Ágnes Lakatos is one of the best-known Hungarian jazz singers, teaching jazz singing at the Liszt Ferenc Music Academy and at the Bartók Béla Music Secondary School. She has been featured on quite many albums while Covered by frost, her first release with her own quartet, came out in 2000. As singer of the East Side Jazz Company, she is heard on two albums – Bora (2003) and Fata Morgana (2006). Tibor Csuhaj Barna teaches jazz bass at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music, while at the jazz department of the Bartók Béla Music Secondary School he's teaching bass, double bass and orchestral practice. He is a member of several groups, has worked on more than 30 albums as a double bass player, being composer and arranger of six of them. Voice and Bass, the duo of the singer and the double bass player, has released two albums, Voice and Bass (2008) and Into the Groove (2013), comprised mostly of original compositions. The duo played concerts with the outstanding Israeli pianist, Ari Erev, in the spring of 2015 and 2016 in Budapest, followed by concerts in Israel in the fall of 2016. Their fruitful music collaboration is is to be continued now at the Opus Jazz Club. The music of pianist and composer Ari Erev blends a deep classical touch, producing an intimate, delicate and emotional style which is inspired by pianists such as Bill Evans, Kenny Barron and Fred Hersch, with an energetic, latin-oriented and rhythmic drive, such as those found with pianists Michel Camilo and Michell Petrucciani, to produce a mature voice of his own. arierev.com 

Composer, multi-instrumentalist, improviser and essayist, Stevan Kovacs Tickmayer, was born in 1963 Novi Sad, Vojvodina, ex-Yugoslavia as a member of Hungarian national minority. Since the outburst of the civil war in his native country (1991) he lives and works in France. During the early years of his music education he studied piano & double bass. Later on he graduated in composition at the Academy Of Arts in Novi Sad under Rudolf Brucci, and completed his studies with Louis Andriessen & Diderick Wagenaar at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague (Netherlands). At the Rotterdam Conservatory he attended lecturers of Witlod Lutoslawski and received a scholarship from the Polish Section of ISCM. From 1997 he studied at György and Márta Kurtág, as well as performed the world premiere of Kurtág’s Six Pieces for Trombone & Piano. Upon the invitation of world renowned violinist Gidon Kremer, Tickmayer was twice the composer in residence at the Kammermusikfest Lockenhaus (2003 and 2009) and Sigulda/Latvia as well (2009), where several of his compositions were performed as well as world premiered. Tickmayer's compositions have been performed by Gidon Kremer, Martha Argerich, Kremerata Baltica, Yuri Bashmet, Roman Kofmann, the Keller Quartet, David Geringas, Tatiana Vassilieva, Khatia Bunaitishvili, the ZoFo Pianoduo, Alexei Ogrintchouk, The Netherlands Wind Ensemble, De Volharding, Concerto Budapest, Seattle Chamber Players and many others. As an improviser and experimental musician he collaborated with musicians and groups as: Chris Cutler, Fred Frith, Robert Drake, Valentin Clastrier, Wu Fei, Peter Kowald, György Szabados, Paul Termos, István Grencsó, Mihály Dresch and The Science Group (one of the founder and composer). His recordings appeared on labels like ReR Megacorp, Nonesuch, ECM New Series, Leo Record and BMC Records.. 

“The trio’s most impressive feat is that its ambitions don’t inhibit the music’s accessibility” Jazziz (USA)“Wonderful music with very diverse repertoire, played flawlessly” Dave Liebman“Pericopes is a cleverly unorthodox trio, with an aesthetic outside of strict jazz principles” - Musica Jazz (I)“They do not discard anything, yet shift ideas almost like portraits of Picasso or Bacon. Regular Irregularity” Jazz ‘n’ More (CH) Formed as a saxophone-piano duo in Italy in 2007 by Emi Vernizzi and Alex Sgobbio, Pericopes has developed an affinity for melodic themes and unique compositional structures into a fresh style. They released three original albums, won the Umbria Jazz Contest and Italian TopJazz awards before collaborating with American drummer Nick Wight, forming Pericopes+1. Building on experimental, folk, post-rock and avant garde elements from European and American traditions, they released These Human Beings (Alfa Music) in 2015. With liner notes written by Dave Liebman and Enrico Rava, it earned widespread critical acclaim and prestigious concert invitations throughout Europe, the U.K. and USA. Pericopes+1 continue their inventive, postmodern style with Legacy (Auand Records), released globally on 2nd February, 2018. Legacy was inspired by alternative pop artists of recent decades and pays respect to those iconoclasts who bravely followed their creative vision despite extreme uncertainty. Layered grooves, colorful textures and tempo shifts enhance a clever, unpredictable compositional identity without distorting an acoustic sensibility. They've been on and off the road since December, touring to promote Legacy at the Parma Jazz Frontiere Festival and Ferrara Jazz Club (IT), Jazzclub Unterfahrt and A-Trane (DE), Pizza Express (London), and over 25 other venues, festivals and workshops through May. pericopes.it

