In 1999 MATS-UP was founded with the idea of a group that combines both the broad sonic landscape of a chamber ensemble with the vitality and interaction of a jazz combo. Shortly after Le Temps in Geneva predicted that "MATS-UP will be the most important event in Swiss Jazz" and only a few years later, MATS-UP was counted among the "outstanding working bands in jazz today". The instrumentation with two horns and rhythm section still offers a large palette of unexplored musical possibilities discovered by bandleader and composer Matthias Spillmann. The band combines a rare sense for larger musical forms with a vivid spontaneity. Rhythms inspired by the heritage of african music and the romantic, sometimes abstract melodies out of Spillmanns imagination melt into a unique and fascinating musical language. On their brand-new album, entitled Ivovo, MATS-UP explore the sounds of South Africa together with the singer Mbuso Khoza. "South Africa’s music has always fascinated me. Little else influenced me as deeply, in a musical and a spiritual way, as the projects I had with South African artists as well as the concerts I played there. Jazz in South Africa has a significant value because it’s one of the very few fields in which people of different colours, ethnics and backgrounds cooperated on an equal basis, even during the apartheid system. Mbuso’s voice is totally unique and extremely versatile. His melodic ingenuity and his story-telling abilities are endless, his virtuosity not being a purpose on itself. Anything he sings sounds completely natural and fresh. In same time, he knows KwaZulu Natal music, that of his origins, like nobody else" - said the bandleader Matthias Spillmann. matsup.ch/projekte/

Franciaországban élő, nemzetközileg elismert gitárművészünk, Gadó Gábor ezúttal a magyar jazz középgenerációjának egyik legkiemelkedőbb szaxofonosával és zeneszerzőjével, Ávéd Jánossal közösen hozott létre új zenei matériát. Ahogy a 2018-ban a BMC Records gondozásában megjelent, Laurent Blondiau trombitással közös duólemeze, a nagysikerű Veil and Quintessence, úgy ez a szövet is a horizontális és vertikális zenei szálak szimbiózisaként jött létre. „A gitár egy polifonikus hangszer és ezen belül is nekem egy vertikális zenei gondolkodás adatott. Tehát az én vertikumomhoz kell egy lineáris sík. Jancsival megismerkedtem, és egyrészt nagyon tetszett a lineáris szaxofonjátéka, másrészt ő tud vertikálisan gondolkodni. Egész máshova megy az improvizációi során és az írásban, ugyanis ő tud gitárra írni. Másrészt én nagyon szeretem a kamaraformációkat és ezen belül a duóformációt azért, mert rettenetesen nagy a tér” – nyilatkozta az Ávéd Jánossal közös anyag kapcsán Gadó Gábor. A Whispering Quiet Secrets into Hairy Ears című, megjelenés előtt álló lemezt ugyanakkor egyfajta áhitat lengi körül, amely mindkét szerző művészi alapállásában fellelhető. Gadó Gábor szívesen nevezi a zenéjét fohásznak, Ávéd János saját szerzeményeibe pedig kódolva van a szándék, hogy hallgatói a saját gondolatainkon túljutva, a hangok között fellelhető isteni minőségeket, ha csak töredékességükben is, de meghallják. Közös zenei anyagukat gregorián dallamok, ortodox egyházi kórusok és Liszt-művek inspirálták, jóllehet, mindezek soha nem közvetlen utalásként bukkannak fel. Ahogy Franc Bergerot fogalmaz egy korábbi Gadó-lemez kapcsán: „Elsodor és kiforgat magunkból, oda juttat, ahol elveszítjük magunkat, és úgy elragad, hogy beleborzongunk”. Fotó: Huszti István

Modern Art Orchestra’s Legendary Albums series presents the most important and unique albums of jazz literature, performed by MAO. By learning and playing these compositions and arrangements, the musicians are paying tribute to the jazz legends and are undergoing an intense process of musical improvement. The band absorbs the material of the original recordings, sticking to the arrangements, forms and compositional features. As improvisation is the blood of jazz, solos are invented by the players in the moment. Due to the respect shown towards the original conceptions of the legendary composers and the level of craftsmanship known from Modern Art Orchestra, the Legendary Albums series both brings you the essence of jazz tradition and guarantees a fresh musical experience. Herbie Hancock’s debut album as a band leader was released in 1962 on Blue Note Records where the uprising piano genius had just signed a contract. Takin’ Off is considered the hard bop idiom among critics and musicians, as it revealed a way on which Hancock would continue to explore musical boundaries in the next couple years to come. Although Takin’ Off is arguably the most unorthodox album of Hancock, it without a doubt still carries the unique approach and personality of the jazz legend. The band speaks for itself as well. Dexter Gordon is in a streak of producing some of his greatest albums both as leader and sideman. Young trumpet player Freddie Hubbard had already put down four albums at Blue Note by ‘62 and had established an uprising trajectory for himself in the jazz scene. Hubbard’s impulsive and many times surprising hard bop melodies tend to harmonize perfectly with Gordon’s vocal solistic approach. Bassist Butch Warren and drummer Billy Higgins had proven their greatness as a rhythm section on several recordings, as well on Gordon’s albums. The remarkable band composition, Hancock’s characteristic tunes and his truly personal and unique approach to harmony and musical form makes Takin’ Off a must-have in Modern Art Orchestra’s Legendary Albums series.

