Szilárd Mezei Octet

Tönk
SLAM CD 521

Szilárd Mezei Ensemble

Bot

NotTwo MW 818-2

Szilárd Mezei Szabad Quartet

Februári Fodári Fodöntés

NoBusiness LP28

Chronologically – at least in terms of released discs – musical polymath and violist Szilárd Mezei seems to be drawing closer to Jazz-influenced music. That’s doesn’t mean that his compositions are less reflective of the mixture of improvised, notated and folkloric sounds he has uniquely made his own over the past couple of decades, or are shifting one way or another. , It’s just that the saxophonist in the quartet session that makes up the most recent (2008) release by this Serbian-born member of that multi-ethnic country’s Hungarian minority not only plays unabashed Free Jazz, but has the space on Februári Fodári Fodöntés to do so.

A young Budapest-based graduate of the Liszt Ferenc Music Academy, tenor saxophonist Péter Bede has also recorded with veteran Hungarian trumpeter/violinist Ferenc Kovács, drummer Zsolt Sárvári Kovács and his own band. Plus on the Mezei LP’s three tracks Bede’s extended glossolalia and split tones put him firmly in the orbit of exploratory saxophonist like Albert Ayler. Meanwhile the violist, bassist Erno Hock and drummer Hunor G. Szabó use Bede’s stylistic musings as a unique construct that is added to the tradition-styled melody fragments and extended New music tropes that characterize Mezei’s compositions.

Mezei’s usual reed soloist – Bogdan Ranković, who moves effortlessly among alto and tenor saxophones, clarinet and bass clarinet – is featured on Tönk and Bot, recorded in 2007 and 2004 respectively. But, as notable as his solos might be with melancholy, folkloric inflections, coupled with slurred extended techniques, in contrast to Bede his sonic models are from microtonal and New music. To his credit as a group member though, Ranković adds linear and harmonic weight to the two-man reed section on the earlier CDs, where the woodwind players share the front line with the violist and cellist and one trombonist on Tönk; or with Mezei, a different cellist plus trumpet, trombone and tuba on Bot’s two CDs.

Illustrations of Ranković’s talents, as well as Mezei’s compositional and arrangement skills are evident in contrasting versions of a few tunes. On Tönk, for instance, the octet’s version of “Bot” is staccato and discursive, with double-stopping string continuum, clicking drum flams, solipsistic piano comping and hunting horn-like brays from trombonist Bravislav Aksin. With the theme reoccurring throughout, usually sounded by the full band, each appearance is framed differently; whether it is by cheeping flute and staccato string interjections; guttural gutbucket trombone and percussive shuffle bowing from the strings; or pumped and pizzicato strings and drum rebounds. The most affecting intermezzo arises from the composer’s taut playing itself, with counterpoint provided by romantic string glisses and Gergely Ittzés’ bass-flute vibrations. At length, a stop-time ending completes the initial exposition with walking bass line and cymbal clanks.

In contrast Bot’s title tune is much more expansive, harmonized and orchestral – with the fuller sound spread among additional brass. Although Mezei’s arrangement is cleaner than the one he created for Tönk, timbres still match. Radmila Stanišić’s vibrating cello lines are paired with Aksin’s tailgate trombone and the guttural tuba farts of Kornél Pápista, for instance, while Emöke Zákány’s chirping oboe chatters contrapuntally. Midway through, a big-band- styled vamp gives way to biting trumpet blasts and woody bass clarinet echoes from Ranković before a tutti nocturne is exposed. Low pressure and moderato, the variant is stretched as far as possible until rippling tuba tones introduce another lucid orchestral part. It, in turn, is completed by double-stopping viola lines, followed by sequential call-and-response from trumpet and trombone, and irregularly vibrated brass snorts.

In the same way “Nõi box/Female Boxing” on Tönk is extended by slow crescendos from the top range of the octet’s instruments, circled by squeezed sul ponticello lines from the strings and mid-range, horn slurs and bites which intermittently protrude from the bouncy Balkan-styled melody. The Bot version elaborates the theme so that tremolo textures from one trumpeter and irregular vibratos from one clarinetist stand out as the other horns maintain a processional line. By the mid-point clipped drum figures and a walking bass line accompany a trumpeter whose sharply paced solo full of bent notes could slide unnoticed into any Bop arrangement. Later angled double stops from the cello and viola presage a circus-like drum roll which sets up the final theme variant. Unlike the composition’s final section on the other CD, this variant is rich with polyharmonies and polytones with the theme passed among bass string plucks, sputtering trombone blasts and a cacophonous tutti with unmistakable oboe cries high in the mix.

