is his debut album, which is a reflection and exploration of the inner world in all it is. From the opening track Enlightenment begins the journey, a hunting piano ambience and intensely real soundscape that quickly envelopes you. The album takes the listener on a journey of self discover, continence and devotion  to ultimately reach a place of your truthful inner self in the final song Midnight Sea. Through his own musical and personal experiences, Prim explores his own side of spirituality. The result is a natural sound with free improvisation, strong melodic lines and elements of other genres that emerge the profound heart and soul to draw you in and holding you captive until the end.

Le Bestiaire is Matthieu Donarier’s latest creation: 7 musicians combining into a myriad of new groups and combos. A musical jungle. A collective adventure. An extensive and progressive songbook. With this polymorphous and evolving writing combined to a unique team of singular european musicians, Le Bestiaire is designed to generate a vast array of groups, from chamber music duets and trios, powered combos up to the entire septet. 2021 is the year for spotlighting Libellules, which is an acoustic quartet dealing with chamber music, creative jazz, weather observation, field recording and polymorphism. All tools allowed: melody, noise, rhythm, cycles, random events, meditation, transformations. No restrictions.

The music produced and performed by the Hungarian based ensemble Tariqa is simultaneously reminiscent of the proto world-music innovations of John Coltrane’s Africa Brass in the 60s and the 70s futuristic Sufi inspired jazz of the Human Arts Ensemble. Led by Saïd Tichiti originally from the Moroccan Sahara, Tariqa’s ecstatic momentum is firmly based on gnawa drumming and guembri bass lines spiced by rippling carpathian cimbalom, violins and flute. Top this all with Saharian desert blues vocals and horn parts full of urgent urban American howling and Klezmer screams, and the effect is nothing less than 21st century musical bliss. Tariqa’s new CD is a musical breakthrough Bartok, Coltrane and the late Ali Farka Toure would all likely relate to. Blessed and possessed by the powerful spirits that inhabit the Euro-Asian-African crossroads that shaped and continue to shape our destiny – Tariqa swings and rocks hard to a warm universal musical embrace.Darrell Jónsson

In July 2017, the Ákos Fekecs Project was founded with the aim to realize Ákos’ own musical ideas with his friends and fellow-musicians. The drummer-composer has been working on his own compositions since 2011. His first independent work, Reverse, was seen by more than fifty thousand at the Drum Talk TV Video Store. In Fekecs’ compositions, we can find from soft jazz harmonies, through world music elements, pulsations of fusion and odd meters up to modern electronic sound. Beyond the composed material, the group’s way of playing is also reflected in energetic improvisations. In 2018, the Ákos Fekecs Project won the Laureate World-Jazz International Competition at the Amersfoort Jazz Festival in the Netherlands, but they performed with big success at many other foreign and domestic festivals as well, such as Jazz in the Park Festival in Cluj-Napoca, Babel Jazz Festival in Balatonboglár, the PulzArt Contemporary Art Festival in Sfântu Gheorghe, the Valley of Arts in Kapolcs, or the Budafok Champagne and Wine Festival. akosfekecs.com  

In films, time and place are used to ground a story in a particular atmosphere, to give it emotional background – but they reveal little about the story itself, about its meaning or eventual resolution. The compositions of the Vienna-based ensemble Tree serve a similar purpose: they provide a setting, but it is during the process of improvisation and interaction that they truly unfold into living, breathing stories. Georg Vogel, Andreas Waelti and Michael Prowaznik play jazz in all its various forms, devoting themselves to the interplay of conceptual and intuitive ideas, elaborating or contrasting them in the course of their improvisation. The trio’s approach is refreshingly undogmatic: anachronisms are cleverly updated, liberated, and merged with the modern to form new hybrids. Tree works as a unit in the best sense of the word, showing conclusively that even in postmodern times, music can retain a special vitality. www.georgvogel.netwww.andreaswaelti.com Between a Rock and a Hard Place by TREE

  With her solo vocal program, Júlia Karosi has toured both Hungarian and foreign stages over the past decade. As a vocalist, Júlia Karosi had a classical training which is evident not only in her impeccable technique and expressive tonalities, but in her choice of repertoire and musical universe as well. Beside her own compositions, the singer is keen to select folk songs and songs by composers such as Bartók, Kodály, and Gershwin – but always keeps her personal story in the forefront expressed through the devices of jazz music. "...their haunting interpretations of works from Bela Bartok (arranged by Karosi) and linked original pieces are rather beautiful. Karosi's high-flying vocalese lines go well with Monder's supersonic soloing." (Garry Booth, BBC Magazine)