"Improvised music grips human beings because it is illuminated by the vivid presence of myriad possibilities that were not taken." Tim HODGKINSON: Migraines of a Caustic Ear. In: Resonance, Vol. 6., No. 2. (LMC, 1998) The formation borrowed its name from the Greek language, where Ξενοι or Xenoi means ‘outsiders, strangers’. The word refers to individuals who have not integrated into a particular community, only enjoyed its hospitality for an extended period of time. At the same time, foreigners who had lost their freedom (slaves, prisoners of war) could not be members of the xenoi group, so freedom is the secondary meaning of the term.The performers of the evening also somehow feel the same way among the music genres: they have toured in many different musical fields, but they have found their home mostly in free improvisational music - this is also the point of connection between them. They have long known each other from different formations and have played together several times. Diana Miron, Albert Márkos and Laurențiu Coțac are members of a band called HYPERION, which deals with spectral music (a trend that explores and sounds the microelements of sound and their inner movement - ed.), with which they have traveled the world. The composer and electronic musician, Bálint Bolcsó and Albert Márkos, who enriches many formations with his cello playing, have been collaborating as a duo for a long time and regularly. In 2018, Bálint met Diana and Laurențiu at the Săptămîna Sunetului Festival in Bucharest. In addition to being a thorough acquaintance and interpreter of authentic Hungarian folk music as a violinist, Áron Porteleki is one of the most significant figures in the improvisational music scene in Budapest as a drummer and percussionist, so he also played a lot with Bálint and Albert. George Staicu, who also studied music publications based on free improvisation as a collector, will take the stage as a DJ in the third part of the evening. The performers take the concept of free improvisation literally: they venture without restriction between the genres they know and cultivate (traditional folklore, free jazz, church and secular music of old times, etc.). What the artistic attitude of creation in the present is, the doyen of free improvisation, was excellently articulated in his axioms by John Butcher. John Butcher: 15 Simple Statements on Free Improvisation – with Illustrations and Contradictions* 1. Group improvisation involves an attempt to make music that no one player could imagine. It should force the musicians beyond their own conceptions. 2. Each player should equally be able to affect the content, form and direction of the music at any moment.[…]4. Free improvised music is necessarily spontaneous, but is built on a background of years of study, experiment, thought and experience. 5. There exists the possibility of trying to play a music with no history. 6. Free improvisation shows that complexity is actually very natural. […] 15. In improvisation you can hear the human beings behind the instruments. (photos: Rzina Kiss, Albert Márkos)

Mischa Blanos is one of those artists who are tirelessly working to escape the tedium of composing around a single genre. It's boredom that makes him rage against the creative plateau; it's fatigue that drives him to immerse himself into manifold richly-hued projects. With each migration he brings something new into the next one as if hunting down moods, feelings and soundscapes in a nomadic way of life.  In Crossrhodes, he brings contemporary classical music from his neoclassical acoustic-electronic solo project and gracious patterns from his techno endeavors. Here you have a gentle Mischa Blanos struck in awe by the sounds of the clarinet, sometimes weaving around threads with his Rhodes, so careful not to touch the fragile silky core and sometimes lending a child-like hand smoothly guiding the story with his piano and synths into places of sincere curiosity.  Khori Ander embodies the alias of Horia Dumitrache, triggering the leap to cross the borders of the familiar. While the contemporary clarinet performer got his international kudos on well-known stages and along with much acclaimed classical orchestras around the world, Khori Ander is convinced that focusing in a single musical direction would make him feel a stranger in his own house.  In Crossrhodes he dives headfirst into composition and improvisation quenching that intense thirst of discovering what his wind instruments would sound like in the hands of a liberated performer.  Crossrhodes by Mischa Blanos & Khori Ander

Opus Jazz Club’s Fresh Folk series features performers who, based on folk music basics, create a fresh world of sound with a contemporary approach. Ötödik évszak (Fifth season) is urban music played with acoustic folk instrumentation. Their melodies evoke a melancholic, romantic picture of a city infused with the spirit of Hungarian folk heritage and the memory of French salons. Their music is born in an urban setting and pays respect to tradition, playfully combining these two worlds. All band members are true contemporary masters of authentic folk music. Building on this foundation they open their music to improvisation and the unique world of French chansons. Ötödik évszak was selected by the seven-member jury of WOMEX 20 for the regional Duna stage, and their first album, Ne rejtsd el!, won a Fonogram Award in 2021 in the “Hungarian World or Folk Music Album of the Year” category.

Elliot Galvin is one of the stars of UK jazz. A superbly gifted composer and pianist, whose maverick imagination and magpie like ability to blend a disparate world of influences into his own unique musical vision has been compared to Django Bates although he sounds like no one except himself. Elliot is a prolific composer and has been commissioned by a number of Ensembles, Dance Companies, Theatre Groups and Festivals including the London Sinfonietta, Ligeti String Quartet, St. John Smith’s Square, The London Jazz festival, The RESOLUTION! Dance Festival at The Place and the Theatre Company Cut Tongues. He works regularly with multi-media and in 2014 put on a multi-media installation piece at the Turner Contemporary Gallery, which consisted of live performance, interactive sound sculptures and film. The Elliot Galvin trio have released 3 critically acclaimed albums on Edition records to date, winning a host of awards and plaudits including Young European Jazz Musicians of The Year and one of the albums of the year in Downbeat Magazine. Their last album, Modern Times was a unique project recorded direct to Vinyl, each side in one continuous take, with no stops, no editing, and no mixing or mastering. They always push themselves sonically and creatively, having a unique style all of their own, while still taking influence from the history of Jazz and contemporary music.