“This unusual project can't be compared to anything else on our scene. It attracts by a unique sound, wide scale of expression and creative processing both of original material and transcripitons.” Jaromír Honzák, double bass player“I like very much creative people who work intensely and work on their original sound, too. This group is just a proof, that such people are to be found in Slovakia”. David Kollar, guitarist This fresh and young trio from Slovakia includes Michaela Turcerová, saxophone player at the Academy of Arts in Banska Bystrica, guitarist Štefan Szabó and Czech drummer Petr Maceček, both of them from the Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Brno. Their repertoire consists mostly of originals, as well as some unique arrangements of jazz standards and of pieces by contemporary composers. Their communicative performances reveal both meditative melodies and lively composition, coloured with a lot of improvisation.  soundcloud.com/szaturfi

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Holdjárat marks the debut of singer/actress Kátya Tompos as a lyricist. It's a collection of 10 deeply personal songs - a mystical journey into the soul of the singer revealing her thoughts and feelings with the help of her long time collaborator, guitarist-composer Róbert Hrutka.

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. Bacsó started his saxophone studies under the guidance of Dezső "Ablakos” Lakatos and Mihály Borbély and graduated from the jazz department of the Liszt Academy of Music. Later on, he further developed his skills at the leading institutions of jazz education: the Conservatoire de Paris and the Berklee College of Music. He lived in France and the United States for close to six years, but during this time also regularly appeared throughout Europe, as well as in Japan. He has tried his hand at nearly every style, including mainstream jazz, ethno and funk, and he hasn't shrunk from more experimental trends in jazz, either. Bacsó's old companion Árpád Oláh Tzumo is another former Berklee student and also studied under Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter. In addition to the piano, he has a very sensitive feel for the Fender Rhodes and other electronic instruments. A master of painting moods, Márton Juhász was selected drummer of the year on two occasions and, like his two bandmates, also studied in the United States. 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.

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In the hands of the brilliant Polish pianist, Marcin Masecki, the music that became one of the main pillars of jazz between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries acquired a whole new dimension, personal and inscrutable, but also pulsing, alive and contemporary. Ragtime, as interpreted by Masecki, is no revival music, but a new spirit born from the confluence of his personal creative universe and one of his earliest musical passions. Ragtime, the album released on BMC Records right now, reveals as many echoes of the ragtime tradition as hints and clues leading to the unmistakably European personality of the Polish pianist. He abducts from its time a somewhat anachronistic music, almost meaningless when removed from that historical context, and gives it a new life in our 2018, where it becomes something unique and valuable. Something resembling past melodies, but different. Something new. Masecki takes the music that fascinated him as a kid to his musical present. And he does so with reverence and admiration, but without concessions: the pianist is now at his musical prime and achieves a perfect communion between the rhythmic roots of original rags, his own personal approach to rhythm, and the setting of lines which meander fluidly over syncopated ostinatos that become effervescent and unpredictable under Masecki’s fingers. We find Jerzy Rogiewicz, his old friend and collaborator, right next to Masecki, as some kind of musical Siamese twin. The drummer is the perfect partner in crime for the pianist, following him in his flights and swoops in a dynamic and mimetic fashion, as if the drums were part of Masecki himself. And so the pair builds every track patiently, letting it grow and develop without the limited rules of old rags, making them upward spirals instead of circles. That ability to explore beyond the limits of an apparently closed rhythmic pattern is the driving force behind one of the pianist’s most brilliant features: his talent for improvisation. Masecki makes improvisation the ultimate discourse of his style, sublimating the longing of that nine-year old boy once he was who wanted to be the man sitting at the white piano. Eventually, Masecki has managed to become much more than that, because no one has ever played this music like this before. (based on the booklet text by Yahvé M. de la Cavada)

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vaczieszterquartet.hu facebook.com/veqop 

