April 1, 2008

Jazz Concert by the Boston Conservatory Graduate and Montreux Winner Dániel Szabó and His Jazz Trio

Dániel Szabó on piano, Mátyás Szandai on double bass, and András Mohai on drums

The Dániel Szabó Trio gave a unique jazz concert at the Embassy of Hungary on Monday, March 31, at 7pm. The trio, including Dániel Szabó, Mátyás Szandai and András Mohay, played standard jazz pieces and from their own repertoire. In Spring 2008, they have performed at "Chorus Jazz" in Lausanne, Switzerland; at "The Open Shop" and "Take 5" in Budapest, Hungary; at "TBA" in Netherlands and Belgium; at "Duc des Lombards" in Paris, France; at "Le Petit Faucheux" in Tours, France; at "606 Club" and the "Hungarian Cultural Centre" in London, UK; and in the "Kimmel Center" in Philadelphia, PA. This was their second concert in the United States, and the Embassy of Hungary very much hopes to welcome them again in 2009.

The Trio on stage at the Embassy

If you wish to learn more about them, here are some facts and opinions you should know about Dániel Szabó's carreer and the evolution of his jazz band:

Born into a family of musicians, Dániel Szabó started playing the piano at the age of four. He received an all-compassing training in the arts at the Ferenc Martyn School of Free Arts in the town of Pécs. Following his graduation from the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Pécs, he received his BA-degree from the Jazz faculty of the Franz Liszt Academy of Music, Budapest, in 2000.

He began giving concerts quite early: he frequently performed all across Europe as a child in various bands as well as a soloist. Classical music, jazz and contemporary improvisation were all part of his repertoire.

Then came a long list of competition victories. He won the International Jazz Piano Competition held in Lithuania in 1997. He was joint winner at the Gábor Füsti Balogh Talent Contest for Jazz Pianists organized by the Hungarian Broadcasting Network in 1998, and this achievement led to his first trio album published by Warner Music Hungary. In 2000, he came first at the Jas Hennessy Solo Piano Competition that was part of the Montreux Jazz Festival. After that he was invited to give solo concerts at the Montreux Jazz Festival and the conference of the International Association of Jazz Educators in New York. He also won the international Martial Solal Jazz Piano Competition in Paris in 2006.

In 2001 he was granted admittance and full scholarship to the Henry Mancini Institute in Los Angeles, where he performed together with names like Randy Brecker, Christian McBride, Roy Hargrove, Vince Mendoza, Dave Carpenter and Peter Erskine. He got the Fulbright scholarship in 2003 and began his graduate studies at the New England Conservatory (NEC) in Boston, where he got his Master’s Degree from in 2005. During these productive years in Boston he had two outstanding professors: Bob Brookmeyer in composition and arrangement, and Danilo Perez in jazz piano. Other renowned professors of his were Jerry Bergonzi, Steve Lacy, George Garzone, Michael Cain, Allan Chase and Ken Schaphorst. In concerts organized by NEC, Dániel Szabó performed with Maria Schneider, Joe Lovano, George Russell, Harvey Mason, Herb Pomeroy, George Garzone and Tim Hagans, thus becoming an active member of Boston’s multicolored musical life.

The Dániel Szabó Trio plays originals and standard-arrangements written by its leader whose pieces have a peculiar taste and character influenced by the colorful and complex musical heritage of Eastern-Europe. The group has been regularly performing at international festivals, concert halls or clubs and often collaborates with renowned international jazz artists: they have joined forces with Kurt Rosenwinkel, Chris Potter, John Ellis, Rosario Giuliani and Flavio Boltro in the past 2 years.

The band’s new album containing a complete program of originals composed by Szabó features New York-guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel whose band Szabo has already toured with throughout Europe.