Cryptic Scattered Images of Time Forgotten, the third album on the BMC label by the Trió Kontraszt, - which will be presented on this concert - is a musical memorial of pianist and band leader Stevan Kovacs Tickmayer. Like Sinbad, he roams through time, browsing through the chapters of his life with the expansive calm of bygone times, from his years in Novi Sad, through the time at the Budapest free music school, to his studies in the Netherlands, and this way free and contemporary music, dance music, and the jazz idiom all find a place next to one another. He is accompanied by credible witnesses: saxophonist István Grencsó has long been a fellow-musician, and Szilveszter Miklós, having been born in Vojvodina and embedded in the free music school, speaks the same musical language as Tickmayer: the language of musical multilingualism.

One of the first live jazz experiences of the young pianist Sámuel Baló was a Dresch Quartet concert, he admits, and now he plays on the Opus stage with the excellence of ethno-jazz as a colleague. The father of Sámuel Baló is the drummer István Baló, who is, among others, Mihály Dresch's old musician friend, so he was born into this atmosphere. No wonder that the musical experiences that have valued him since childhood are reflected in his music. Sámuel Baló studied jazz piano in Graz, an institution (Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Graz) whose main profile is the high-level teaching of mainstream jazz. However, his teacher, Olaf Polziehn, placed at least as much emphasis on conveying an approach that teaches openness, overcoming prejudice against genres. Sámuel Baló synthesizes these experiences in compositions in which the elements of hardbop and modal jazz form an organic unity with Hungarian folk music motifs. With his trio formed in the spring of 2020, in which Richter Ambrus plays drums and Márk Miskolczi on double bass, they present Samu’s own compositions featuring Mihály Dresch on saxophone at their concert in Opus. In 2021, they also won two awards at the "Jazz Showcase" organized by Müpa, winning the approval of a jury of international members.

"Artvark’s music is alternately meditative and exciting and has a very visual character. It never gets boring, because at the right time the alto sax players snatch you from the upcoming hibernation. It’s that playfulness, ever remaining musical, that is the characteristic of this musical ensemble. The music of Artvark sounds fresh and new every time" – Jazzenzo Cyriel Pluimakers on Trance "The smooth flow of rhythmic arrangements embedded in the African and European music traditions are moody and playful: a fertile ground for Rosie’s passionate lyrics... Together they form a lively entity with multiple dimensions due to the stirring saxophone solos of the quartet" – Jazzenzo on Homelands Away with chairs! Away with music stands! Artvark moves! Artvark stands for innovative original compositions, strong individual soloists and the adventurous groove of four saxophones. The quartet meanders through musical traditions, sometimes on the intersection of classical and jazz, while always soulful and with blues, and sways across the stage according to an improvised choreography. Artvark thrills, Artvark stinks, growls and sizzles. Rolf Delfos (alto sax), Bart Wirtz (alto sax), Mete Erker (tenor sax) and Peter Broekhuizen (baritone sax) blend their different backgrounds to form a unanimous, creative and unique sound; the sound of Artvark! On 21 September 2021 saxophone quartet Artvark released their 10th album Mother of Thousand which will also be presented in the Opus Jazz Club. Completely new music, inspired by the music of Arvo Pårt and Aphex Twin. Artvark has retreated in their self-built studio for the past year. The search for that one truffle has never felt so urgent. This time the compositions were not created at the individual desks, but in the studio itself. The quartet started to experiment based on first ideas. New roads and new sounds were the result. On the album you can hear original Adolph Saxes from 1860, very rare slide saxes from 1920, a baritone recorded with a snare drum between sax and microphone, and a whole quartet moving from left to right through the speakers. A dreamy world of sound and space, hypnotic patterns and genuine blues. A soundtrack for the ultimate road trip.

"Improvised music on high-level" – Music frames, Mattie Poels"Sparkling music where sound and silence are each equivalent and makes you feel small" – Music Frames"Powerful music without compromise" – Nederlands Dagblad Three generations of unique Dutch musicians find each other in a common urge to improvise in which aesthetics, poetry and ensemble play have a major role. The listener is taken to an almost dreamlike new reality. Under the Surface is a new Dutch band formed by drummer Joost Lijbaart (1967), guitarist Bram Stadhouders (1987) and vocalist Sanne Rambags (1994). Their debut album released on Challenge Records in 2017 was nominated for an Edison. The improvisations of Under the Surface are far from abstract and sound as thoughtful compositions; Rambag's voice rhymes, whispers and sings over the melody lines of Stadhouders and the subtle percussion of Lijbaart. The atmosphere is made out of silence and reveals the pure kindred spirit communion between the musicians. The universal language of music took the group to major festivals around the world; to Africa, South America, Asia, the Middle East and Europe. The fully improvised concerts of Under the Surface continue to be an experience for both band and audience. This experience can be heard beautifully on the live album Trinity that was released in 2019. www.triounderthesurface.com www.facebook.com/triounderthesurface