Founded in 2011 in North Italy, XY Quartet is a fusion of saxophonist Nicola Fazzini and bass player Alessandro Fedrigo. They create an original, exciting and innovative music with Saverio Tasca at the vibes and Luca Colussi at the drums. XY Quartet project passes through different kinds of music and artistic languages updating them to contemporary. The group explores new ways of composing with a quirk approach. For XY, to restructure the music form is an ethics to build-up the beyond-jazz. The "X" by Fazzini and the "Y" by Fedrigo represent two approaches, two ideas, two complementary artistic identities but also two instruments, like the alto sax and the acoustic bass guitar. Together they're the 'double F' of the title Idea F, their first album released by Italian label nusica.org. The CD has been awarded one of the best 100 albums of 2012 by JAZZiT Magazine in Italy and was positively received by the critic, allowing the quartet to play in prestigious clubs and festivals. Idea F introduced some techniques of the 20th century contemporary music to jazz music but reworked them finally offering a new genre. In May 2014 nusica.org announced the release of XY, the homonymous second album which has been realized thanks to a crowd-funding campaign. XY believes also in ‘open content philosophy’ and makes both music and scores available on nusica.org website; this feature expresses and supports the constant ‘work in progress’ of the band. On the very same year XY was awarded second best Italian group and sixth best Italian album by Musica Jazz magazine at the Umbria Jazz Winter gala night. XY Quartet’s third album Orbite was released on April 12, 2017 by nusica.org. The release date is no coincidence: on April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin was the first man to journey into outer space and complete an orbit of the Earth. To celebrate the event U.N.E.S.C.O. established April 12 as the International Day of Human Space Flight, in 2011. The eight original compositions on Orbite, are dedicated to those men and women who were the first to explore Space with their epic, dramatic and sometimes even tragic or controversial stories. Fazzini and Fedrigo, bandleaders and founders of the group, were born in the 70’s and they have lived the wonder of those pioneers’ space flights. They have thus transferred in their music all those distant memories which have taken on an aura of a proper postmodern myth. Musically speaking Orbite is a big step in the evolution of the quartet's musical language, going from jazz to contemporary music, from prog to post minimalism and from pop to the latest NY influences. To do so, they research and develop this new language in a creative and fluent way, putting together all these different musical codes in a very homogenous form.

Elena Mîndru is part of the upcoming young jazz musicians' generation. Romanian of origin, having a BA diploma classical composition obtained at Cluj-Napoca/Kolozsvár, she has been living in Finland since 2012. She completed her masters in jazz within the Nordic Master of Jazz program and currently is a doctoral student at the Sibelius Academy’s Jazz Department in Helsinki. As an active jazz singer, as well as a vocal coach, Elena Mîndru is also a trained composer. She writes most of her music, including pieces for symphony orchestra, big band, string quartets and many other constellations. Among the numerous awards received in jazz festivals and competitions around Europe, the most important for her was the 2nd Prize and the Public Prize by a jury presided by the great Quincy Jones, at the Shure Montreux Jazz Voice Competition in 2012. Elena Mîndru has released two jazz albums as a bandleader, through her own label EM Records. She has performed as a jazz vocal soloist with the European Jazz Orchestra, the Transilvania Philharmonic Orchestra, the Finnish Air Forces Big Band and many other significant bands in Europe. Elena Mîndru Finnection will be performing songs from their album released in 2014, Evening in Romania (EM Records), which is mainly based on the singer’s and pianist’s compositions inviting the listener to an exotic musical journey. Their jazz music is spiced up in an inventive way with elements of traditional music from Romania. Elena Mîndru is accompanied by an acoustic jazz quartet that includes violin – a special and distinct  flavor of their sound – which sometimes skillfully changes into saxophone, emphasising the multi-instrumentalism of Sampo Hiukkanen. elenamindru.com 

Fonogram and Artisjus Award winner singer-songwriter-guitarist Róbert Hrutka and Junior Prima Prize winner actor/singer-songwriter Dániel Viktor Nagy have been working together in a variety of theatre and music projects The duo has already performed at the prestigious CAFe Budapest Festival and played several other concerts, including tributes to Tamás Cseh and János Pilinszky. Their new tour, Tuned showcases their newest songs and some well-known hits including Without Your Skin by Keaton Simons and Sheep in an empty flat by Géza Beremény and Tamás Cseh in Róbert Hrutka's arrangement.