Zita Gereben is an outstanding singer-songwriter of Hungarian music life. She founded her own band in 2009, with whom she has released three albums containing own compositions. After Ready for the sun, which can be classified as jazz, they went to more popular direction with their second album, Our Places, followed by the disc entitled Az én fesztiválom, which contains songs in Hungarian. Their repertoire, which covers a wide range of genres, includes compositions that containe elements of R'n'B, pop, blues, and jazz. During her musical career, Zita Gereben worked with several Hungarian formations, she was a member of Emil.RuleZ! and also contributed to the Gringo Star band, as well as the Modern Art Orchestra, the Transform Quintet, the Random Trip, and the Nagy János Trio. Her band consists of renowned musicians from the Hungarian music scene. The sound world of the formation is significantly shaped by the unique musical world of the musicians, the freedom of their play.

Róbert Szakcsi Lakatos will come to the Opus Jazz Club with brand new energies and a new formation. He formed a new trio with two particularly talented members of the youngest generation of Hungarian jazz, drummer Máté Éles and bassist Géza Jónás, to whom his old fellow musician, saxophonist Gábor Bolla, will join in this concert. Róbert Szakcsi Lakatos has recently returned to his beginnings, as the classical music again gained a more prominent role in his life as a performer. This is echoed in his own compositions: Debussy, Ravel shows up as a source of inspiration in Szakcsi's latest compositions written specifically for this formation, which will be worthy pairs of the '60s jazz standards that give the basis of the concert repertoire.

Aki Takase, a Japanese pianist living in Germany, - who has already performed with several formations on the Opus Jazz Club's stage and whose albums with Japanic and saxophonist Daniel Erdmann in duo has been released by BMC Records - this time extends his experimental attitude towards classical music. She applies Bizet: Carmen to a contemporary jazz chamber orchestra with opera singer Mayumi Nakamura, an old fellow musician, former student, saxophonist Daniel Erdmann and his cellist friend Vincent Courtois. During the two-year creative process, Aki Takase combined Bizet’s classics with elements inspired by John Cage, among others, whose compositional technique and vision also had a major impact on Aki Takase’s musical thinking. The musicians will also record Carmen Rhapsody at BMC Records Studio on the days of their concert at the Opus Jazz Club.

The leader of the band, 21-year-old Dominik Kosztolánszki, is currently studying music in London, but he is visiting home for a longer period of time regulary, so we can often hear him in Hungarian line-ups. One of these bands is the Kosztolánszki Quintet, whose first large-scale debut was at the 2017 Belgrade Jazz Festival as a trio, from which the current quintet line-up was born many years later. Ambrus Richter, an outstanding and active member of the Hungarian jazz scene, has been the drummer of the band from the very beginning, Márk Miskolczi plays the double bass, the Junior Príma award winner Péter Cseh plays guitar and Márton Udvardi, who also plays folk music, plays the trumpet. The band’s repertoire consists mostly of Dominik’s own compositions, largely inspired by the hard-bop line of the 1960s, but the band’s main goal is to create a modern, progressive world of music in both compositions and the quality of playing together.

The Abstract plays a mixture between avant-jazz, prog-rock and bitter-sweet 'Hungariana'. After having played in different formations with double-bassist Csaba Pengő and drummer Zsolt Sárvári Kovács, Roland invited them to his trio. Although The Abstract plays Roland's compositions and musical concepts, these serve mostly as a canvas for further possibilities and creativity. Their music responds to a broad band of genres, styles and emotions. It is amongst their goals to play the widest dinamic range possible. The themes that could be easily recognised as “songs”, provide the framework for an adventure, where the classical trio setting gets to display in a broad variety. They recorded their first album “Where are we going?” at the end of 2018. In 2021 their second album was released under the title 'A Fine Line In Between'. https://www.rolandheidrich.com/

The excellent pianist, Máté Pozsár is recognized mostly as one of the inevitable figures on the Hungarian creative music scene, being member of different groups by István Grencsó, Szilárd Mezei, István Baló or Péter Ajtai. However, being himself not just a fan but even professor in music theory, he has been developing since a couple of years a conceptual compositional method which is based on harmonies and voices inherent in the modal and the polymodal harmonics. He invites to the Opus the third time his close musical friends, to join him in his drumless sextet and realize his slowly building, transparent chamber music, exuberant both in binding terms and in free improvisation.