Modern Art Orchestra’s Legendary Albums series presents the most important and unique albums of jazz literature, performed by MAO. By learning and playing these compositions and arrangements, the musicians are paying tribute to the jazz legends and are undergoing an intense process of musical improvement. The band absorbs the material of the original recordings, sticking to the arrangements, forms and compositional features. As improvisation is the blood of jazz, solos are invented by the players in the moment. Due to the respect shown towards the original conceptions of the legendary composers and the level of craftsmanship known from Modern Art Orchestra, the Legendary Albums series both brings you the essence of jazz tradition and guarantees a fresh musical experience. Dizzy Gillespie: Sonny Side Up The 1959 recording published on Verve proved to be not only an explosive show of musical ideas and instrumental craftsmanship but also a memory of bebop and hard bop at its highest. The truly legendary wind section includes Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Stitt and Sonny Rollins and delivers both jazz in its most sophisticated form as well as the steamy atmosphere of a jam session.  Gillespie was not only one of the most prominent figures of bebop – right beside Parker – but also an educator of this musical language. The legendary trumpet player, composer and arranger proves that he is also a remarkable singer on The Sunny Side Of The Street.  As for the reeds, it is interesting to note that both Sonny Stitt and Sonny Rollins internalized the mechanism of bebop in the same environment and at the same time but their melodic output is essentially different. Stitt’s vertical approach to harmony results in a rather linear rhythmic soundscape, while Rollins is likely to deliver unorthodox ideas in his rhythmic conceptions and melodic shapes as well. However, they are both supercharged with the essential force of the blues. Sonny Side Up is an exceptionally round album as it includes almost every mood one can come across in 1950’s and 60’s jazz. And it is doing it with authentic energy, while remaining effortless and elegant, thus being unquestionably a jazz masterpiece.

Kamila Drabek Tercet is a group of friends who met at the Music Academy in Cracow. Now they are running one of the most creative and appreciated project in Poland. The music written by Kamila is full of folk and songful melodies played with rock energy and youthful grace. Their goal is to spread our music in accordance with two rules: be professional and honest! "The music presented here is by all means fully developed as are the technical skills of the trio members, and the minimalist approach is extremely effective as far as getting the message through..." – Adam Baruch. "Muzyka Naiwna is full of sounds of an extraordinary charm. It draws in and hypnotizes, however, avoiding any showy solutions (...). This is undoubtedly one of the best albums of the Polish jazz scene of 2019" – Jędrzej Janicki, JazzPress magazine The O.N.E. jazz ensemble performs an original programme consisting of compositions and arrangements of the instrumentalists who comprise it. O.N.E Quintet approaches jazz uniquely, drawing inspiration from contemporary music, particularly the genres of hip hop and folk. All five members of the ensemble are prominent representatives of a young generation of musicians who perform daily on the jazz, avant-garde and pop scene. As a band, O.N.E. Quintet are very proud that, as women, they are able to represent the Polish jazz scene and pave the way for new generations of women as artists. The main inspirations for the quintet are: Soweto Kinch, Krzysztof Komeda, Brad Mehldau, Zbigniew Seifert, Zbigniew Namysłowski, Adam Pierończyk, Charlie Haden and Chris Dave. In November 2019, their debut album ONE was recorded at Cavatina Non-Profit Studio and released a few months later by Audio Cave label (01.05.2020). In April 2021, album ONE was also released on vinyl. "An excellent album - mature, uncompromising, refuting myths, breaking conventions. And, in a way, groundbreaking – I believe that this release will shake the foundations of jazz” – Bogdan Chmura, Jazz Forum Co-financed as part of the multi-annual program NIEPODLEGŁA for 2017-2022, as part of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute grant program "Cultural bridges”.

Paweł Mańka Semiotic Quintet combines the freedom and rhythmical language of jazz with concepts of XXth-century classical composers. The repertoire of the group consists solely of leader’s compositions, in which dense, multi-layered and precisely notated structures serve as unique opportunities for spontaneous improvisations. This interplay may be recognized as a musical depiction of dualism of order and chaos, that seems to be observable in many (if not all) aspects of the reality. The quintet is distinguished from other jazz groups by treating the composition on an equal footing with improvisation, which translates into unconventional forms of works and the resulting great variety of solos. This combination provides listeners with a truly one of a kind musical experience. The name of the band refers to semiotics - a study of sign processes. The signs are a foundation of communication, which is a key aspect of improvised music. The debut album of the group titled Kubizm was released in July 2021. www.facebook.com/SemioticQuintet Mateusz Pałka Trio is one of the most exciting jazz piano trio in Poland, recognised for their unique talent in blending tradition with contemporary sound. The trio was founded in 2016 in Cracow by polish pianist, composer Mateusz Pałka, bassist Piotr Południak and drummer Patryk Dobosz. All members of the trio are graduates of the Academy of Music in Cracow. The group combines european folklore, jazz and classical music to create a unique style that excites, inspires and moves people in a charismatic way that is uniquely Slavic. It is with this spirit in mind that the album received it’s name Sansa. The trio sees delight and value in the smallest and simplest of things. However, Sansa like the trio has a depth of meaning and interpretation. It is a story about what it means to be human. Their music like life is a long process of getting to know those in our lives on a deep level. The group is searching for the most subtle of sounds in the simplest of melodies.www.mateusz-palka.com

Formed in 2014 and immediately caught the attention of jazz fans. The idea of the quartet came from the three Wójcinski brothers: after years of independent activities in various  linups  they decided  to  create a new band  and  invited  the  esteemed drummer Krzysztof Szmanda to join. Their compositions rely on "an effortless, remarkably peaceful development of a theme, which then evolves into a parade of improvisation, but one that is still within the frames of composition, making the listener fall into a kind of trance". Delusions - first album of the group, released in 2016 is considered as best polish jazz album in 2016 in critic's poll. In last three years, band successfully performed in Poland and abroad (Holland, USA, Canada, Israel, Hungary, Serbia). In 2019 a new album With all due respect was released and it’s considered as a one of the best ten jazz albums in Poland in 2019 r. in Jazz Forum readers poll. "The second album by the Polish Avant-Garde Jazz ensemble continues the direction the quartet developed on the debut recording, but it is by all means no less powerful and expressive. The four strong musical personalities are perfectly merged together to create a flawlessly tuned Improvised Music ensemble, which functions based on just about telepathic communication between the participants. (…) One of the most interesting aspects of this music is the treatment of the traditional role of the rhythm section: the bass and the drums are assigned totally equivalent credence to the trumpet and the piano and as a result become true partners of the entire process. Overall this is an amazing piece of music, which proves again that great Avant-Garde music can be communicative due to its intrinsic power of expression” – Adam Baruch. Co-financed as part of the multi-annual program NIEPODLEGŁA for 2017-2022, as part of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute grant program "Cultural bridges”.

