The Párniczky Quartet forged a unique signature sound that originates in jazz, contemporary classical and Hungarian folk music. The band was formed in 2016 with the aim of playing adaptations of Béla Bartók’s pieces, as well as of getting inspired in their improvisations by Bartók’s artistic world. As Raphaël Benoit from Citizen Jazz put it: “Bartók’s music is airy and creates a characteristic space. And this musical space is what the Párniczky Quartet can grasp, and give back freely and perfectly. Mastery and fresh impetus for Bartók's repertoire.”  András Párniczky and his bandmates, Péter Bede and István Baló, played with Nigun, the guitarist’s other group, more than 300 gigs around the world, including venues like the New York Guggenheim Museum, Brussels Bravo Art Festival, Athens Technopolis Jazz Festival or Klezmor Festival Vienna. Marcell Gyányi, one of the most respected young representatives of his instrument not only in Hungary but also in Europe, joined them recently on double bass. Their first album, Bartók Electrified, mentioned by W. Royal Stokes (Jazz Times, The Washington Post) as one of the notable releases of 2018, was released on BMC Records. “Bartók Electrified is a consistent, great continuation of the outstanding composer of modern music.”  wrote Mathias Bäumel in JazzZeitung about the album. Its repertoire was performed with the collaboration of Frank Möbus and Daniel Erdmann at the MÜPa, while recently the quartet has been touring with Carlos Bica and Dejan Terzic. parniczkyandras.hu facebook.com/Parniczky.Quartet  This concert is supported by NKA Hangfoglaló Program.

“Blaser is one of the most globally recognized performers on his instrument.” Berliner Zeitung At a time when there are more musicians in the world trying to be heard than ever before, rare gems like Samuel Blaser seem, paradoxically, to rise above it all. Since his 2007 debut as a leader, Blaser has grown at an almost incomprehensible rate, from straight-ahead hard bopper in his mid-twenties to innovative free player and ever-searching composer and bandleader in his early thirties, one whose improvisational strength has received high praise from media the world over. He has achieved a rare prominence as one of his generation's most wildly elegant, relentlessly forward-thinking and undeniably virtuous trombonists. With a history of work in Switzerland, NY and Berlin, Blaser brings now his multi-national trio with avant improvising guitarist Marc Ducret and drummer Peter Bruun to the stage of Opus for a set of extended improvisations, all three players displaying a unique language of incisive and fascinating free jazz. The Samuel Blaser Trio has played together extensively in recent years, developing a kinetic language and an active sense of restrained interplay, with each capable of taking one of the other’s musical ideas and pressing it into action. The shape-shifting trio can march, tumble, groove, simmer or flare up, depending on the needs of the moment. Since 2013 the trio has performed over 100 shows in Europe, North America, South America and Asia including the Willisau Jazz Festival, Switzerland; Jazzdor Festival, France; Atlantique Jazz Festival, France; Umea Jazz Festival, Sweden; Cheltenham Jazz Festival, UK; London Jazz Festival, UK; Jazz Jantar, Poland; Sarajevo Jazz Festival, Bosnia; What’s Next, Netherlands; Shenzhen Jazz Festival, China and the Guangzhou Jazz Festival, China. samuelblaser.com 

“The joint project of the two most outstanding reed players of Hungarian world jazz, Mihály Borbély and Mihály Dresch, creates a new quality that simply cannot be described with the usual terms or definitions of the genre. The occasionally melancholic musical world they share is characterized by genuine taste and emotional richness in the use of elements taken from jazz as well as from motifs of the Carpathian Basin’s folk music.” Dániel Végh, Fidelio

Jorge Torrecillas Ensamble, established in mid-2011, was born with the aim to create original compositions by experimenting with new timbral and rhythmic possibilities of established patterns from contemporary jazz, avant-garde, new music and collective improvisation. Counterpoint, polytonality and polymodality play important role in these compositions along with elements of serial music. Although these features may be more typical in contemporary music, the Ensamble effortlessly combines them with jazz ‘grooves’. A lot of free improvisation allows the musicians further means of artistic creation, based on their intuition and skills.  After the 2013 self-produced release of their debut, Indigo, they toured intensively in Argentina and Uruguay, while their 2017 sophomore album, Una búsqueda infinita issued on Discordian Records, Barcelona, brought them the possibility to play already on the European continent as well. Una búsqueda infinita by Jorge Torrecillas Ensamble

The Szilárd Mezei Quartet was formed in 2017 as an expanded formation of the Szilárd Mezei Trio, active since 2000, when vibraphone player Ivan Burka from Novi Sad joined the trio of Szilárd Mezei - Ervin Malina - István Csík. Their repertoire consists of Szilárd Mezei’s compositions, where improvisation plays a major role. The quartet’s music covers a wide spectrum ranging from completely free improvisation to strictly written compositions, based on Hungarian folk music, contemporary music and modern jazz, with the distinctive sound provided by the two strings / two percussions line-up, where each member takes part as a soloist. The members of the trio are also members of Mezei’s larger formations – quintet, septet, ensemble – some of them familiar already to visitors of the Opus Jazz Club as well. They have given concerts in several European cities, like Belgrade, Novi Sad, Budapest, Krakow, Graz, Klagenfurt, Ljubljana, Sibiu, Győr, Kanjiža, just to name a few.  facebook.com/Szilárd-Mezei-Quartet  This concert is supported by NKA Hangfoglaló program.

