Reviewers grow accustomed to the rarified atmosphere of concert halls and opera houses – we do, after all, spend large slices of our lives there – but paradoxically it can get a bit stuffy up there and it does no harm to come back to earth occasionally. Budapest is a city blessed with wonderful performing venues, but there is a whole repertoire which really does not belong there. Night in, night out, restaurants, bars and clubs all over the city play host to music making of various kinds, and Tuesday night jazz came to Most on the 6th district’s Zichy Jenő utca.
It was billed as a jazz concert, but that is possibly not the best description. Concert audiences either sit in silent awe as the great and good parade masterpieces before them or scream the place down while some rock band struts their stuff. Jazz is different – it belongs in the social venue.
Yes, people listen and enjoy but they also chink glasses, clap spontaneously mid performance and generally have a good time. And why not? It is a social activity. After all, what is jazz? Some will tell you that it is the child of the Afro-American experience, others that the true father of jazz is Bach, but add in the myriad additional elements that have come into play – Latin American, Gypsy, North African and Indian elements – and it is far more than that. Essentially it is folk music, handed down, developed, expanded and improvised upon by succeeding generations. It draws on these influences yet it is not ‘fusion’. Fusion smacks of commercialization, dumbing down and blurring edges in pursuit of the almighty dollar, whereas jazz is spontaneous, original, never the same twice. In this sense, it truly is folk music – and that is as old as music itself.
Way back in the last century, it was not unusual for the leading figures of the day to be booked into some concert venue or other in London, but these people rarely came without doing a gig at Ronnie Scott’s, and that was a whole different ball game. There was interaction, intimacy and participation. Stuffy it was not. So yes, the natural place for it is the bar room and Most fits the bill nicely. There are three good sized entertainment areas, a varied menu with some interesting Asian elements, a good selection from the bar and room enough to carry a decent audience. As summer approaches, a roof terrace will come into play and there are plans for a further terrace area later in the year. In short, a good place to do jazz.
There was a somewhat surreal feeling about the event. Billed as ‘Jazzy Kedd: Orgon Albert Quartet’, the quartet turned out to be a trio. The guys also had technical problems – a great pity, since the magnificent bass playing of János Egri was not heard to best advantage. We were tied up elsewhere for the warm up set so did missed the first few pieces, but what was it we were saying about improvisation and spontaneity? The ability to go on stage and make a good fist of a band hand is central to the experience, and these guys did just that. They are seriously good musicians who clearly empathize well and take these things in their stride. Albert Orgon is the vocalist. He has a very remarkable voice encompassing a good range and, in quieter passages, a velvet quality which is unusual. His scat technique is impressive and has a lyrical quality which alternates with virtuoso effects in the forte passages. He lists his influences as Miles Davis, Mahler and Debussy – an interesting mix, since they’re not as far removed from each other than some might think – along with gypsy roots.
Kálmán Cséki is a natural keyboard player with a rhythmic vitality so necessary to the genre. His technique is impressive but is heard at its best on the piano. There was no way you could get a concert grand into the venue, and the Korg, good piece of kit though it is, is no substitute for the real thing – (search YouTube to hear more). Third in the line up is János Egri and it was unfortunate that the technical problems meant he was not heard to best advantage, especially since he is obviously a very original musician with a great technique. Fortunately there are plenty of opportunities to hear him if you know where to look.
So does it work? Well, the ambience is right, the musicians on this occasion were splendid and the issues were simply teething problems, so let us hope they do it again. It was a fun evening and there is potential for this to become a rather special regular fixture in the future.
As reported above, János Egri had some technical problems at the Most gig so Funzine took time out for a brief visit to a set he was playing at the Wine Bar in Hercegprímás utca. Friday night with jazz guitarist Gyula Babos. This was a much more intimate affair to suit the venue but confirmed our first impression that János is a very fine bass player indeed. Gyula tells us he works in an ensemble presenting gypsy music but this session was about jazz and his witty and accomplished performance was a good match for János. More when we have a chance to take in a whole gig.
Upcoming:
March 16 – Jazzy Tuesday: Orgon Albert Quartet