Hang Em High is a music project of three musicians of different nationalities. Bond – who is recognized worldwide for the unique approach to bass – in 2013 picked up a 2-string bass and together with Lucien Dubuis and Alfred Vogel formed HANG EM HIGH. Lucien Dubuis is a non-conformistic multi-reedist, who has been an active musician in the jazz and improvised music scene for several years with more than 20 albums to his credit. "Chromosomic mingling of a touch of John Coltrane genes and the DNA of the Beastie Boys" is one way to describe him. The third member of the trio is Alfred Vogel, who is one of the most productive figures of the austrian jazz scene, and also active as producer, runs Boomslang Records label and Bezau Beatz festival in upper Austria. Most of the songs of Hang Em High follow rock song structure. Bond and Vogel lay down libidinous rhythms that establish earthy themes while Dubuis’ clarinets provides the off-beat, raunchy, bent-note melodic lines that often soar into ejaculatory, ecstatic improvised solos. Tres Testosterones (aka HANG EM HIGH) recently decided to kidnap norwegian retro-futurist keyboardist/composer Ståle Storløkken and shape their distinct sound into another dimension. This is how their latest album, The Kidnapping of Ståle Storløkken, was born. But don’t worry, at least no fingers of keyboardists were harmed. Ståle wasn’t forced to join the team of course: at a short but very highly appreciated sit in at Bezau Beatz 2018 the four men teamed up again in February 2019 for one-off show at Cinema Sil Plaz in Ilanz, Switzerland. The band went straight to record after that with Ståle enjoying being a hostage and fitting in as if it wasn’t the first time. "The four of us appreciate the companionship tremendously - and guess you will hear that in the music, too". Chances are high, that the kidnappers and their kidnappee will be hanging it all as HIGH as possible on the road again. www.hangemhigh.pl The Kidnapping of Ståle Storløkken by HANG EM HIGH

A 37 éve alapított, Krulik Zoltán vezette legendás Makám zenekar évtizedek óta meghatározó szereplője a hazai világzenei életnek. Akkor kezdtek el világzenét játszani, amikor ez a fogalom még nem volt ismert. Egyszerűen a tradíciók ismeretében és tisztelete mellett írtak modern zenét, olyan dalokat, amelyeket ma is több generáció énekel. Munkásságukat két tucat lemez fémjelzi, két éve, 2019-ben kiadott, Ady dalok - Budapest éjszakája szól címet viselő legutóbbi lemezükkel az az évben 100 éve eltávozott Ady Endre előtt tisztelegtek. „Ady volt az, akiben teljes lett az idő, aki megfordította a világot, a magyar glóbuszt, aki köré gyűlt a századforduló új nemzedéke, s akihez viszonyulva mindenki tudta a helyét – írták kor- és eszmetársai, pályatársai, mivel volt bátorsága írni az addig ki nem mondott tabukról, a lét szörnyű zavaros és véres élményeiről. Ady klasszikussá vált „nagy” versei mellett, mint a A föl-földobott kő, Párisban járt az Ősz, Őrizem a szemed, Adja meg az Isten – rejtőző kincseket is bemutatva megidézzük a költő és korának szellemét a szó, az ének és zene eszközeivel” – vallják az alkotók a lemezről, melyet ezúttal az Opus Jazz Club közönségének is bemutatnak.

A new international music quartet will begin its work together in Hungary during November 2021 with concerts and a recording session. The quartet aims to fuse a wide range of musical backgrounds and traditions into a unique amalgam. Grencsó has been the uncompromising leader of Hungary’s avant-garde for decades; Harnik is a central figure of Austrian new music and free improvisation; Vandermark is one of the most prolific and prominent members of the American free music scene; Lytton played a crucial role in the formation of Britain’s free improvisation movement in the early 1970s and hasn’t stopped exploring new musical horizons since. The ensemble will utilize compositions of Grencsó and Vandermark, written specifically for this group, to be realized through the use of pure improvisation. A tour in Europe, coupled with the release of their first record, is planned for April 2022. Burning River Melting Sea (Égő Folyó Olvadó Tenger) by Ken Vandermark / István Grencsó / Róbert Benkő

The programme called Pipers tells the story of four players – “clarinet pipers”, who have known each other since they were teenagers. It brings what they touched and found traveling around the world and in their lifetime with music. A story about Experience that is about meeting people, culture, landscapes and food and of course music. It talks about what the members of the band found back at home, too. It tells about their “lost and founds” while experimenting with mixing genres. It tells about styles and musicians they love and who inspired them. Jindrich Pavlis, the band leader:"We love the Czech and Moravian folk tunes, because everyone of us grew up in families singing and playing together. And we also love diversity of world music, of other cultures and national traditions. We love classical music of Smetana, Dvořák for their passion, Debussy for colours and Bach for timeless order. And contemporary composers for their courage. We admire Miles Davis as well as traditional big bands. We love rock or pop bands as Pink Floyd or Tower of Power for their mysterious energy and electronic dance music scene for their tribal rhythms and fantastic tools they use to make sound. Our compositions, improvisations and songs express everything we described above. And what is important, the genesis of the pieces is always a teamwork, just like the rock bands often do. Clarinet Factory is not only about precise clarinet playing, but all the members are also educated in classical music at the highest level, and they still play in top symphony orchestras and bands. But Clarinet Factory crosses the borders more than you can imagine. We are not only clarinet players.  All of us can sing or play other instruments and this sound experience we also entrenched into our band style and sound. We dig on all styles, make improvisations as well as compositions.  Vojtech sings and brings lyrics and tunes for songs, Ludek works on the minimalistic structures, Pepino imitates bass guitar, drums, or saxophones (and all together) on his bass clarinet. And Jindrich is the person who takes care to keep all these different elements and personalities together.  And all of us control electronics, loopers and various effect processors to make the sound deeper, richer, or mysterious". www.facebook.com/ClarinetFactory