„Every piece is an experience!” Albert Hosp, Radio Ö1 Both Lorenz Raab (Volksoper Vienna, XY-Band, Bleu, Helbock/Raab, etc) and Christof Dienz (Die Knoedel, Quadrat:sch, XY-Band, Phace, etc) are very well known musicians of the Viennese music scene. After having a very long-time musical relationship in many different bands and ensembles they recently founded RaaDie, a duo where trumpet meets e-zither and electronics. Their compositions flow quietly, with endless melodies of the trumpet accompanied by filigree sounds and rhythms from the e-zither, giving enough time for dramaturgic development with a lot of free space for improvisation. Despite the bare-boned lineup the music of RaaDie opens big spaces and the audience might have the feeling both musicians play more instruments simultaneously. Vast Potential, the duo’s debut-album was released in the beginning of 2019 on the Berlin-based Traumton label. lorenzraab.at dienz.at 

“Decades ago the deep energies of the music of the John Coltrane Quartet deeply impressed me and determined my musical way of thinking. Nowadays I am refreshed and recharged with similar feelings and energies from the music of the fearlessly rebellious and protesting bands of the 60's and 70's. These energies – I believe it is not worth going on stage without them – and my experiences of more than four decades, my commitment to freedom and free music, the active participation of my fellow musicians give the final forms of the pieces and concerts of the W69 band.”  István Baló One and a half years ago, the successful concert of W69 at the Opus was recorded. From this material Márton Fenyvesi edited and mixed the group’s debut album, to be released on Hunnia Records on tday of the present concert. To highlight this special occasion, the quartet invited also saxophonist Kristóf Bacsó for a guest appearance on the concert. This concert is supported by NKA Hangfoglaló Program.

Kamil Piotrowicz Sextet was established by Polish pianist and composer of the young jazz generation, Kamil Piotrowicz. The band released two albums, Popular Music (2016) and Product Placement (2018), both nominated for the Polish Phonographic Academy’s Fryderyk award - the Polish equivalent of a Grammy. “While Popular Music was a show of Piotrowicz as a composer, by now the musician has become a charismatic bandleader, drawing inspiration from the possibilities provided by his colleagues. Although Product Placement is another proof of the scale of his talent, he first of all makes us aware of the unlimited prospects of the collective he manages. Product placement is a marketing tool, appealing to the subconscious of the recipient, on the album, however, he placed much more than just catchy sounds intended to be memorable for listeners. This is an uncompromising attempt to define your own language of music without genre boundaries. The attempt is most successful.” wrote the renowned Polish magazine JazzPRESS about the new album, which will be presented at Opus. The group played at the most important festivals in Poland, like Jazz Jantar in Gdańsk, Jazz nad Odrą in Wrocław, Jazz Jamboree in Warsaw, Summer Jazz Academy in Łódź or Komeda Jazz Festival in Słupsk. The band's music is based on original compositions of the leader. kamilpiotrowicz.com

It is no exaggeration to declare that Kasia Pietrzko is one of Poland’s most talented young pianist, who switched from classical music to jazz after an encounter with Aaron Parks in New York. Her debut album, Forthright Stories, was released in December 2017 and was immediately nominated for the prestigious Fryderyk Award, highlighting her sincere, heartfelt play and her receptivity to new musical trends. Pietrzko’s complex compositions carry the traditions of renowned piano trios such as the Brad Mehldau Trio or the Esbjörn Svensson Trio, but she feels at home in the more abstract world of Kenny Werner as well, and it is impossible to break away from her lyrical improvisations. “Forthright Stories are fragments of various extreme emotions, important moments of my life and breakthroughs. Forthright Stories is a palette of colors enchanted in monochromatic, seemingly banal, esthetics.The simplicity of black and white and its profundity are building graphical consonance with sounds, resulting in a meta-entity (lub zamiast “a meta-entity” “an entity”). This album is my invitation to you, to discover elusive Forthright Stories.For me, the most important element of the creation is authenticity and sincerity.In painting a verbal impression concerning the music created by the Kasia Pietrzko Trio, it’s important to point out the freshness, clarity and transparency of the compositions. Moreover, the group’s playing is characterized by care for a high-quality sound. What’s most important in the group’s artistic creations are emotions, which become the overriding meta-language in their musical tale. Forthright Stories are genuinely a reflection of intentions which have accompanied me incessantly, throughout the creation of this album. These are fragments of many intense emotions, important moments in life, breakthroughs and, ultimately, a palette of enchanting colors within a seemingly monochromatic, banal aesthetic. The simplicity of black and white – and at the same time their enormous depth – graphically form, together with the sounds on the album, an entirety, a whole which I place in your hands, to convey a heartfelt invitation to discover something difficult to grasp in our native language, ‘Forthright Stories’. The most essential elements in creating are authenticity and honesty.”  Kasia Pietrzko kasiapietrzko.com