István Grencsó, the decisive figure of the Hungarian avant-garde jazz scene, is often a guest at the Opus Jazz Club as the headman of quite a many different projects. Just a couple of months ago he had tremendous success with a fully improvised concert performed by an ‘ad hoc’ formation, featuring among others Barre Phillips and György Kurtág, jr. This time he appears with Grencsó Collective Special 5, a group which can be regarded as sort of a 'fusion' of his Grencsó Open Collective and Trio Kontraszt, extended by a guest soloist of highest ranks. The thrilling two reeds / piano / two basses / drums line-up, on one hand, refers to the one on Grencsó Open Collective’s album, Marginal Music, released in 1995, while on the other hand, Trio Kontraszt - whose album From Dyonisian Sound Sparks to the Silence of Passing earned serious interenational success last year - is also ‘hidden’ in this line-up as an own entity. In addition to all this, Grencsó is accompanied by another soloist, the saxophonist-clarinetist and composer Ken Vandermark, who has been a long-time prominent figure of the Chicago jazz scene. In the light of the above written, it is no coincidence that this concert, on the contrary to the most recent one, will be preceded by several days of collective preparation in the Budapest Music Center’s rehearsal room, as this team of diverse inspirations is preparing a brand new material for this occasion. As Grencsó puts it, “an old and bold dream comes true these days: music with and without sheets, compositions written and spontaneous”. The material will be recorded in a studio environment on the day after the concert, which is expected to be released on BMC Records at the turn of 2018-19. grencso.hu kenvandermark.com 

The British-born Baroness Kathleen Annie Pannonica de Koenigswarter (1913-1988) was a warrior, a patron, a muse, and an intimate friend of many musicians. She was often affectionately referred to as “The Jazz Baroness”. For the Baroness, jazz was the embodiment of modernism, tolerance, and plurality - the “antidote” to racism and sexism. Jazz music “breaks all the rules” regarding social conventions. It has, in the past, and continues to articulate the challenges and problems of the jazz musician and his or her place in society. Under the motto “Strong Voices” the novel & exciting Porgy & Bess Stage Band 2017/18, a new project, the Pannonica Project hosted by Gina Schwarz, includes many of Austria’s most gifted and talented jazz musicians. In many ways their music and their very presence reflects the ideals that the Baroness held dear. For nearly ten years, Gina Schwarz has embarked on an exceptional musical journey. It has been an adventure along an unrestrained path, highlighted by both her imaginative and inventive composing and the exquisitely unique style of her jazz playing. It is simultaneously eclectic, articulate, authentic and marvelously accessible. With a warm, sensuous, soothing tone and an agile and expressive technique, Gina Schwarz impresses with her elastic walking lines and the sense of drama in her soloing. Her virtuosity is delicately nuanced in the collective and yet at the same time, imaginative, hopeful and melodious. After several successful CD release projects including Woodclock, Jazzista, Airbass and Schwarzmarkt, Gina was excited to expand her boundaries even more with the Pannonica Project. In addition to invited guests from different countries, strong voices from the Vienna jazz scene were also gracing the stage at Porgy & Bess Vienna, from the Autumn 2017 for a year.  Gina Schwarz entered the stage of Opus several times already with her different groups. The jazz club is proud to host her new Pannonica Project, this exceptional band which in May will also present concerts featuring special guest Ingrid Jensen (trumpet, flugelhorn, composition), who has established admirable worldwide reputation for her adventurous jazz styling. ginaschwarz.com ingridjensen.com 

“a felicitous match of temperaments, energies and signatures” All About Jazz, 2017 An Italian, a Finn and two Swiss engage in a joyful noise by drawing on their heritage mingled with jazz and a colourful array of music styles. Their personalities and artistry make for an uplifting and rich audience experience. Andreas Schaerer gathers together his ‘ancestral’ playing partner, drummer Lucas Niggli, with the Italian accordionist Luciano Biondini and guitarist Kalle Kalima of Finland. These four gentlemen each have their own handwriting and varying stylistic roots, and together, create music that is prickling, fresh, but nevertheless, familiar. There is a poetry to their programme, whether the jazzy Italianità of Biondini duets with the cool of Kalima’s electronically modulated plucks, or Niggli creates a tribal momentum as Schaerer mischievously scats in his own inimitable way. By twists and turns there is soulful heart, explosive fun and extraordinary skill in their shows. andreasschaerer.com 

The trio was founded in 2015 by Áron Tálas (playing this time on drums), guitarist Márton Fenyvesi and bass player Tibor Fonay, bass guitarist with the aim of creating experimental improvisational music based on genre-abridging grooves. The concert program, built on pre-composed rhythmic themes, develops itself out of improvisations drawn on elements of progressive rock, contemporary electronic music and dub. The trio plans to release their debut album this year.