As a saxophonist and composer, Kristóf Bacsó is one of the distinctive figures of the Hungarian jazz scene, with four albums of his own original music released in recent years. The most important of his own bands, TRIAD, has appeared in numerous countries in Europe, to great acclaim. One of Bacsó's partner is the Artisjus Prize awarded Áron Tálas on the keyboards, who, in addition to the piano, has a very sensitive feel for the Fender Rhodes and other electronic instruments. This time we can hear Attila Gyárfás on drums, an innovative musician who studied in Amsterdam and is familiar on the international jazz scene. Triad's music draws from both the present day and the Central and Eastern European musical tradition at the same time. In addition to the painstakingly developed parts, an important role also goes to shared improvisations. Triad's first album, Pannon Blue was released on BMC Records, featuring the acclaimed guitarist Lionel Loueke. The album won the Hungarian Jazz Record of the Year prize in 2017. The band is currently working on new material which debuted first at Müpa Budapest with Gilad Hekselman on the guitar. 

Ohad Talmor's voice as a composer and improviser is unique. It offers a powerful and prismatic music which dances between rousing passages to lyrical and poetic ones, seamlessly integrated into different musical forms. He came to New York in 1995 to study music and since then made Brooklyn his home where he has been one of the "movers and shakers" of the creative jazz scene. He can be heard playing with or composing for musicians such as Lee Konitz, Steve Swallow, Kurt Rosenwinkel Adam Nussbaum or Jason Moran. Talmor is an outstanding improviser and expressive stylist. In recent years, he has attracted widespread attention with the originality of his compositions and sophisticated arrangements, whether in his trio, sextet or orchestra. The core members of Newsreel Sextet are Talmor's long-term fellow travelers: Jacob Sacks (piano), Miles Okazaki (guitar), Shane Endsley (trumpet), Matt Pavolka (bass) and Dan Weiss (drums), some of whom he first met at the Manhattan School of Music where he studied Composition in 1995. Ohad Talmor: "The members of my band are friends, with whom I share a great artistic trust and bond. That's the personal side, which is very important to me. Just as important is the musical side. Each one of these musicians is a strong artistic personality, able to play the music convincingly – it's by no means easy and moves seamlessly between various genres: jazz, North Indian traditional and contemporary or New music."Long Forms, Ohad Talmor's Newsreel Sextet latest album brings together the various influences that populate Talmor's music universe into one coherent project. The music focuses on long form compositions with each piece based on a single idea which seeks to develop continuously, while giving improvisers the dedicated space to explore and connect the written abstract with their personal voice. The trio's new album, Mise en place, will be released on Intakt Records a few weeks before the concert in Opus, so the Hungarian audience will be among the first to hear its music.

The group, founded in 2002, developed a special sound for its composed and improvised chamber music by combining instruments, rather uncommon in jazz, like the Bulgarian gadulka, or the African array mbira with the more traditional setting of guitar, saxophone, double bass and drums. The name Ektar comes from the Indian word 'ek-tar'which means one string. Indeed, the five musicians play and improvise in such harmony as if they were all playing on a single instrument.

Gábor Juhász – the Hungarian guitarist famous for his beautiful melodies – presents a selection of the time-honoured songs he wrote in his various creative eras: in the early nineties, when he was a member of the Tin Tin Quartet and Pangea, from the period of the first records released under his own name in the early 2000s, while also including compositions written for his trio (György Jeszenszky - drums, with Zoltán Kovács - bass). "This concert showcases my joyful realization that my trio has become an extremely important entity for me" - said the guitarist / band leader, who will also perform standards in addition to his own pieces – standards that accompany and guide him like lighthouses as he sails through his musical career.

The spirit of two legendary Polish jazz composers is evoked this evening by three pioneering formations from the forefront of Polish jazz. In addition to Roman Polanski's film music, pianist-composer Krzysztof Komeda (1931-1969) is famous for his album Astigmatic, on which he broke with a dominantly American approach to jazz, replacing it with a European aesthetic. Zbigniew Seifert (1946-1979), who died tragically young, is known as a virtuoso jazz violinist, yet his music was at least as significant because of his characteristic "Seifertiian" style.The EABS plays music in a similarly innovative spirit as anno Krzysztof Komeda, to whom a full album was dedicated in 2017 entitled Repetitions (Letters to Krzysztof Komeda), rethinking his hardly-known compositions. The band is one of the Polish representatives of the worldwide jazz renaissance of the last decade, insofar as they, like some popular American and London bands, drew a whole new audience into the jazz genre by drawing inspirations from the underground scene.The twenty years old RGG trio is one of the most important representatives of Polish acoustic jazz. His contemplative music made them to one of the most acclaimed and sophisticated formations of the Polish jazz scene. This time, the material of the Seifert Project addressed to Zbigniew Seifert will be presented to the Hungarian public.The Atom String Quartet combines the potential of the string quartet with improvisation in a very open conception. In addition to jazz, they draw on Polish folk music as well as traditional melodies from many regions of the world, and even contemporary and classical music. They arrive at the Opus Jazz Club with material from their fourth album, Seifert, which pays homage to the jazz composer Zbigniew Seifert, in which they place the original compositions in a whole new context.