Although Tönk too has some overwrought sections which seem more attuned to 19th century orchestrations, in the main the disc is more of an improvisational showcase than Bot. This is made clearest when comparing “Ûlõ bika/Sitting Bull”, from the first CD with “Napszekér/Chariot of Sun” from the two-CD-set recorded three years earlier. Arranged in more formalized sequences, the result is nearly a scherzo and could be a film soundtrack. The portamento layering of the instruments include the trumpets playing Dixieland-like triplets, discursive reed bites and the spiccato cello sprawl. But even as the time is broken up with ratchet-like friction and slide whistle shrills, the neatly stacked harmonies maintain equilibrium. Finally Balkan-like clarinet trills presage a final sequence that releases the tension engendered by the massed mid-range instruments and is completed by pressurized string motions and brassy pumps.

In contrast, the other version of the tune is as unfettered as its American Indian namesake. While the octet arrangement on this 2007 session calls for unison orchestral passages, that are meditative and low-pitched, the focus is on individual accomplishment. Ittzés’ flute chirps, Ervin Malina slaps his bass strings and Ranković slurs tenor saxophone tones. Mezei himself triple stops his viola’s strings like a combination of Stuff Smith and Billy Bang, preceding Aksin’s guttural trombone break and leading to a penultimate aletrotic and abrasive hoe down between fiddle and drums plus splintered sax tones and piano chording. Echoing pops from all the strings constitute the ending

Coincidentally or not “Ûlõ bika/Sitting Bull” presages the emphasis on Jazz improv with the otherwise all-Hungarian quartet recorded the next year. The arrangements maintain a full sound by close voicing of the saxophone and viola, Hock thumping bass strings and Szabó whapping the bass drum and rattling drum tops. Mezei’s downward string curves and splintering stops are complemented by the rhythm section, while Bede’s reed bites rend the air. Eventually as the tenor man’s geysers of split tones and guttural spews abate, as in a conventional Jazz line, the fiddler makes reference to the initial theme, which is reprised in a smoother fashion.

If these CDs are accurate guides, the Hungarian-Serbia composer continues to excel at combing elements of compositions and improvisations, with the same high standards applied to whichever sounds he feels like emphasizing. Considering Mezei’s most recent session is almost three years old, one wonders what advances he’s involved with right now

--Ken Waxman

Track Listing: Tönk: 1. Ûlõ bika/Sitting Bull 2. Nõi box/Female Boxing 3. Hep 5 4. Tõnk - Hó/Stump - Snow 5. Bot

Personnel: Tönk: Bravislav Aksin (trombone); Gergely Ittzés (flute, alto flute, piccolo and bass flute); Bogdan Ranković (alto and tenor saxophones and bass clarinet); Szilárd Mezei (viola); Milan Aleksić (piano); Albert Márkos (cello); Ervin Malina (bass) and István Csík (percussion)

Track Listing: Bot: CD 1: 1. Bot/Stick (2002)+2. Föld - levegö/ Earth and Air (1998)+3. Tamara- ki?/Tamara Who?+(2002) 4. Yerma (2001)+5. Tibeti gyors/Tibetan Allegro (2000)* 6. Lépésben/In Step (2000)* CD2: 1. Női box/ Female Boxing (2004)+2. Csip csip (2003)* 3. Huzatos huzat/Breezy Draught (2004) 4. Napszekér/Chariot of Sun (2004)* 5. Medium (2002)+

Personnel: Bot: Damir Bačikin and Slobodan Dragaš* or Lordan Skenderović+ (trumpet); Bravislav Aksin (trombone); Kornél Pápista (tuba); Bogdan Ranković (alto saxophone clarinet and bass clarinet); Emöke Zákány (oboe); Szilárd Mezei (viola); Radmila Stanišić (cello); Ervin Malina (bass) and István Csík (drums and percussion)