“Entropy despite all appearances is not chaos – it's freedom in chaos and chaos in freedom.”  That's the motto of Entropia Ensemble, a quartet formed in 2016 in Łódź. They turn chaos into strength, forming their stylistically diverse compositions to highly individual, distinct and accessible creations in an endless search for their own self. The quartet’s debut album was released on Alpaka Records in November 2018. “Entropia Ensemble is proof of the exceptional musical consciousness and maturity of these four young musicians. It is not just a thoroughly conceived music. What can be felt is youthful energy, passion and most of all, the immense joy of playing together (passionate jamming in Łódź clubs has paid off after all). I dare to say that Entropia Ensemble is the cream of the crop among Polish jazz albums of 2018” - wrote Jędrzej Janicki about the album in Jazz Press magazine. Marcin Pater Trio is a group of three friends, alumni of the Faculty of Jazz and Popular Music of Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice, Poland. The idea of forming the trio was born on initiative of the vibraphonist Marcin Pater. They primarily play Pater’s compositions which oscillate around widely understood jazz. Their music is characterized by light and lilting melodies played by the vibraphone, which as leading instrument gives them an original sound, making the band quite unconventional. The Marcin Pater Trio has won the Grand Prix at the Jazz Juniors Contest in 2018 in Cracow, Poland. They have won both the first prize as well as the best composition for their piece, Take Down at the Sibiu Jazz Contest in Romania. Additionally, they were honored with the first place on RCK PRO Jazz Festival in Kołobrzeg, Poland, and they were finalists of the B-Jazz International Contest in Leuven, Belgium. facebook.com/marcinpatertrio facebook.com/entropia.ensemble   

Akin musical interest, openness, similar vision and secession from the creative workday life, spent with tight-kept wings, turn the common improvisation to a celebration, resembling to a free soaring where Nothing-but-Nothing has been discussed but the time to be spent with playing. In the symbiosis of the trio, togetherness is the only source of inspiration for their gliding music. Though this musical retreat, based on contemporary improvisation techniques, may be a fragile flying modus, the participants speak a common language and hear each other on the right way. Cherubs have four faces, Kerub just three. Perhaps the fourth one is an Ancestor invoked by them – speaking in their tongues. This concert is supported by NKA Hangfoglaló Program.

Experimental electronic and contemporary music, free jazz, free improvisations and ethno-jazz have all their place in the signature sound of the Grencsó Open Collective, a quartet working together for years already. Sleaziness and tension, enormous energies and mystical restraint, short etchings alternating with large-scale pieces, simplicity and virtuosity of folk songs form a whole in their dynamic and rhythmic performance. This concert is supported by NKA Hangfoglaló Program.

Austrian band Shake Stew has become something of a phenomenon. With their premiere at Jazzfestival Saalfelden 2016 and their following debut The Golden Fang they seemingly exploded into the scene out of nowhere. Since then their high energy mixture of hypnotic afrobeat and jazz grooves has made them enormously successful not only on home turf but across Europe. Led by rising star bassist Lukas Kranzelbinder they quickly became one of the hottest live acts on the circuit, while the impact of their second album Rise and Rise again (featuring Shabaka Hutchings) enabled them to spread their unique sound further afield, including an extensive tour of Canada, Mexico, Morocco and stand out shows at prestigious festivals like Montreal, Rochester and North Sea Jazz Festival. The band has also attracted the attention of Germany’s leading newspaper Die Zeit who, in an unusual move, sent one of its writers to spend 5 days with them to cover the formations summer residence at Jazzclub Unterfahrt; the resulting feature was euphoric in its praise: “What I heard blew me away. Captivating rhythms, melting brass, hypnotic funk-beat-swing-afro-jazz-rock-rhythm-and-something. I was glued to my seat and could barely get up. […] Meanwhile I know that other listeners had similar initiation experiences; something comes from this band that is new and special - and very attractive.”  Anyone who had the chance to witness the first station of the septet’s exclusive 4-concerts mini-tour with Shabaka Hutchings at the Opus Jazz Club, preceding the album’s recording sessions, can confirm this. Riding on all this success Shake Stew are now preparing to release their third studio album Gris Gris on 1 November. Not content to do anything by halves (their first single was 19 minutes long), Gris Gris is a double album of what they do best: A high-octane mix of fiery jazz and trance-like groove injections combined with mysterious soundscapes and spiritual free jazz eruptions - or as one Austrian newspaper described them “an intergalactic road movie for the ears!” shakestew.com facebook.com/shakestew youtube.com/shakestew 