Serendipity is not only the closest meanings of Nasip Kısmet, but also the best way to describe this international band’s authentic, multi-genre music: an ancient folk melody turns into a psychedelic outburst by a sudden chord progression, then eases into a mild jazz-fusion breeze by a touch of masterful musicianship. Nasip Kısmet is the brainchild of Arif Erdem Ocak, the Turkish-born musician who resides in Budapest, Hungary since 2010, best-known as a founding member and co-songwriter of the famed Ankara band Seksendört who topped charts mid-to-late 2000s with consecutive hits. After moving to Budapest to pursue a solo music career, he focused on the deep repertoire of old and contemporary Turkish folk music, interpreting it through his unique vocal style as well as his trademark hammer-on and pull-off, percussive guitar technique. Live renditions of this material earned Arif a loyal following and quickly made him a staple in the Hungarian live music scene. His special interest in ancient Anatolian mysticism and philosophy led the versatile musician to explore the poetry and songs of the era with a multi-instrumental approach. Nasip Kısmet, the ethnic-jazz outfit he formed in 2019 featuring fellow high-caliber musicians - Cem Aksel (TR) on Drums, Dániel Mester (HU) on Saxophone and Clarinet, and Márton Eged (HU) on Bass Guitar – was the perfect answer and the outfit recorded a three-song, self-titled EP that comprises rather sophisticated versions of some classics of the genre. After Cem Aksel moved back home to Istanbul, Dávid Szegő and Tomi Smuk joined the band on drums and percussion respectively, and the live line-up was completed by Derya Ocak’s (Arif’s sister) addition on backing vocals. With this live line-up, Nasip Kısmet played some intimate club shows in Summer 2020 to great reception by audiences and quickly graduated to larger, sold-out shows in prestigious Budapest venues. The band’s currently rehearsing for the recording of their full-length, planned for release later this year.

9 perc 99 másodperc. A trükkös lemezcímmel a Koloncsák Zsolt – Keönch László Farkas duó nemcsak saját zenéje „időtlenségét”, kontemplatív, idő feletti jellegét, de azt a dobozon kívüli gondolkodást is sugallja felénk, amivel a műfaji skatulyákat igyekszik elkerülni. A duó Hunnia Recordsnál megjelent, 2020-ban napvilágot látott lemezén elhangzó darabok a zongorista, zeneszerző, Koloncsák Zsolt “örökgyermeki” kísérletezéseinek, gyakran önironikus humorának és végtelen fantáziájának kaleidoszkópjából erednek. Olykor terjedelmes történeteket citálnak, és a narrativitás igényéről árulkodnak, máskor ismerős-ismeretlen hangulatokat teremtenek a semmiből: a repetitív, minimál, meditatív zene jól megfér itt a parodisztikus, burleszk, némafilmes atmoszférával, a blues a salsával, a barokk szonáta a spirituális-terápiás légkörrel. A „kétemberes”, tisztán instrumentális anyag a megkésett lemezbemutató koncertre immár kvartettzenévé duzzadt. A szerző társai a lemezbemutató koncerten a duó eredeti tagja, a multiinstrumentalista Keönch László Farkas, a formáció állandó tagjává avanzsált, nagybőgőn játszó Dénes Ábel, valamint a vendégként csatlakozó Magyar Bori lesznek, akinek hangja a vokális dimenzióba emeli a zenét, tovább bővítve a történetek lehetséges kimenetelének tárházát.  

Note Noire is a contemporary Italian jazz quartet, and represents the common musical path of Ruben Chaviano, Roberto Beneventi, Tommaso Papini and Mirco Capecchi, through their own original compositions. These are pieces of music written in complete freedom in a search on their part for modern and cosmopolitan musical forms of expression, by means of the characteristics of instruments that are representative of European traditions such as the violin, the accordion, the guitar and the double bass. Their new album NADIR, under the AlfaMusic/EGEA label, is the invisible point from which to observe the sound of an ensemble that has the classical timbre. The four musicians of which it consists are inevitably attracted by the continuous novelties of the creative panorama, as well as by stylistic experimentations. Active on the musical scene since 2011, the Note Noire musicians have been invited to perform as part of prestigious programmings such as the Royal Albert Hall (GB), the Rhino Jazz Festival (FR), the LongLake Festival (CH), the Piacenza Jazz Festival (IT), the Pisa Jazz Festival (IT), the Milano Django Festival (IT) and the Barga Jazz Festival (IT).