Founded by its chief conductors Manuel Hermia and Kari Ikonen in 2015, Orchestra Nazionale della Luna has quickly become one of the most important orchestras on the Moon. The quartet’s diverse and highly original repertoire, the inventive and energetic way of playing of the leaders, based on the creativity of the rhythm provided by Sébastien Boisseau and Teun Verbruggen are fascinating lunatics and jazz lovers all over the Moon, and even on Earth. “Those who believe that everything has been said about the sax-piano-bass-drums quartet have not yet heard Orchestra Nazionale Della Luna: these four will shake their ears!” Jean-Pierre Goffin, Jazzhalo.be Manu Hermia is well known for his eclecticism: Coltranian with Rajazz, bop with his own quintet, world music with Murmure of the Orient and electro-globalist with Slang. But deep in his heart he has also a libertarian temptation as his trio with Manolo Cabras and Joao Lobo with the album Austerity, or his meeting with French cellist Valentin Ceccaldi and drummer Sylvain Darrifourq on the album God At The Casino proves this. No wonder we find him in this colorful orchestra.  Recipient of the 2013 Yrjö Award for Finnish Jazz Musician of the Year, Master of Music, pianist, moogist and composer Kari Ikonen is currently active with his own Kari Ikonen Trio and several other bands and projects such as Quartet Ajaton and Trio Toffa. He has worked with the likes of Louis Sclavis, Lee Konitz, Bob Moses, Ingrid Jensen, Magnus Broo, Vincent Courtois and Ron McClure. Kari has performed in South Korea, Japan, USA, Armenia, Turkey, Russia and 23 European countries. His playing and compositions have been recorded for more than 40 albums, five of these under his own name.  Sébastien Boisseau is one of the big names of the double bass on the European scene. After working on the instrument with Jean-François Jenny-Clark, he joined saxophonists Alban Darche and Matthieu Donarier, Martial Solal, Gábor Gadó, Belgians from Mâäk’s Spirit, Daniel Humair’s Baby Boom, the European Jazz Ensemble and a prestigious quartet with Joachim Kuhn, Christophe Monniot and Christophe Marguet (memorable concert at the Jazz Brugge Festival and CD on BMC Records).  Teun Verbruggen is one of the most active drummers on the Belgian scene: light-weight play for Jef Neve and Igor Gehenot’s piano-trios, but also libertarian adventures with Flat Earth Society, Othin Spake with guitarist Mauro Pawlowski or The Bureau of Atomic Tourism with Marc Ducret and American guests such as saxophonist Andrew d’Angelo. “We are dealing here with a true European-style formation, a perfectly welded quartet, based on a constant interactivity between the two soloists, but also within the rhythm section: Boisseau and Verbruggen are constantly at work, listening to each other, and sharing the obvious pleasure of playing. A music that carries you away like a tidal wave. To discover also in concert!” Claude Loxhay, JazzAround manuel-hermia.com kariikonen.com sebastienboisseau.com teunverbruggen.com 

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Where to begin? How does one describe OZMA? The group, whose members are in their early thirties, was founded in 2001 and is a sort of UFO in the jazz world where projets are created and undone as encounters happen… Since their beginnings, OZMA takes us on a ride. Think of Rage Against the Machine featuring Coltrane, Ray Anderson jamming with Radiohead or Frisell sitting in with the best New Orleans brass bands. The improbable is the essence of OZMA; a generous, creative and joyous mixture, exciting and adventurous, risky and captivating, as much for the wise connoisseur as for the curious neophyte. Then there’s the name, OZMA. Ancestor to NASA’s SETI project which, using enormous satellite dishes in the Nevada desert, tried to detect signs of intelligent life. Science fiction, the imaginary, the dream is not far away. It’s a clue, OZMA is enjoying itself… OZMA is also 15 years of voyages and endless encounters, more than 250 concerts on 4 continents, collaborative projects in Burkina Faso with Mandingo musicians in 2008, in Nepal in 2009, in Canada in 2010, the incredible transcontinental show of OZMA and Darpana, created in Gujarat in 2012 with Indian dancers and musicians, “20!” in South Africa in 2014 and, of course, OZMA Orkestra, elaborated in Alsace with an additional 6 horns. OZMA loves it! For their new, 6th album, Welcome Home, the joy of putting together the original line-up is tangible, with memories of five years of touring and an abundance of stories to tell: from dancing all night in the maquis bars of Ouagadougou to the old Soviet charm of the stunning Olympic Hotel in Minsk; from the wooden stage built by a dozen Indians just hours before their concert in New Delhi, to the Aurora Borealis they just missed while in the Arctic in Tromso, Norway. OZMA narrates… These stories of life give birth to songs. But the inverse is also true, the songs evoke stories…  Welcome Home is all the class and flippancy of five cheeky guys with masterful technique, a good dose of humour and emotion, probing, nervous melodies, pop anthems, formidable grooves, wild growls, whispered secrets, ravaging riffs, surplus energy, devilish jousts, counterparts with counterpoints, dreamlike countries and sonic explosions. OZMA’s Welcome Home is contemporary jazz, free and nourished by all musical styles, a condensation of all that music can offer, the “Ozmic” sound. ozma.fr facebook.com/ozmajazz  OZMA is supported by Drac Grand Est, Region Grand Est, Ville de Strasbourg, Institut Français, Adami, Sacem - Copie Privée, Spedidam

