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"Pianist Béla Szakcsi Lakatos has a lengthy history that includes playing classical music and jazz standards as well as being the first in Hungary to explore fusion. As a member of Special EFX, he toured the world and appeared on many recordings. He has also worked extensively at exploring his Hungarian heritage and turning gypsy-flavored melodies into jazz. Although one can hear a bit of Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett in his playing, much of the time Lakatos plays the piano like the folk instrument the cimbalom, a bit out of time yet swinging in its own fashion. Lakatos' originals are full of rich melodies, and the lengthier pieces on Na Dara!, particularly "8th District," are episodic, unpredictable, and intriguing. The occasional wordless vocals of Csaba Rostás and particularly his wife, Mónika Rostás, are haunting and authentic, giving this music an even stronger flavor of Eastern Hungarian music. Lakatos wraps up this continually interesting set with a stately reading of John Lewis' "Django." Recommended!"
"I believe that what we have on this album is world music in the truest sense of the word. To my mind, world music is not when a Cuban musician or a Gypsy plays the tunes of his own people but when various musical cultures and styles merge into one. Here you have the Hungarian and Gypsy elements fusing with the strains of Oriental music, occasionally straying into the blues while phrases crop up even from Bartók’s Piano Concerto No. 1, and there is the undeniable influence of twenty-first-century contemporary music. But all through this pulses the underlying current of jazz."
01-Red caravan
02-8th district
03-Peace of the stars
04-Little gipsy song for you
05-Gipsy groove
06-Bell of my soul - tribute to Péter Eötvös
07-Django
Béla Szakcsi Lakatos - piano
György Orbán - double bass
András Peczek Lakatos - drums
Mónika Rostás - vocal
Csaba Rostás - vocal
Link
pass: bluesmen-worldmusic.blogspot.com
"Csókolom is pronounced something like 'shock column', and is originally an old fashioned Hungarian greeting meaning "I kiss your hand." At the same time Csókolom are an extraordinary band based in Berlin and Amsterdam. When they were invited by German Profolk organisation to represent Germany at the Folk Alliance, they made with their Hungarian roots music at least two persons crying: on the one hand Nora Guthrie (who writes a dedication in the booklet), on the other hand Chris Strachwitz of Arhoolie Records who directly invited them to record with his label.
The result is impressive. Anti von Kleewitz, leader of the band and both singer and violin player, has a charismatic voice. The songs are presented in a very moving way, accomponied sparsely, but at the same time very effectively by violin and double bass. The songs are in diverse languages from South-East Europe, often in Hungarian, but also in Serbo-Croatian, Romanian or in Roma, the language of the gipsies. The tunes are based on the up to three fiddles of Csókolom, with exciting arrangements between them. There is a special feeling in this music; a lot of swing and energy, with traces of Jazz and Improvisation, but always based on Hungarian and Gipsy traditions. Although the line-up of just violins/violas and double bass is surely unusual, the music has a strong appeal - you never have the feeling that other instruments are missing.
This is great stuff. If you like Eastern European or gipsy music, this one is a must! And, yes, with this recording you get nearly one and a quarter hours (!) of hugely enjoyable, high quality music!"
01 Amari Szi, Amari
02 Kalotaszegi legényes (In C Minor)
03 Medved Na Lancu
04 Lulu-Valse.mp3
05 Feljött a nap - Romanian Dance # 4
06 Nu Face Bine - Romanian Hora (In B)
07 Szerelem - Lörincréve (In A)
08 Mori Shej, Sabina
09 Gankino Horo
10 Mysterieuse
11 Anii Mei
12 Dance From Gyimes
14 Keserves-Székelyföld.mp3
15 Kalotaszegi legényes (In F)
16 Cinege
17 Szatmári- Csókolom -Szatmári
18 Amari Szi, Amari (Slow Version)
19 Jánoska - Szatmári
20 Lörincréve (In G)
Anti von Klewitz - violin, viola & vocal
Gregor Schäfer - double-bass
Sander Hoving - violin, viola & kontra
Anneke Frankenberg - violin
Link
pass: bluesmen-worldmusic.blogspot.com