Pj5 is influenced by English and Scandinavian rock, pop and electro bands, as well as the New York jazz scene. The band stays strongly attached to the wide jazz tradition and at the same time offers a modern sound where the melody thread is always running throughout the music. On stage, Pj5 sends out a huge sound, with an omnipresent melodic lyricism and explosive energy.

Sweet Dog is a three-piece music laboratory for improvisation and exploring new forms of spontaneous music composition. In real time, the trio gives shape to sound material that is dense and organic, navigating between imaginary landscapes that are at times minimalist and contemplative or savage and brutal. Led by charismatic saxophonist Julien Soro, Big Four quartet delivers an organic yet radiant music, between tension and release. The musicians give themselves free rein in a ‘safety-net-free’ experience, with immediacy, energy and unrestrained interaction. Beyond the sound remains the desire to create space with the music for play, communication and fulfi lment.

East and West meet on guitarist Csaba Czirják's latest album, Sun and Moon, which he recorded with his new quintet. While in the pentatonic melodies we can discover the Hungarian folk music and Bartók heritage, the harmonies are typically western and typical of jazz. According to Csaba Czirják's own confession, this time he did not want to make a virtuoso jazz record, but a material whose melodies grab the listener attention. With the title of the record, which in some places has a meditative atmosphere, elsewhere it tends to fusion jazz-rock, it also indicates the direction of the music, insofar as it targets the universal, beyond the earthly, material qualities. On the third album of the formation, which follows the 2017 Markoláb and the Emma, ​​which was released in 2019, all this is helped by unusual instruments in jazz: the zither, which Csaba turns into a jazz instrument this time. In the absence of Áron Tálas, pianist Bence Molnár will take part in the record debut concert, as a new member, Dániel Mester will play in the band on saxophone, Ádám Bögöthy on bass and Tamás Czirják on drums. After completing the Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music, guitarist Csaba Czirják studied at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. Following his return to Hungary he soon became well-known by his versatility in different genres and lineups.

  Mash formed in Vienna, Austria after András Dés moved to the city. Starting out as a duo the spark to discover new ways of playing music was the main reason that brought Mahan Mirarab and Dés together. The Austiran clarinet player Vincent Pongrácz was the last one to join the band. The three musicians have been proactive in searching for and exploring new ways of creating an original sound on their instruments and together. Mash aims to create an aesthetic sound within the context of polyrhythms and microtonality. Using maximum possibilities on clarinet, guitars and percussions, Mash creates simple yet sophisticated melodies. András plays the role of a drummer on his right hand and a percussionist on his left hand, while Mahan plays the bass lines with his thumb simultaneously playing melodies and chords with the other three fingers. Pongrácz who is usually moving between jazz, hip hop, rap, electronic music and free improvisation explores the possibilities of microtonal textures and soloing in this context. Over the years András has developed his unique percussion set and he is always looking for new sounds in a wide range from everyday's objects to the instruments with deep traditional roots. Notably using fretless guitar, Mahan specialises in blending the Middle Eastern microtonal system with jazz. By taking full advantage of all their options as players and bringing together their cultural backgrounds from Hungary, Iran and Austria, they aim to build a bridge between acoustic and electronic music to create their own form of contemporary jazz.

The D.A.S. Trio began its work in 2014. The team of young virtuosos aims to combine exciting musical elements and express their feelings in a very special musical language. They basically play jazz-fusion music, but their sound is influenced by the individual musical tastes of each member. The name of the band was formed from the initials of the names of the members. From the beginning, they have competed in a number of music competitions and achieved outstanding results. Despite their young age, they were able to work with such famous performers as János Nagy, Vincent Mascart, Luca Kézdy, Edina Szirtes "Mókus", Péter Lukács "Peta" and Mike Gotthard. In 2015, with the support of the Tamás Cseh Program, they made their first album, which was presented at several festivals in the country (Valley of Arts, Debrecen Jazz and Wine Festival, Szeged Wine Festival, Balatonboglár Jazz Festival, Váci Vigalom, Hungarian Music Expo, MÜPA Jazz Showcase). Since 2017, Ádám has been the bass player of the band, and the songs are mainly composed by Ábel. They give regularly concerts in Budapest and abroad (Romania, Serbia, Austria, Czech Republic). D.A.S. Trio · D.A.S. Trio