“To speak of musical categories or crossover for that matter is obsolete. Every single song stands as it is as an original work of art and is therefore suited for opening up the barriers between rusty structures of thought.”  Südostschweiz, CH – 12.3.2018 “Lia Pale fits into this model like no other: her wonderful jazz voice is fragile and determined, earthy and expressive, challenging and flattering, and can turn supposedly sober themes of classical music or poetry into genuine musical plays.”  soultrain.de, D – 01/2018 After Schubert’s Winterreise (performed at the Opus in April 2014) and an album with songs by Schumann, singer Lia Pale and pianist/arranger mathias rüegg present their reading (in English) of 15 Brahms songs as the keystone of a trilogy where the classical model and the interpretation of a long-experienced jazz tradition shine through one another with the same iridescent and irritating light. Even with all the beautiful solos of Joris Roelofs, Ingrid Oberkanins and Johannes Strasser, they are no ‘jazzed-up songs’, but witty arrangements close to the originals, yet at a smart distance from them. Which means that the originals in Pale’s even, finely vibrating voice never tip over into the sentimental, even though the originals, especially the texts by Eichendorff, suggest a longing for lost homelands. Already in 1993 mathias rüegg reacted to some Schubert hits in an album of his Vienna Art Orchestra. In Schumann’s songs he was fascinated by the endings and the sometimes far-reaching harmony. Now Brahms, he says, goes furthest rhythmically, and a special challenge are his simply ingenious children’s and folk songs. The screening of songs like Heideröschen, Sandmännchen or Mondnacht is a great pleasure. And, last but not least, whets your appetite for a comparison with the originals. liapalemusic.com 

“(...) one of the greatest Jazz singers in Europe (...), weave elements of Swing, African music, blues and even hip-hop edges into an entirely unpredictable and engaging avant-groove like nothing you’ve heard before.”  Katie Bull, The New York City Jazz Record“(...) it can be stated without reservation, that the Trio Rom Schaerer Eberle is one of the leading ensembles of alternative Jazz (...)”  Sound & Image“A guitarist, a vocalist and a trumpet player coming together to play as a trio is extraordinary in it´s own right. And if the performance is as competent, fresh, imaginative, artful, virtuosic and aggressive (...) a small sensation turns into a big one.”  Tom Gsteiger Emerging from JazzWerkstatt Wien and Jazzwerkstatt Bern the Ensemble Rom-Schaerer-Eberle was founded in 2009. “Full of wit and imagination” this “furious cooperation” with the unusual line-up of voice, trumpet and guitar has made its mark on the European Jazz Scene – “at times lyrical and performing with virtuosity at times percussive and explosive”. Their CDs Please Don’t Feed The Model and At The Age Of Six I Wanted To Be A Cook have received high critical acclaim, leading to concerts at Cullyjazz, London, Paris, Buenos Aires, Rome, Berlin, Zurich, Prague and many more, including their unforgettable gigs at the Opus Jazz Club in January 2014 and September 2016.  romschaerereberle.com de-de.facebook.com/romschaerereberle 

The Jazzlab Orchestra is a Montreal-based ensemble of 8 musicians that presents creative music since 2003 – the Orchestra celebrates this year its fifteenth anniversary. This collective of artistic collaboration has produced many projects over the years, but always working with top players of the Montreal jazz scene. After 6 albums and more than 250 concerts around the world, the Jazzlab now presents Quintessence, the music of composer and pianist Félix Stüssi. On the menu: a refined musical experience exploring the essence of jazz itself. “15 years ago, double bassist and Effendi Records founder Alain Bédard created the Jazzlab Orchestra. To highlight this feat pianist Félix Stüssi wrote nine compositions that capture the essence of the band’s path. A staple of the Montreal and Quebec jazz scene, standing out over the years with their compositions, the Jazzlab lays down some pretty invigorating jazz that recalls Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers in the 50s-60s as well as modernism, and all created in good taste. Alain Bédard and his accomplices, as their name states, are a laboratory of ideas, and go the whole nine yards. Quintessence features adventurous compositions and great musicians and is a pleasure to listen to.” Christophe Rodriguez, CDJAZZ alainbedardauguste.com/jazzlab