Track Listing: Februári: Side A: 1. Akkorra/By Then Side B 1. Pakak/Sedges 2. Februari Fadöntés/Felling in February

Personnel: Februári: Péter Bede (tenor saxophone and clarinet); Szilárd Mezei (viola); Erno Hock (bass) and Hunor G.Szabó (drums)

July 22, 2011

Szilárd Mezei Quintet

As You
Ayler Records aylDL-071

Szilárd Mezei Quintet

Cerkno

Leo Records CD LR 503

Szilárd Mezei Ensemble

Nád/Reed

Red Toucan RT 9335

Someone who consistently proves his skill as a first class composer, inventive arranger and memorable soloist, Szilárd Mezei is fast becoming one of the most accomplished modern musicians in Eastern Europe.

Serbian-born, but a member of that country’s Hungarian minority, the 35-year-old Mezei plays viola, violin plus local folk instruments and writes compositions that slither among improvisation, notation and folkloric echoes. Mezei leads different ensembles, composes for the theatre and has worked with musicians ranging from American pianist Michael Jefrey Stevens to French bassist Joëlle Léandre,

Each of these notable CDs benefits from varied sonic currents in Mezei’s background. Simultaneously a native and an outsider, and able to put dramatic cuing and a mélange of musical input to unexpected uses, the differences among the results mostly lie in ensemble size and recording location.

Nád/Reed, earliest recorded of the three, is a 2006 studio date by a 14-piece band playing five of Mezei’s compositions; Cerkno, recorded later that year at the jazz festival in the Serbian city of that name, showcases a quintet working out on 11 of his tunes. As You, from 2007, features only two long pieces played by a compact quartet, plus two others which add tubaist Kornél Pápista. Mezei obviously attracts players committed to his sounds. Pápista is also on Nád/Reed as is cellist Albert Márkos; bassist Ervin Malina and drummer István Csik. Márkos, Malina and Csik also appear on Cerkno and As You; with the first also featuring alto saxophonist/ bass clarinetist Bogdan Ranković and pianist Milan Aleksić, both of whom are also in the Nád/Reed band.

With the five players broken up into duos and soloists, “Rain, Rain, Rain” and “Thistles”, featuring Pápista are the rousing focal points of As You. Fast-moving lines which weave panting and pumping tuba blasts plus staccato bass and cello splashes, the former opens up still further when Mezei, backed by flams, ruffs and opposite sticking from Csik, sprays jiggling cross tones like a Magyar Billy Bang. Switching to blunt rim shots, the drummer seconds a gruff, growling Pápista solo, while the lower-pitched strings fragment the time into abstractions. Finally speedy fiddle stops backed by cymbal clink-clanks recap the head before taking the tune out.

“Thistles” offers the tubaist an a capella showcase where he manipulates his lines with the agility of an overweight gymnast on a parallel bar. Comments on the theme arrive from portamento from the strings without losing chromatic motion. Eventually a fire engine-like bell and stop-time tuba blasts introduce Mezei’s fleet piercing solo on end-blown kaval flute. Finally the theme variant is ripped apart as each instrument goes its own way only to reassemble for the climax.

More obviously orchestral, yet still with only five participants, Cerkno brings forward more Eastern European-styled rhythms as well as extended jazz-like improvisation. “Kö/Stone”, for instance has a mongrel feel, half-way between an Ellington showcase and exaggerated Volksmusik. Echoing cymbal slaps from Csik, boogie-like shuffles carried by the strings of Mezei and Malina, and block chords from Aleksić set up an shrill alto saxophone solo from Ranković that abuts trumpet territory, while flutter-tonguing and reed biting. The finale consists of the drummer thumping and flailing with what sounds like a tambourine resting on his hi-hat, as well as a broken chord reed vamp that could have come from Charles Mingus’ “Slop”.

Earlier on, “Rokka/Spinning Wheel” mixes Eastern-European dance rhythms from the viola, primitivist hand drumming and high-frequency piano chording. Highpoint is another duo of irregularly vibrated multiphonics from Ranković and jittery triple stops from Mezei, again seemingly channeling Bang. His subsequent string speed and high spirits come in handy when Malina unveils jazzy slap-bass breaks in between tutti choruses, and when contributions from reed, piano and strings turn staccatissimo. As in other spots, the piece ends with sonic shards from each player flying every which way.

