Drummer Vilmos Jávori, a founding member of the legendary band Rákfogó will represent the older generation, and pianist János Nagy and saxophonist Sándor Zsemlye "Zsömi", who collaborated in the Free Style Chamber Orchestra at the last Raiffeisen Jazz Club, will represent the younger generation. The club?s return visitors will also recognise Pál Vasvári, who played a memorable concert a year ago with the Vasvári String Quartet and vibraphonist Bernard Maseli.
Pál Vasvári is a bass guitarist and composer who has been an important figure on the Hungarian music scene for the past 25 years. He has written 250-300 compositions and played on more than 50 albums. Vasvári graduated from the double bass department of the Béla Bartók Conservatory in 1981, but changed to bass guitar in 1989. Since the 1990s, he has played with a wide range of US jazz stars, including Dave Samuels and Mike Stern.
János Nagy graduated from the Ferenc Liszt Music Academy in 1994 and has received numerous international awards since. His concert with saxophonist David Murrey at the 2001 Mediawave Festival in Győr was voted the best jazz show of the year. International stars he has shared the stage with include Al di Meola, Arnie Somogyi, Bernard Maseli and Save Samuels.
Sándor Zsemlye (Zsömi) graduated from the Béla Bartók Music School in 1992 and won a national talent search competition in the jazz-pop-rock category in the same year. His first recording came out in 1993 and he has contributed to numerous jazz and pop recordings since. He is interested in a wide variety of styles, including Latin and ethno.
Vilmos Jávori was born into a family of musicians ? his mother even played the drums ? in 1945. Over the years, he has played in bands with Hungarian jazz veterans Aladár Pege, György Vukán, Rudolf Tomsits and Béla Szakcsi Lakatos. In 1971, he worked in the US, where he played with Jan Hammer and learned from Elvin Jones. In 2001, Jávori was awarded the Leó Weiner prize for his work as a music teacher.
The Raiffeisen Jazz Club?s next event, scheduled for June 2, will feature Trio Midnight (Kálmán Oláh on piano, János Egri on bass and Elemér Balázs on drums), joined by trumpeter Kornél Fekete-Kovács.