The versatile saxophone and flutist, Eszter Pozsár, who has been at the Opus several times with her Trans-Formation Quartet, has recently set up a new trio under the name Contempo. Their debut album, Appassionato, released in March, had its premiere at the Opus Jazz Club. Contempo combines a wide range of music, including classical, jazz and folk music. During the ECLECTIC concerts, saxophonists Mihály Borbély and Levente Puskás, both emblematic representatives of these genres, join the Contempo trio comprised of Eszter Pozsár, József Csurkulya, Tibor Eichinger.  “For us, contemporary means the inherent present, everything that has an impact on us and everything how WE influence others around us. Growing up at this part of the world we were influenced by many things. European classical music – we grew up studying it, getting to know its classical „literature”, Hungarian and Balcanic folk music, jazz and many different genre of it. We made a detour in many different styles and the numerous experiences shaped us and our own musical style, enriched our repertory. Nowadays contemporary music gets criticized quite often: ‘everything had been discovered, no perspective, it is frozen’ etc. We think that there are many ways that take us forward and we have found one that inspires us and offers new prospective. We have united everything that we had absorbed with a good grace, and we do not think about styles or labelling, we ‘just’ play music, create, compose TODAY in the 21st century for our contemporary audience.” tells Eszter Pozsár about the trio on her website. pozsareszter.hu/contempo facebook.com/Contempo  This concert is supported by NKA Hangfoglaló Program.

Turumtay / Erdoğan / Liška / Dés is a quartet of extraordinary virtuosi with different musical and cultural backgrounds and explores ever-widening musical horizons and seeks to find a collective identity. Vienna-based violinist Efe Turumtay is accompanied by Tomáš Liška's dazzling bass lines, András Dés‘s moving rhythm partitions and melancholic tunes of Turkish fretless guitar virtuoso Cenk Erdoğan. The quartet defines what it is to be a performer and composer ensemble and proves to be an essential voice in world music scene today. The original compositions of Turumtay, Liška, Dés and Erdoğan show the audience a through-line between seemingly disparate worlds and remind us that great music is international.

The Théo Ceccaldi Trio, a skillful and dynamic trio was discovered and supported by the queen of French free music, the great Joëlle Léandre who was seduced by their youthful energy. She even wished to be featured in their second album a few years ago. With Théo Ceccaldi on violin, Valentin, his brother, on cello and Guillaume Aknine on guitar, the trio is no standard trio, combining a continuously renewed rigor in conception with a wild creative freedom, regardless of the repertoire. Jazz musicians, especially French ones, cannot form a string trio without the influence of Django Reinhardt on their music. The Théo Ceccaldi Trio couldn’t avoid it either despite being used to exploring the most radical free improvisation. On their new album, Django, to be released on October 18th, the trio works with original compositions “under the influence” and revisited big classics associated with the great gipsy guitarist. With its unorthodox orchestration (amplified guitar, cello…), the ensemble shifted towards a new form of “chamber jazz”, skillfully going from a chaotic lyricism to an expressive energy while using all the expected attributes of gypsy jazz (rhythmic energy, melodic grandiosity) to amplify its virtues and modernizing its codes. The Théo Ceccaldi Trio shows the extent of its mastery and the absolute freedom of its inspiration by opening new perspectives for this repertoire and finding more contemporary ways of expression. The trio’s concert at the Opus Jazz Club is part of their European album release tour of Django. ARTE Concert - Théo Ceccaldi Trio à Jazz en VF, June 15, 2019  theoceccaldi.com 

Maria Faust, the 38-year-old Estonian composer, saxophonist, bandleader, resident of Denmark, has already made remarkable musical waves that have sent her and her bands on trips to concert halls and music festivals around the world. Growing up under the Communist regime in Estonia, firts she was classically educated, but soon jazz and improvisational music took hold of her, thus she came to the Southern Danish Music Conservatory. However, in her new surroundings, she had to realize that she didn’t fit into the world of jazz, neither. “I am a child of communism! I did not swing. I marched! So, I finally just tried to be faithful to myself. It was a choice I made.” A conviction which she holds onto stubbornly, even to this day. Maria Faust neither plays nor composes in traditional ways, and has no interest in doing so. Boldness is the hallmark of her music, and her projects with ensembles that explore unusual instrumentations and techniques. Her big breakthrough, the very personal album Sacrum Facere (Latin: human sacrifice), receiving two Danish Music Awards in 2014, got its inspiration from the culture in and around the Russian-Estonian border region, where descendants of deported orthodox Russians still live. Here, she collected work songs, hymns, and lullabies for the album, and merged the material with classical music and free improvisation.  Maria Faust is constantly expanding her sound spectrum, and her new project, MACHINA, consists of an unprecedented mix of traditional musical forms paired with improvisation, jazz, and soundscapes. In a musical language of her own invention, she delivers her original compositional ideas, a chamber music universe without drums, but with horns, two basses, cello, and piano, all in a fascinating interaction with the engines of fishing boats sputtering their way through the fog, the creaks of old rusty hulls, the hum of the breeze and the call of the birds out at sea. Like her earlier releases, Machina, released on Stunt Records last year, starts with what she herself describes as “memory analysis.” As a tool, she gets inspiration from both personal and collective memories and the subconscious. Maria Faust says that she sees “the water as a symbol of a natural and unpredictable force of oppressed feelings like anger and sorrow” and she asks “why should we suppress these emotions, while we emphasize, for example, happiness?”

