Szilárd Mezei Vocal Ensemble | Fújj szél, Zenta, visshangozz szél | Blow Wind Zenta, Echo Wind! | Not Two Records

Not Two, 2012 | MW 883-2 | CD

Kinga Mezei – vocal | Ervin Malina – double bass | Kornél Pápista – tuba | Milan Aleksić – piano | Branislav Aksin – trombone | Béla Burány – baritone sax, soprano sax | Péter Bede – tenor sax, clarinet | Bogdan Ranković – alto sax, bass clarinet | Szilard Mezei– viola | István Csík – drums

Recorded live the 2nd of April 2011, at CNESA, Magyarkanizsa, Serbia. Recording Engineer: Lazar Zivanac – Studio Vilenjak. Mixed and mastered by Szilard Mezei. Concert organized by Regional Creative Atelier “Jozsef Nagy”, Magyarkanizsa, Serbia. Graphic work: Erzsebet Mezei. Photo/ Orfeas Skutelis.

Poems translated from the Hungarian by Petra Bakos Jarrett.

Tracklist: 1. Fújj szél, Zenta, visshangozz szél – Blow Wind Zenta, Echo Wind! [19:16] 2. Archaikus jóslat – archaic prophecy [12:55] 3. Medve a temerini határban – bear in the Temerin fields [16:55] 4. Fehéren kél a tél – The Winter Whitley Rises [10:05] 5. Rëza [12:40]

Today in our rough-and-tumble survey of the Not Two label releases

by jazz composer-violist-bandleader Szilard Mezei, we come to an ambitious offering by the Szilard Mezei Vocal Ensemble entitled Fujj szel, Zenta, visszhangozz szel! (Not Two 883-2).

It’s a full disk of Szilard’s large ensemble doing five of his pieces. Kinga Mezei presides as vocalist and she has a hearty, earthy voice that carries nicely over the ensemble and sounds quite lovely as well. The ensemble for this outing is Szilard on viola plus Rankovic on alto sax and bass clarinet, Bede on tenor sax and clarinet, Burany on baritone and soprano, Aksin on trombone, Aleksic on piano, Papista on tuba, Malina on doublebass and Csik on drums.

It is a lively blend of musical colors that Szilard makes full use of, and there are solid avant improvisers to take the spotlight and carry the day when needed.

The disk stands out for its very intriguing, substantial large ensemble new jazz compositions, the distinctive sound of the band, Szilard’s working of traditional Hungarian, eastern European folk elements into the mix here and there, and the improvisational heft of the band as a whole.

It is music that is very original, and as such difficult to describe in words. It’s very beautiful, and this is an excellent album. If you are looking for something different on the new jazz scene, here it is! — Gapplegate Music Review

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One thought on “Szilárd Mezei Vocal Ensemble | Fújj szél, Zenta, visshangozz szél | Blow Wind Zenta, Echo Wind! | Not Two Records

  1. I got the urge to go out and buy a newspaper to see what was going on in the world around me without having to resort to turning on any form of electronics. I wanted to find an independent seller because somehow in my head I am supporting some form of underground selling truth to the masses. One thing is for sure, if Kinga Mezei (vocals) is selling the truth, I am buying.

    He voice is a cross between Nico and Marianne Faithfull in terms of power, conviction and style. She is compelling in a storytelling but crushing kind of way like a revolutionary and/or a goddess. Unfortunately, I have no idea what she is singing about.

    Everything about this ensemble has an air of a rainy back road where people gather to talk about how good it once was. That is until the track ‘Rëza’ where the optimism flood gates open up and pure joy radiates from her voice and the band.

    Szilárd Mezei is in control of a very large group here consisting of; Kinga Mezei (vocals), Ervin Malina (bass), Kornél Pápista (tuba), Milan Aleksić (piano), Branislav Aksin (trombone), Béla Burány (baritone, soprano saxes), Péter Bede (tenor sax, clarinet), Bogdan Ranković (alto sax, bass clarinet), Szilárd Mezei (viola) and István Csík (drums).

    For those of you who are not big fans of vocalists in their music, Kinga Mezei essentially bookends the tracks allowing the rest of the players take over to expand their themes in the middle which is no easy task considering this is a live recording, and an album that explores gypsy folk, art house soundtracks, and a healthy dose of exploratory jazz. Very compelling and captivating music.

    I did find the newspaper seller with his enterprise set up on the steps of the train station. I have him a note, nodded my head and told him to keep the change and fought the use to step on the train to anywhere.

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