MOL Budapest Jazz Feszival

The MOL Jazz Festival Budapest, in its seventh year in 2009, has been described in the international press as one of the more important jazz events in Europe. This year the festival puts jazz life in the countries at the Baltic Sea into the focus, following the initiative of Germany, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, Denmark and Sweden to present themselves to the Hungarian audience speaking a langauge they all share: that of jazz. From 9-13th September, 2009, at a total of a dozen venues, with about 140 players from approx. 14 countries, over 40 concerts will be organised. Most of the groups from the Baltic countries will be playing at the Trafó House of Contemporary Arts. A colourful cavalcade of bands playing in diverse styles is typical for the whole of the festival and the ones in Trafó, all of whom take their premier in Hungary at this time. On the 10th of September the dynamic sounds of contemporary jazz from Berlin (Erdmann 3000) will start the music in Trafó, to be followed by an extremely energetic saxophone player from Denmark (Lotte Anker September Quartet). Saga Quartet from Lithuania also represents a 21st century approach to jazz, related to the world of pop. The deep well of jazz history nourishes the German pianist of Japanese descent, Aki Takase, who turns the evergreens of Fats Waller evergreens from the twenties and thirties into something very topical. The quartet of pianist Kálmán Oláh, which could be termed a Finno-Ugric one, will have its debut in Budapest after having performed in London and Vienna earlier. The Trafó events of the festival will be closed by the trio of ambitious Hungarian sax player Viktor Tóth, who this time features Swedish drummer Robert Ikiz along with the legendary afro-american bassist Henry Franklin. 2009. szeptember 10. (csütörtök) 19h Daniel Erdmann 3000 (D) The quartet, which represents the top level of the contemporary Berlin jazz scene, was formed shortly before the Millenium, under the name 2000. Since, they upgraded their name, issuing the album Welcome to E3K, and increased their level, too: playful re-creation of musical forms, an element of constant surprise, and unexpected twists and turns all smash our expectations. They have succesfully toured Germany, Portugal, France, Holland, Estonia, Austria and Switzerland, while Erdmann, sharing his time between Paris and Berlin, has already been to four continents in other line-ups. The most recent release of Erdmann 3000, Supermicrogravity was published in May on ENJA. Writing about Erdmann, the press (’his playing can lift pieces weighing tons into the state of weightlessness’) underlines, that he is able to unite the traditions of John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman. Daniel ERDMANN – tenorszaxofon / tenor saxophone Frank MÖBUS – gitár / guitar Johannes FINK – bőgő / doublebass John SCHRÖDER – dob / drums http://www.daniel-erdmann.com http://www.myspace.com/erdmann3000 2009. szeptember 10. (csütörtök) 20h Lotte Anker September Kvartet (DK) The top Danish quartet led by saxophonist Lotte Anker performs highly original and adventurous music with both depth and humour, poetry and wildness, built on free improvisation, anchored by larger structures. After her classical studies Lotte Anker took up the saxophone and improvised music in 1980, primarily influenced by John Coltrane and Wayne Shorter. Since than she has built up an international reputation playing with musicians such as Mette Petersen, Marc Ducret, Craig Taborn, Marilyn Crispell, Tim Berne, etc., besides being the co-leader of the Copenhagen Art Ensemble. Her young pianist, Simon Tolddam is already known for his attentive and original playing and compositions, and as the leader of several international bands (Sekten, Prügelknabe). Bass player Nils Davidsen has also toured internationally with John Tchicai, Bobby Previte, Gary Thomas, Chris Speed, among others, and fronts his own band: Jumpin Gemini. Much-in-demand drummer Kresten Osgood has appeared and recorded with musicians like Paul Bley, Oliver Lake, Steven Bernstein. Lotte ANKER – szaxofonok / saxophone Simon TOLDDAM – zongora /piano Nils DAVIDSEN - bőgő / doublebass Kresten OSGOOD – dob / drums 2009. szeptember 11. (péntek) 19h Saga Quartet (LT) Saga is a group of four young but already seasoned and ambitious musicians. All members of the quartet had their music studies outside Lithuania, too (Germany, Denmark and the U.S.) The music of Saga is an uncompromising mix of jazz, rock, modern contemporary and pure improvisational music. It ranges from simple tonal melodies to free jazz textures and extreme avant-garde. In 2006 the quartet released their first CD, consisting of original sagas by the band. It was very well received by many music critics, including French writer/pianist Marc Sarazzy: ‘The sagas you can hear on this album are open, fresh and coloured, peaceful and chaotic, incredibly free-minded. But most of all, they are deeply alive. It's time now for all jazz lovers to wake up and open their ears to this new generation of Lithuanian jazz!’ Besides jazz festivals and concerts in native Lithuania, Saga quartet had concerts in Germany, Ireland, Russia, Ukraine, Estonia and Latvia. Liudas MOCKŪNAS – szaxofonok, kalrinét / saxes, clarinet Dmitrij GOLOVANOV – billenytűs hangszerek / keyboards Vytis NIVINSKAS – basszusgitár / bass guitar Marijus ALEKSA – dob / drums http://www.myspace.com/sagaquartet 2009. sept 11. 20h Aki Takase Fats Waller Projekt (D) Aki Takase salutes the master of the stride piano, Fats Waller with loving irony, so this is definitely not a nostalgia piece: it is very original, unique, and completely new. The splendidly orchestrated project won the prestigious German Record Critics Award. Takase grew up in Tokyo, and started touring the United States and Europe in the eighties. Numerous concerts and recordings with Dave Liebman, Sheila Jordan, Cecil McBee, Lester Bowie, Bob Moses, Joe Henderson, Niels Henning Ørsted Pedersen and many more followed. In the nineties she had specialized in sensitive duos, with Maria Joao, David Murray, Rashied Ali, etc. For the Fats Waller project she collected the best young, adventurous players from the German scene, such as Rudi Mahall on bass clarinet, plus the American Eugene Chadbourne (formerly with John Zorn). Aki TAKASE – zongora / piano Rudi MAHALL – basszusklarinét / bass-clarinet Axel DÖRNER – harsona / trombone Eugene CHADBOURNE – ének, bendzsó, gitár / vocals, banjo, guitar Paul LOVENS – dob / drums http://www.akitakase.de http://www.myspace.com/akitakase 2009. sept 12.19h Oláh Kálmán-Meelis Vind-József Barcza Horváth-Markus Ketola kvartett (H, EST, FI) Kálmán Oláh is a major voice in Hungarian jazz piano rated high abroad, too. He won the BMI competition for jazz composers in 2006, and got a four-star review in Downbeat this year. He first teamed up with Estonian clarinet player Meelis Vind and Finnish drummer Markus Ketola in 2005, at the Hungarian Cultural Center in London. They gave another succesful concert at the Porgy & Bess in Vienna two years ago. The Baltic Focus provides them to their Budapest premier. Vind, who is not only an impeccable jazz soloist, but also a national philharmony member, matches with Oláh well, they both have a classical vein. No wonder, that they picked classically trained bassist extraordinaire, József Barcza Horváth. Old musician-friend of Oláh, member of the famous Finnish big band UMO, Markus Ketola rounds up the quartet, which plays originals of each member. OLÁH Kálmán – zongora / piano Meelis VIND – klarinét / clarinet BARCZA Horváth József – bőgő / doublebass Markus KETOLA – dob / drums 2009. sept 12, 20h Tóth Viktor – Henry Franklin – Robert Ikiz trió (H, USA, S) Tóth Viktor – szaxofon / saxophone Henry Franklin – nagybőgő / doublebass Robert Ikiz – dob / drums