The Jazz Request Show concerts started in 2010 and have been successful ever since. The audience can request songs in any style and genre, and the members of the band will play them in jazz. The best pieces of the concert series are featured on The Jazz Request Show CD’s, the first of which was awarded the Fonogram Prize in 2014 as the “Jazz Album of the Year”, and the second was nominated to the Fonogram Prize in 2016. The Péter Sárik Trio has become one of the most popular and dominant jazz bands in Hungary in the last ten years. One of the keys to their success is that all three are very open-minded, versatile musicians, reaching out to a much wider audience than most jazz bands. The trio’s concerts are much more like a pop or rock concert, even when played at the Music Academy or in the most serious concert halls. With the immediacy and energy of the band, they enlist many new fans to the genre. The work of the members has been recognized with numerous honors, Péter Sárik is an Artisjus-, Emerton-, multiple Phonogram- and Orszácky-award winning artist, and in 2016 he was honored as the Musician of the Year. Junior Prima Prize winner Tibor Fonay won also the 1st price of the 2013 Orszácky Jackie Bass Talent Research Competition. Together with Attila Gálfi, tehy play in Hungary’s leading jazz outfits. Nikoletta Szőke gained international acclaim as the winner of first prize and the public prize of the prestigious Shure Montreux Jazz Voice Competition in 2005. Since then she performed from New York to Tokyo in numerous leading jazz-clubs and entered the stage with such great artists like Bobby McFerrin, Kurt Elling or Michel Legrand.

Kéknyúl’s music has roots in the soul and funk music of the 70s, mixed with urban dance music. Their sound is mostly defined by two members, Mátyás Premecz and Andy Hefler. Mátyás Premecz is a well­-known organ player in Hungarian pop culture with such bands as The Qualitons or Barabás Lőrinc Eklektric, but his name is always tied to his trademark Hammond organ and that’s exactly why Kéknyúl was founded – to be able to fully exploit the possibilities of the instrument. Andrew Hefler was born in Los Angeles and moved to Hungary in 1993. He’s an outstanding figure in the Hungarian cultural scene, being a renowned actor, director and singer. Of course the band and its sound wouldn’t be complete without the brilliant playing and interaction of the other six members.

“Head Hunters was a pivotal point in Herbie Hancock's career, bringing him into the vanguard of jazz fusion. Hancock had pushed avant-garde boundaries on his own albums and with Miles Davis, but he had never devoted himself to the groove as he did on Head Hunters. Drawing heavily from Sly Stone, Curtis Mayfield, and James Brown, Hancock developed deeply funky, even gritty, rhythms over which he soloed on electric synthesizers, bringing the instrument to the forefront in jazz. It had all of the sensibilities of jazz, particularly in the way it wound off into long improvisations, but its rhythms were firmly planted in funk, soul, and R&B, giving it a mass appeal that made it the biggest-selling jazz album of all time (a record which was later broken). Head Hunters still sounds fresh and vital decades after its initial release, and its genre-bending proved vastly influential on not only jazz, but funk, soul, and hip-hop.”  Stephen Thomas Erlewine, allmusic.com 

Ticket info soon! Ilmiliekki Quartet is one of the most beloved ensembles of Finnish jazz. Consisting of trumpet player Verneri Pohjola, pianist Tuomo Prättälä, bassist Antti Lötjönen (of The Five Corners Quintet, Timo Lassy Band, 3TM, etc.) and drummer Olavi Louhivuori (of the late Tomasz Stanko’s quintet and Oddarrang) the group is a key unit for each of the artists, and one of their original vehicles of creation since its formation in 2002. After two successful albums on TUM Records, March Of The Alpha Males in 2003 and Take It With Me in 2006, they presented their first new album in 13 years in April 2019. Land Of Real Men, released on We Jazz Records, is a milestone which will stand strong in each of the four musicians already remarkable discography. Stylistically, Ilmiliekki Quartet range from the delicate end of the sparse contemporary jazz sound to the depths of Nordic fire music, always making music which is highly personal and melodic to the bone. The narrative of Land Of Real Men takes the listener on a journey much akin to the groups celebrated live shows, which are always a hit in their native Finland, but which have also taken the group to Europe, US and Australia. Ilmiliekki Quartet (which roughly translates as "Quartet Ablaze") were one of the big success stories of the “first wave” of Finnish jazz in the new millennium, and although they never really went away, the band is now back with a vengeance.