“Fohász/Petition”, which also makes an appearance on Nád/Reed, balances on note clusters reminiscent of Anthony Braxton’s Ghost Trance Music, but with higher-pitched harmonics and more emphasis on strings. Featuring smooth bowing from the bassist and cascading theme elaborations from the pianist, the high-pitched melody almost vanishes within Roma-like polytones from the strings and sprawling reed squeaks, until the heraldic theme asserts itself. Pulsating in duple and triple meter, and despite tremolo piano lines, the sounds still manage to skirt parody.

An additional nine players’ presence on Nád/Reed means that the interpretation of “Fohász/Petition” begins to resemble a variant on a recital for viola and 13-piece chamber orchestra. Massed connective chords from the group hold the mood until trombonist Branislav Aksin splutters out the beginnings of tension-inducing chords. As contrapuntal asides from Ranković’s alto saxophone and metronomic hammering from Aleksić extend the melody in dynamic phrases, its formalism is dissipated for a time. Romantic sweeps from cellos and viola plus nasal oboe puffs reintroduce the head redefined in stylized dance-like movement.

This use of additional instruments push Mezei’s compositions and arrangements creates a resemblance to the semi-formal, semi-buffo performances of other largish ensembles such as Willem Breuker’s Kollektief and Globe Unity. Perhaps the folk element may be a bit stronger here, but like German pianist Ulrich Gumpert’s arrangements and compositions for Zentralquartett, the tunes’ origins are as much Mezei as Magyar. “Esölovak/Rain Horses”, for instance, is elaborate enough on its own, but there are times that riffs from Ornette Coleman’s “Lonely Woman” appear to be referenced. Also on hand are a goodly number of multi-string arpeggios and extensions plus Aleksić’s bell-like pulses on the celesta, suggesting links to Hungarian court music. But these pseudo-anachronisms share space with circular alto saxophone solos that are half Roma and half Rollins, and intermezzos given over to double counterpoint between Slobodan Dragaš’ brassy trumpet and Mezei sul ponticello lines.

Circular and contrapuntal, “Cirkula/Circle Saw”, which begins the program, initially balances on strummed piano strings and vibraphone pitter-patter from Ivan Burka before other instruments join in. Throughout the arrangement however, every instrument is balanced and is clearly heard. Aksin’s plunger explosions are lined up against Ranković’s reed fillips, for instance, while double-stopping bass lines and two-beat drum rhythms enliven other sections.

Each one of these discs confirms that Mezei and his musicians in some formation or another deserves further exposure outside his Serbian-Hungarian base.

-- Ken Waxman

Track Listing: Nád: 1. Cirkula/Circle Saw 2. Esölovak/Rain Horses 3. Hep 1 4. Hep 2 5.

Fohász/Petition

Personnel: Nád: Slobodan Dragaš (trumpet); Branislav Aksin (trombone); Kornél Pápista (tuba); Bogdan Ranković (alto saxophone and bass clarinet); Svetlana Novakovic (flute); Emöke Zákány (oboe); Szilárd Mezei (viola); Milan Aleksić (piano and celesta); Ivan Burka (vibraphone, marimba and xylophone); Albert Márkos and Viktor Molnár (cellos); Ervin Malina (bass); Hunor G. Szabo (drums and marimba); István Csik (drums and percussion)

Track Listing: As: 1. As You 2. Outside of the Game 3. Rain, Rain, Rain 4. Thistle

Personnel: As: Kornél Pápista (tuba); Szilárd Mezei (viola and kaval); Albert Márkos (cello); Ervin Malina (bass) and István Csik (drums and percussion)

Track Listing: Cerkno: 1. Collective Improvisation 2. Rokka/Spinning Wheel 3. Háromfa/Three Trees 4. Cougar 5. Foház/Petition 6. Jaguár/Jaguar 7. Inkább/Rather 8. Játék/Play 9. Az a tánc/That Dance 10. Kö/Stone 11. Uncia

Personnel: Cerkno: Bogdan Ranković (alto saxophone and bass clarinet); Szilárd Mezei (viola); Milan Aleksić (piano); Ervin Malina (bass) and István Csik (drums and percussion)

March 6, 2009