In the universe of ROUGE, three pigments are enough to unsettle known colors. Surrounded by Sylvain Didou (double bass) and Boris Louvet (drums), pianist Madeleine Cazenave takes us on a chromatic odyssey. We explore with happiness their multicolored spectrum, between the classic waves of Satie and Ravel and the hot-cold tones of Tigran Hamasyan, EST or GoGo Penguin. Their first album Derrière les paupières evokes a stormy crossing, an ethereal and delicate journey towards an inner sunny spell. With a certain ease, these musicians create the conditions for a contemplative and hypnotic immersion, to better drag us down to the heart of the gentle ROUGE storm. ROUGE · Extraits du prochain album

Created in 2019 by violinist Clément Janinet with Elodie Pasquier on clarinets and Bruno Ducret on cello, La Litanie des Cimes plays with long movements, seemingly slow tempos, and harmonic contemplations. Within this trio, improvisation is free and introspective without being recluse. The exchanged harmonies are constantly re-beaten by the repetition of the themes. One could almost hear agitated dialogues. It’s a blast of energy. Intimate jumble against common clarity, line vivacity against melodic delicacy. This very open music could sound like the soundtrack of a disaster movie about the end of the world, heard from the top of tall trees. Clément Janinet · La Litanie des Cimes

The Dalima trio was born out of a friendship of three musicians of different nationalities who met at one of the most prestigious jazz institutions, the Berklee College of Music. One of them is world-famous West African guitarist Lionel Loueke, who is known for her collaborations with Herbie Hancock, among others. On bass we can hear virtuoso Italian musician Daniel Camarda, who appeared alongside Avishai Cohen, among others, and drums are played by Martin Valihora of Slovakia, who for a long time was one of Europe's most sought-after drummers and has long been a member of the world-famous Japanese jazz pianist Hiromi. A common musical canvas for the three of them is jazz, in which we can discover the rhythmic and melodic motifs of West African music, but in which the passionate brushstrokes of Central European jazz and Mediterranean music are at least as dominant. This evening, Kornél Fekete-Kovács' trumpet playing enriches the already colorful musical paintings with additional nuances. Keyboardist Eugen Vizvary - who has produced more than fifty records as a producer and musician - surrounded by bassist Juraj Griglak and drummer David Hodek, who started his career as a prodigy, now also known on the international jazz scene. Compositional forms and themes defined according to their musical concept provide a sure break point not only for improvised solos, but also for joint compostion in the present moment. The formation, which has already toured countless European tours, elevates fusion structures to powerful grooves, the essence and beauty of which lie in their fragility. The concert is the closing event of the concert series of the Slovak Institute in Budapest entitled "Slovak Cultural Days in Hungary".

"The kind of folk that penetrates the wisdom tooth. Not with songs for tourists, but with dervish dances and the ecstatic shamanism of the mediums. Or a ritual execution accompanied by music" – Dmoon.ru “…wild and messy, like the soundtrack to the rave at the end of the universe… an East-European Kate Bush or Cocteau Twins… trance-like atmospheres that recall the likes of The Orb and Ozric Tentacles, with the band conjuring up huge waves of rushing sound” –Songlines Magazine UK"When asked what style of music we play, we are always in trouble with the answer. There’s no good word for it, maybe world music is closest to us, but it’s not accurate. There is psychedelia in it, but it is not entirely psychedelic. There is rock in it, but it is not rock. And so on. Musically, Siberian, psychedelic rock, lyrical music all affect us. We are inspired by everything and everyone who affects us on any level. It flows through us and your own music is born out of it. And the texts are about the torments, beauties, difficulties of everyday life, including death, panic, love" - said Annamária Oláh singer.

"Pau Figueres is one of today’s most talented and interesting guitarists. His mastery of all musical languages and a proverbial good taste turn his guitar into a fascinating instrument that expresses itself with the ease of a living being” Currently touring the world as guitarist with multi Grammy Award winning artist Alejandro Sanz, Pau has worked with names such as Rufus Wainwright, Sílvia Pérez Cruz, Jonah Smith, Mayte Martin and Carles Benavent to name a few. Blending Flamenco with the music of our century, Pau Figueres is an outstanding guitarist who tackles music from multiple interpretative angles, understanding guitar as a versatile cross-over instrument. Immersed in countless musical genres, styles and projects, his original compositions mirror his unique approach to the guitar and to music.