Combining forces as a duo these two household names of Finnish jazz, saxophonist Timo Lassy and drummer Teppo Mäkynen, are here to present their powerful music at full speed. Whilst sensing co-operation that has lasted over a decade playing together in various bands (Teddy Rok 7, The Five Corners Quintet, Jo Stance, Timo Lassy Band) there is a feel of freshness, excitement and something new when listening to debut album Timo Lassy & Teppo Mäkynen, released on We Jazz Records a couple of months ago. In a live setting the full energy is released taking directions from the moment, feeling the audience and most importantly musical dialog of saxophone and drums. Timo Lassy is perhaps the biggest jazz star to come out of Finland in the new millennium. His work with The Five Corners Quintet and then as a successful solo artist have placed him smack dab in the middle of the vivid activity in the Helsinki scene. Lassy, a remarkably charismatic performer, has taken his celebrated five-piece all around Europe, the US and faraway places like Brazil, and in Finland he's practically a household name. His tenor sax sound is robust and confident, but never fails to engage emotionally. On his new duo album Timo Lassy & Teppo Mäkynen, Lassy moves further away from the cooking soul jazz he’s best known for, into free playing and sonic experiments. That being said, there’s still plenty of classic Lassy in the mix, keeping the heat where it should be. Timo Lassy won the Jazz-Emma prize for the Finnish Jazz Album of the Year in 2018 with his sixth solo effort Moves. Teppo Mäkynen is a drummer and a producer from Helsinki. His work includes celebrated projects such as 3TM, The Stance Brothers (+ Jo Stance), Teddy Rok Seven, plus many more. As a drummer, he was a key part of the live band of The Five Corners Quintet, still the most internationally successful Finnish jazz outfit to date. Nowadays, Mäkynen mans the drum seat of not only his own projects, but also A-list bands such as Timo Lassy Band, Verneri Pohjola Quartet, Aki Rissanen Trio and Jukka Eskola Soul Trio. His playing is swingin’ to the bone, no matter what the style is. Mäkynen has a natural knack at envisioning new musical directions both as a composer and a player, and he's considered one of the most personal and musical drummers around. As a producer, he’s also known as “Teddy Rok”, and his production credits include Timo Lassy’s solo albums and those of Jukka Eskola, plus of course his own projects. Mäkynen has won the Jazz-Emma twice: in 2004 with Teddy Rok Seven and in 2017 with 3TM’s album Form. He is also one of the hosts of the very popular weekly show Jazz kiinnostaa (Jazz interests) on Radio Helsinki. facebook.com/timolassy facebook.com/teddyrokofficial 

“Starting from the score of Akira Kurosava's classic, Seven Samurai (composer: Fumio Hajasaka), we came to a milieu where tension and concentration are created just by a few sounds and simple melodies. Bushido has been revealed to us, a rigorous system with codes of honour and ideals that dictated the samurai way of life, with Confucian and Buddhist elements, emphasizing the importance of sincerity, frugality, loyalty, martial arts mastery, and honour until death.It’s not much difficult to find a resemblance to the unwritten rules of improvising musicians, where content doesn’t take the form of morals but of acts, yet is permeated by a spiritual atmosphere that is keen to engage with Kurosava's samurai.”Tamás Sándor Geröly 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 previous album, followed now by the brand new Seven Samurai Suite, released again on Hunnia Records.

The Eastern Boundary Quartet, founded in 2007, is a collaborative quartet featuring the Hungarian master musicians, drummer Balázs Bagyi and saxophonist Mihály Borbély, and the long-standing bass/piano partnership of New York City bassist Joe Fonda and pianist Michael Jefry Stevens (co-leaders of the Fonda/Stevens Group). The quartet was formed with the imagination of connecting two worlds of the jazz scene today. This unique collaboration is a mixture of avant-garde jazz and ethno music from Hungary, like a cultural bridge between the USA and Eastern-Europe. This bridge is made of talent, respect, brotherhood and friendship, built by the common language of jazz and improvised music. In their repertoire of original music by all members of the group they use Hungarian folk rhythms and melodies in combination with jazz harmonies and rhythms to form an original ‘hybrid’ improvised music. Since 2007 the quartet has toured Europe and the United States numerous times and released four CDs. Live at Jazzforum Bayreuth by Eastern Boundary Quartet

Andrej Prozorov, born in Odessa, Ukraine, left his hometown after the completion of his music studies. During one of his tours, he met the legendary pianist Rudi Wilfer who brought him to Vienna in 2001 where he completed his studies under Wolfgang Puschnig as well as under William Quarda at the Vienna Conservatory of Jazz. Andrei has been touring through Europe since 2005, mostly with Fatima Spar & the Freedom Fries, and has been participating in various projects of the Vienna jazz scene. He formed Andrej Prozorov Trio with accordionist Christian Bakanic and double bass player Walter Singer in 2013. They combine classical, jazz, Austrian and Ukrainian elements while indulging in their collective passion for contemporary improvised music as well. Since all three instrumentalists also work as composers, the program consists largely of their own material, arranged by the Prozorov Trio. prozorov.at christianbakanic.com 