Bartók’s profoundly original musical language, linked in different ways to folk music, has had an inspiring influence on many exponents of modern jazz. The Bartók project launched by jazz guitarist András Párniczky two years ago is thus not without precedent. Yet in many respects it takes a different tack on the composer’s oeuvre, which transcends eras and musical cultures. Not only in the sense that in this combination the guitar is the only harmonic instrument, and the parts are to be played by various other instruments, but also because since the copyright restrictions on Bartók’s works expired in 2015, he has ‘interfered’ in the compositions far more courageously and creatively than his predecessors. He has loosened the shackles of unswerving respect for Bartók in a way that has enabled him to realize his own visions. ‘Bartók was a proud, sincere character, who brooked no compromise, who was at one and the time time a late Romantic composer full of feeling, and an incredible, lean, determined ethnomusicologist, who composed with surgical precision’ said Párniczky. At the same time, Bartók, referred to as contemporary even seventy-two years after his death, was one of the last composers not to exploit in any way whatsoever the opportunities afforded by electronics. One reason Párniczky decided to call his project Bartók Electrified was because for years he had been curious as to how these works, which he loved in their original form, would sound on electric instruments. Most of the music chosen is from Bartók’s short pieces: some of them have been translated into a jazz idiom ‘as is’, while others he has played around with considerably, using them as a source of inspiration. He has endeavoured to keep a constant balance between Bartók’s ideas and improvisation, even though the jazz impro in these compositions doesn’t necessarily happen in the same way as in the standards. In several instances he had to write improvisatory riffs for Bartók’s themes, but there are some pieces where there aren’t even riffs, and basically he and the band play free impro. from the booklet text by Béla Szilárd Jávorszky

By the time that jazz icon/bandleader/percussionist Art Blakey and his Jazz Messengers began recording for Riverside in the fall of 1962, Blakey had already been the spiritual center of the group for nearly 15 years. The unprecedented caliber of performers who had already passed through the revolving-door personnel reads like a who’s who of 20th century jazz. On Caravan – his first of several notable sides for the venerable label – he is joined by a quintet of concurrent and future all-stars. In order to establish with any authority just how heavy (even for purveyors of hard bop) the players in this band are, they need only to be named: Curtis Fuller (trombone), Freddie Hubbard (trumpet), Wayne Shorter (tenor sax), Cedar Walton (piano), and Reggie Workman (bass). With Blakey firmly at the helm, these Jazz Messengers deliver a scintillating synergy that doesn’t sacrifice intensity for the sake of cadence. The songs were recorded at the Plaza Sound Studio in New York City, on October 23-24, 1962. In 2007, the BBC described the album as “a slick, fluid, professional set of hard bop at its finest”. (Sources: Lindsay Planer, AllMusic and wikipedia)

Przemek Kleczkowski, born in Hrubieszów, in the farthest east of Poland, graduated from the Academy of Music at the Department of Composition of Education and Jazz Studies in Katowice. He has performed at jazz festivals in Poland and abroad. Currently working on his debut album, which he has already invited well known young musicians such as Szymon Mika, Franciszek Raczkowski and Patryk Dobosz. The music he presents is comprised primarily of his own compositions. Their strength, according to the artist himself, is simplicity combined with the elements of improvisation. Nastja Volokitina, born in Odessa, Ukraine. is a graduate from Vladimir College of Music specialising in jazz vocals, currently studying at Franz Liszt University of Music in Weimar, Germany. She has performed her compositions to great acclaim with both chamber music ensembles and large classical orchestras throughout Europe and Russia. A laureate of the prestigious Jazz Voice Competition in Montreux, Switzerland and the Riga Jazz Stage, Latvia. She performed at several international jazz festivals. Voicingers Festival, taking place yearly in Żory, Upper Silesia, Poland, lead by outstanding Polish singer Grzegorz Karnas, was born to provide the access to the most original and forthcoming music projects where improvisation is the axis and the key to ever blossoming freshness in music making. Besides working for the benefit of young professionals and those whose career has already been established, Voicingers Festival helps those for whom career in personal approach to singing is a path through life. Therefore the festival, besides concerts of renowned international artists, organizes also the International Jazz Contest for Singing Musicians, shapes young musicians through individual and group activities during the Voicingers Workshops, and provides a lot of further activities both for artists and the public. Since a couple of years the co-operation between the Voicingers Festival, Hevhetia Records and Opus Jazz Club of Budapest Music Center is developing to a strong partnership, both in forms of participating in the Festival's jury as inviting winners of the Festival to the Opus, like Martyna Kwolek & Early Birds to Opus' annual Hevhetia Festival in last August. The present two-day event is another step forward in this process. voicingers.com 