Szilvia Bognár, soloist in countless productions, is one of the most sought-after singers of Hungarian folk and world music. She appeared with famous artists like Márta Sebestyén, Andrea Rost or Ferenc Sebő, András Lovasi, András Berecz. So far, she has made six albums with her own compositions, ranging from Renaissance chants through children’s songs to progressive world music. On the repertoire of her new world music formation, the Szilvia Bognár Sextet, Hungarian, Gypsy, Bulgarian and Greek songs are played in an unconventional line-up and arrangement, as three worlds meet in the program – folk music, jazz and North Indian classical music. Preserving the essentially acoustic sound and the natural quality of traditional performance, they sail safely through a variety of different styles of music and traditional melodies.

The drummer-composer Balázs Bágyi is one of the leading artists of Hungarian jazz. The music of his latest formation is dominated by acoustic, contemporary jazz based on post bop elements. His partners are a prominent representative of the younger generation of Hungarian jazz: the saxophonist Soso Lakatos Sándor, the Junior Prima Prize-winning pianist Dezső Oláh, and one of the greatest bassists in Central Europe, Péter Oláh. The band has played at a number of European jazz festivals in recent years, as well as performing regularly in China - their collaboration with trumpet player Li Xiaochuan in Shanghai has been going on for several years. In 2016, their album Homage To Shakespeare with singer Kriszta Pocsai, was awarded the Gramophone Prize by the international professional jury. The repertoire of the formation is based on the compositions of the bandleader, Balázs Bágyi,who became the composer of the year in 2016.In the first half of this concert, the band will present a recently released album, Satie in Jazz (Tom Tom Records). The album includes a reworking of the works of the French composer Erik Satie, as well as compositions by Balázs Bágyi inspired by Satie's oeuvre and pieces. In the second half of the concert, the Balázs Bágyi New Quartet will play the album entitled 2020, which was released last year and also features the band's compositions.

Grand compositions, crunchy rhythms, improvisations, lyrical images and a hint of sardonic wildness: János Bujdosó and his trio roam the soundscapes of underground jazz and world music with a style of their own that is best characterized as “Byzantine surf jazz”. The trio presents their recent release, National Amnesia Institute at Opus Jazz Club featuring Hungarian, Middle Eastern and Latin elements incorporated into repetitive musical structures.

Having played in various ensembles Kalman Balogh has proved to be an excellent and highly versatile cimbalom player. The Cimbalogh Trio, which is about to embark on an American tour, is unique among Balogh’s ensembles in that it is made up of only three musicians giving each artist and instrument equal importance. Violinist Robert Lakatos, who is equally brilliant on the viola, is the director of the ever popular ’Rev Ensemble’ which derives its name from Revkomarom, Lakatos’ home town. He often takes the lead in the Trio. Csaba Novak on the contrabass, who is also involved in several other ensembles, is as highly regarded in world music as in authentic folk music. He is a sought after musician in both instrumental and vocal ensembles. The CimbaloghTrio plays as playful music as its name suggests – the name being composed of Balogh’s surname and the word ’cimbalom’. First they sweep across the Carpathian Basin and give a taste of the traditional folk music of all of its major regions. Their passionate ’szatmari’ is an invitation to dance while their ’klezmer’ later gives a glimps of the region’s rich and colourful history. This leads to a sensational finale melting traditional folk into boogie-woogie. Cimbalogh Trio’s performance is proof of the talent and exceptional virtuosity of its musicians as well as their self-irony and brilliant sense of humour. www.kalmanbalogh.hu

Two years ago, three musicians, who were also at home in theater circles, thought that they would call the sounds, rhythms and melodies they played in the plays directed by János Mohácsi to an independent life. They thought that the stringed strings of different origins, tearing apart from the system of a theatrical performance, could also come into contact with each other and tell further stories to both the musicians and even more so to the audience. And over time, more and more new melodies and rhythms emerge in the sometimes seemingly endless sound maze of the Trio Sordini. Composition and improvisation!Travel from everywhere to everywhere!More than an hour and a half of unstoppable sound streams in two parts!