One of Hungary’s outstanding jazz guitarists, Bálint Gyémánt renewed his trio with young musicians. The guiding principles of the team’s collaborative work are freedom, experimentation, and exploration of new possibilities – each being a core part of jazz since the beginning. “The trio is my personal creative workshop where I can work with exceptional, inspiring artists who are also my friends. Although we perform my compositions, my partners always play a major role in creating the final sound. Each and every formation I play in I feel as my own, but the trio reflects my own musical language most accurately. Stretching the boundaries and finding new musical directions has always been important to me, which is why I wanted to create this fresh concept together with a new rhythm section”, says Bálint Gyémánt, working with Vince Bartók and Dániel Ferenc Szabó in his renewed trio. The young musicians are outstanding members of their generation who not only speak fluently the traditional language of jazz, but most modern trends have a major influence on their instrumental techniques as well. One of the special features of the trio’s sound is the the simultaneous presence of electronic and acoustic sounds of the drums. So while the band still remains a classical jazz trio, thanks to the technical equipment and effects their sonic colours became much more modern, allowing the musicians more creativity. According to Bálint Gyémánt, Pyramidion, the debut song of the trio, tells also about the state of mind behind the change: “For me, this song symbolizes faith in myself. It symbolizes that I should carry out my plans boldly. Vince Bartók and Dániel Ferenc Szabó are my true companions in this musical adventure. Whether it is a brand new composition or even rethinking of some of my earlier ones, I feel that our work moved to a completely different dimension.” The renewed repertoire includes also an arrangement of a traditional Hungarian folk song, connected to Bálint’s visit to the US last year. He left for Washington for just a single concert, where he performed in duo with Eden Ladin, the Israeli-born American pianist. He wanted to take something of his own musical roots with him to this journey, so he chose the well known folk song, Tavaszi szél vizet áraszt (Flood comes with spring winds). facebook.com/gyemantbalint  This concert is supported by NKA Hangfoglaló Program.

Imre Kőszegi, awarded with the Liszt Prize and the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit by the Republic of Hungary, is one of the most prominant drummers in Hungarian jazz life. During his career spanning over sixty years, Kőszegi has played with such Hungarian and international stars as Aladár Pege, Dezső Lakatos “Ablakos”, György Vukán, Béla Szakcsi Lakatos, Frank Zappa, Teddy Wilson, Kenny Wheeler, Art Farmer, Frank Foster, Charlie Mariano, Steve Grossman, Gary Bartz, Lew Tabackin or Trilok Gurtu, and has performed in the most significant concert halls, festivals and clubs in Europe and Hungary. Kőszegi, an extremely active musician up to this day, was last seen in Opus as member of the new quintet of Béla Szakcsi Lakatos. This time, however, he is arriving to the club with the most recent quintet of his own, the Kőszegi Rhythm & Brass & Electronic in which the long-standing Kőszegi-Rozsnyói-Orbán trio is extended with two outstanding talents of the young Hungarian jazz generation, trumpeter Balázs Pecze and guitarist Bence Bécsy. This concert is supported by NKA Hangfoglaló Program.

The duo of this two prominent Hungarian violinists gave only one concert so far, in May they had their debut before a crowded house in the Nyitott Műhely club. We are proud to persuade them to play their second gig as one of Opus' closing concerts this year.

Singer Veronika Harcsa and guitarist Bálint Gyémánt were classmates at the jazz department of the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music. Altough Veronika continued her studies in Brussels while Bálint in Oslo, they became each other’s most important fellow-musicians. To date, they have collaborated on eight albums and on countless festival and club concerts in 25 countries across the world. In recent years, their acoustic duo have become their most important joint formation, and although their latest record, Shapeshifter, has been recorded in a quartet with two Belgian musicians, still the duo remained the core of their collaboration. They’ve worked out how to get the most out of a sound with just one guitar and vocals, and with their personally-inspired songs that carry depth, liberation and humour. On their concert the audience can witness a unique encounter of contemporary jazz and improvised pop music.  harcsaveronika.hu gyemantbalint.eu 

Opus Jazz Club is closing the year again with a concert of the renowned representatives of Hungarian jazz, the Dresch Quartet. Mihály Dresch is one of the most influential nurturers of a fertile fusion between folk music and jazz. Oriented towards his Middle European legacy, Dresch never forgets his equally powerful jazz roots. His ensemble melds tuneful melodies with Hungarian folk, dirge-like balladry, hyper-mode bop and progressive jazz via an uplifting mode of operations amid high-flying motifs and buoyant storylines. Compared to the quartet’s latest performance at Opus in August, this festive concert offers two novelties. László Csízi, one of the most engaged and versatile young percussionist of the country, is taking over the baton from István Baló, who thus can have more time on his own new projects. The other is that Mihály Dresch invited to the concert the Phonogram- and Harmonia-Award-winner viola player Róbert Lakatos, member of the orchestra Solistes Européens, Luxembourg, who besides classical music deals also a lot with Hungarian folk music to get the different genres closer to each other. We can be sure that the distinct musical personality of the two new performers in this line-up, having its debut on the present concert, will generate further energies in Dresch and his bandmates to go ahead on the path they are consistently pursuing since decades.  This concert is supported by NKA Hangfoglaló Program.