Alina’s music can be described as acoustic fusion of jazz, Russian folk, and classical music. Rostotskaya won, or was among the finalists, at several international jazz competitions: Moscow Jazz Vocalists Competition (Grand Prix), Voicingers (Poland, 2nd prize), Riga Jazz Stage (Latvia, 3rd prize and Special prize), Nomme Jazz (Estonia, Special prize), Baku Jazz Competition (Azerbaijan, Grand Prix). In 2013, Alina was part of unique reality TV competition, Big Jazz (Russia Culture Channel), where she stayed until the very last round of the seven-steps competition. She experiments with styles, sings both in Russian and English, and experiments with different techniques of instrumental singing (without words,) ranging from jazzy scat to modern classical vocalise. In April 2018 Alina Rostotskaya releases Flow, her debut album: seven pieces in different styles and moods, from Russian and Sephardic folk tunes, to Alina’s original songs in Russian, and pieces with instrumental singing. Recorded at the Mosfilm studio in Moscow, the album was mixed and mastered by the legend of European jazz sound engineer, Jan Erik Kongshaug, at Rainbow Studio in Oslo. The young Polish guitarist Jakub Mizeracki graduated with master degree from Music Academy in Katowice in 2017. He is a prizewinner of Grand Prix 52 Jazz Nad Odrą with the band Skicki-Skiuk. He has performed with many great artists including Leszek Możdżer, Adam Kowalewski, Piotr Schmidt, Jacek Kochan, Aga Zaryan, Adam Jarzmik. His compatriot, double bass player Mariusz Praśniewski, graduated at the Danish National Academy of Music in Odense, Denmark. During his scholarship at the Academy of Music and Drama, Göteborg, Sweden he studied under Anders Jormin. Currently he is a member of Danish and Polish formations such as the Jens Fisker Trio, the Łukasz Borowicki Quartet or the Grzegorz Karnas Formula. Hungarian percussionist András Dés has developed a unique percussion style over the past years. As a member of numerous successful jazz outfits he has been touring all around the world and has played at many important venues such as Carnegie Hall, Covent Garden, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, the Damascus Opera House, the Jerusalem Theatre, the Cairo Jazz Festival or the Shanghai World Expo. He has also composed several film and theatre scores. Throughout his career, Dés has been crossing borders between genres. As a jazz musician he has worked with performers such as Miklós Lukács, Elemér Balázs, Zsolt Kaltenecker, Palle Mikkelborg, Frank London, Charlie Mariano, Theodossii Spassov, Ferenc Snétberger, Jack DeJohnette, Gerard Presencer, Eivind Aarset, Mihály Borbély, Eric Truffaz and Chris Potter. His openness to diverse forms of art is not limited to music. Voicingers Festival, taking place yearly in Żory, Upper Silesia, Poland, lead by outstanding Polish singer Grzegorz Karnas, was born to provide the access to the most original and forthcoming music projects where improvisation is the axis and the key to ever blossoming freshness in music making. Besides working for the benefit of young professionals and those whose career has already been established, Voicingers Festival helps those for whom career in personal approach to singing is a path through life. Therefore the festival, besides concerts of renowned international artists, organizes also the International Jazz Contest for Singing Musicians, shapes young musicians through individual and group activities during the Voicingers Workshops, and provides a lot of further activities both for artists and the public. Since a couple of years the co-operation between the Voicingers Festival, Hevhetia Records and Opus Jazz Club of Budapest Music Center is developing to a strong partnership, both in forms of participating in the Festival's jury as inviting winners of the Festival to the Opus, like Martyna Kwolek & Early Birds to Opus' annual Hevhetia Festival in last August. The present two-day event is another step forward in this process. voicingers.com 

Violinist, composer, improviser and producer, Régis Huby definitely doesn't like generic classifications. His numerous collaborations are the fruit of encounters between the most diverse styles, from classical to post-rock or traditional hymns. Experimentation is his watchword in his quest for “new” music. His quartet, founded in 2015, is the object of new encounters and experiments, with musicians who have not, or rarely, collaborated together. As is often the case with Régis Huby, this project is at a crossroads, paths of writing and improvised, paths between acoustics and electronics, or at the crossroads of different styles, stories and cultures. Electro-acoustic chamber music in search of balance. Régis Huby’s partners in crime in this all-star 4tet are all top-notch musicians on the French and european scene, it’s enough to take a brief study of their websites below. regishuby.virb.com  marcducret.com  brunoangelini.com  michelerabbia.com 