After the success of their first album Unmasked, Purple is the Color are back with EPIC, their second album to be released on the Viennese label Session Work Records. With EPIC, the fab four put together by the Austrian pianist come one step closer to the Jazz Olympus. Compositions by the other members of the band, Štěpán Flagar, Martin Kocián and Michał Wierzgoń, have contributed further to the vitality of the record, more so than on its celebrated predecessor. Whether a musical epic or the unconditional commitment to the diversity of post-modernism, Purple is the Color’s new album is about the playful synthesis of ideas. Purple is the Color’s new album tells a very individual and compelling story; a story in 10 tracks that also reaches a tentative climax. The result is intense, inspiring and beautiful. With their second album, the Viennese quartet prove that their presence can no longer be overlooked by the international jazz scene. Purple is the Color · Purple Is The Color - EPIC - 02 - Klamauk (for Jul)

If you talk about swing music in this Austria, you can’t avoid mentioning this band. Marina & The Kats have been considered the leading figures of this genre for years now. Three strong albums with music that invites you to dance to every note, and several concert tours across the continent, have turned the group, centered around singer Marina Zettl and guitarist Thomas Mauerhoffer, into an internationally sought-after act. With Different, the band, now a quartet, released its fourth album this summer. And as the title suggests, things are a bit different on the new release. Not only do Marina &The Kats now perform with three drum-sets – played by three out of the four band members – but they also break new musical ground. The new songs sound surprisingly raw and show a much wider stylistic range than before. Marina Zettl reveals in the interview with Michael Ternai, among other things, how this very diverse sound came about and what the “shared drums” are all about. (Michael Ternai)

Anna Szlávics and Tamás Rock founded the Cirkusz-KA band to perform their own songs. Berlin, Paris, Hamburg, Cairo, Rome, Brussels, Wroclaw, Sicily, Barcelona are just a few of the cities where they have toured with their own, Hungarian speaking repertoire. Their fourth album, White, Gold, will be released by NarRator Records in December this year. This thematic album features songs that can be related to the winter season, but at the same time these compositions are connected not so much by the theme of the lyrics as by the landscaping sound, which is also supported by meditative, sound design elements. "During the processing of the songs, we gave ourselves the freedom not to limit our minds to the possibilities of performing on stage. After making the record, we started to arrange the songs on stage. For December 11, we are preparing with songs from the new album that have never been heard live, but most of the older songs will also be presented in a new instrumentation. György Andi will play with us on violin, Márton Somogyi piano, Bence Pantali electric guitar, flutes, there will be a one-time, unrepeatable musical encounter" – promises Anna Szlávics, the band's singer-songwriter. The Opus Jazz Club audience will be one of the first who can listen to the new album material.

Modern Art Orchestra’s Legendary Albums series presents the most important and unique albums of jazz literature, performed by MAO. By learning and playing these compositions and arrangements, the musicians are paying tribute to the jazz legends and are undergoing an intense process of musical improvement. The band absorbs the material of the original recordings, sticking to the arrangements, forms and compositional features. As improvisation is the blood of jazz, solos are invented by the players in the moment. Due to the respect shown towards the original conceptions of the legendary composers and the level of craftsmanship known from Modern Art Orchestra, the Legendary Albums series both brings you the essence of jazz tradition and guarantees a fresh musical experience. Getz/Gilberto Producer Creed Taylor suggested that the musicians of the Gilberto band would get in contact with Sten Getz as the saxophone genius was already pursuing Brazilian music for a number of reasons. Because of these events, The Sound eventually got involved in the project that ended up producing one of the most-sold recordings of jazz music and also became the winner of several prizes.There is a fairly long list of specialities that could be mentioned in relation to Getz/Gilberto. One of them is the appearance of Astrud Gilberto, who stepped up as a professional singer for the first time on this very recording. Impressively, Girl From Ipanema was awarded a Grammy, which is just one of the acknowledgements the album has received.One cannot emphasise enough the importance of Antonio Carlos “Tom” Jobim. The Brazilian composer cherished the music of Debussy, Ravel and Heitor Villa-Lobos, as well as traditional Brazilian music. All these influences combined with jazz improvisation resulted in one of the most popular jazz recordings of all time.

"There are no sheet music, there are no notes waiting to be played, only a few non-professional instrumentalists and singers who, according to the teachings of György Szabados (…), bring to the surface music without civilization and cultural influences. (…) With traditional thinking, it is difficult to comprehend how music can be created without anything being pre-planned. But this evening (…) it happened. Following the example of the American Lawrence ‘Butch’ Morris, who worked out the method of structured free improvisation, Miklós Szilveszter induced the formation of sounds and handles with the gestures of his conductor's wand, he controlled it - he did not conduct it! - the vibrations of the movement of a freely improvising band, the dynamic enhancements, the intertwined manifestations of soloists and groups of instruments. (…) In the second part of the program, which was born from the collaboration of amateur and professional jazz musicians, György Szabados's well-known composition dealing with folk themes, Regölés, was performed in a relaxed atmosphere, with the joy of spontaneous music predicting the mood of the upcoming Christmas" - wrote Gábor Turi about Adyton's last Christmas concert in 2019.

The orchestra of László Dés, Miklós Lukács, András Dés and Márton Fenyvesi, which connects generations, was founded at the beginning of 2019. Their idea is to expand the boundaries of the jazz genre, which already presupposes great musical freedom. Relying only on their instrumental knowledge, their ears and sensitivity, they play without any rehearsal, without consultation, with the joy of complete freedom. This requires a great deal of external and internal focus as the musical product takes shape while playing. The themes, the structure, the form are both the product of the moment, and it is a tremendous experience for both the musicians and the audience, as the resulting music can never be reproduced in that form again. This shared experience is like a great magic, the magic of improvisation. Meeting four excellent musicians through their instruments, from concert to concert.

As every year, also this year the Dresch Quartet closes the season at the Opus Jazz Club. The classic - and already legendary, Dresch Quartet - headed by the Hungarian ethno-jazz genre-creating saxophone player, Mihály Dresch, this time with his latest record material, Árnyéékban (In the Shadow) released by Fonó Records, arrives at the club. Mihály Dresch's companions on this record are Miklós Lukács (cimbalom), Marcell Gányi (bass) and László Csizi (drums), while he himself plays tenor and soprano saxophone and the wind instrument he created, fuhun. Photos: Géza Barcsik