On the present concert of jazz pianist Péter Sárik’s successful series he invited an internationally-recognized musician from Russia, saxophonist Oleg Kireyev. A master on his instrument, Kireyev is touring frequently and playing to appreciative audiences in Europe (in Hungary among them) and the U.S. Having undertaken many innovative and provocative international jazz projects in his performing career spanning three decades, Kireyev is “a Russian sax player with a reputation for hard swing and high excitement” as The Express and Star put it. “Incredibly good”, “soft and enthusiastic” or “stylish and top-notch” are just some of the numerous praising words that music critics from all over the world have written about his voice on the saxophone. He has performed at the London Jazz Festival, the New York Jazz Improv Festival, and the Montreux Jazz Festival, to name a few. Legendary musician Bud Shank says: “Oleg's playing is a marvelous combination of styles, incorporating a whole lot of players. I hear echoes of the 1920’s and John Coltrane combined with unstructured jazz.” olegkireyev.com

Bianca Gismonti was born in a family of musicians. Since a very young age, she would attend her father's concerts, accompanied by her mother - actress Rejane Medeiros - and brother - guitarist Alexandre Gismonti. Her house was full of musical influences, being also a meeting point for dozens of important artists whom Bianca got to know. At the age of nine, she asked to start taking piano lessons. Already at fifteen, she launched her musical career as an accompanist to her father, on various stages around the world for many years. Her piano studies carried on at UFRJ University in Rio until 2005, when Duo Gisbranco (a piano duo with peer Claudia Castelo Branco) made its debut, having since recorded three albums and two DVDs, with allied musical partnerships with the likes of composer Chico César, cellist Jaques Morelembaum and singer Monica Salmaso. Along these years, the habit of composition followed her footsteps as a natural path until, in 2013, she launched her first self-authored album, Sonhos de Nascimento on Biscoito Fino, with guest participation of percussionist Nana Vasconcelos, among others. After this record, she made international tours around Europe, Asia and South America. At the end of 2015 her second album, Primeiro Céu was released on the Fina Flor label, having since established the trio formation besides her husband Julio Falavigna on drums (who also co-produced both albums) and Antonio Porto on bass. In 2016, Primeiro Céu was released also by Impartment Records in Japan and by Quinton Records in Austria, allowing for a new round of tours over Europe, Africa and Asia, during which the trio's new album, Unveiling Seas (to be released in 2018) was recorded in Budapest, by Hunnia Records. All throughout, besides her own compositions, her fathers'repertoire remained part and parcel of her soul, being somewhat always present during the performances. Celebrating Egberto's 70th Birthday in December 2017, Bianca decided to put together a full set-list in his honour, with many of the compositions which became hallmarks of his career. Classics such as Palhaço, Lôro, Água e Vinho or Maracatu are included in the program which promises to captivate audiences worldwide in 2018.

“Life brought the three of us together one night in Budapest, seven years ago. In the course of a spontaneous and exciting converstaion, we became aware that we are very much alike. This similarity fundamentally stems from our devotion to free jazz. While we are all aware of our cultural heritage, we can also move away from it and step out into the realm of the unknown...The material of our CD has been inspired by Air Lore, the 1979 album of Air, the improvisational trio of Henry Threadgill, Fred Hopkins and Steve McCall. We warmly recommend this album to you. Through it, you will hopefully be able to trace the deep emotions and values inherent in our music. As to the Hungarian title, 'Ronggyá tépett idő' (Time torn into rags), this was an interpretation of the phrase 'ragtime' by the late Hungarian musicologist, András Pernye.”  The members of the trio are representatives of different generations, which also ensures that the team’s music and spirit remain always free. “Traditionally radical. Radically traditional” sounds their self-defintion in the inner cover of their freshly released album on Hunnia Recrods.

Natural sound of acoustic instruments, vibrant, rhythmic, compositions with rich harmonies, fascinating their audiences immediately – thes are the characteristic features of the music played by SAB-Zone, a trio, re-established by longtime musical friend two years ago.  For their second Opus concert, SAB-Zone invited Krisztina Bakó, the singer with a wonderful, sensual voice, whose performance is like a trip to the island of tranquility.

Details soon! facebook.com/bbquintet balazsmusic.com