Special jazz concerts during Debrecen Wine and Jazz days

August 3-6. On the three musical stages of the Debrecen Wine and Jazz Days held between In our music recommendation, we highlight 6 of the many exciting formations.

Veronika Harcsa and Bálint Gyémánt

Veronika Harcsa is an exceptional singer who enchants the audience with her extraordinary voice and emotional interpretations. With his most important musician partner, Gyémánt Bálint, they have created eight records so far and performed at countless festivals and club concerts in twenty-five countries around the world. On their latest album “About Time”, they raise the intimate tone to a new level, the songs are interwoven with extremely powerful cohesion. Veronika’s singing voice is captivating, clear and full of emotions, while Bálint’s playing is virtuoso, sensitive and creative: over the years, they have worked together on how to achieve the most complete sound with just one guitar and vocals. The duo’s repertoire includes their own compositions, as well as reimagined jazz standards and well-known pop songs. Their music has emotional depth, dynamics and technical prowess, which makes the audience part of a personal and intense musical experience. The duo invites you to a concert where contemporary jazz and improvisational pop music meet.

Nagy Emma Quintet

Nagy Emma Quintet is an energetic jazz band with a unique sound, which becomes truly special under the leadership of its frontman, whose voice is clear, full of emotions and powerful. The formation is the winner of the 2023 Artisjus award in the category “Junior Light Music Creator Community of the Year”. The band has come a long way in a short time, since its founding in 2018 and the release of its first EP, it has achieved many milestones. The quintet won first place in many domestic and international jazz music competitions, including the II. At the Belvárosi Jazz Competition (2018), the MüPa Jazz Showcase (2019), the Jazz Juniors Krakko, as well as the Babel Laureate Jazz, while giving concerts not only at home, but also at European jazz clubs and festivals. The unique sound of the Nagy Emma Quintet is given by the diverse musical background of the members, hard drum grooves, free improvisations and contemporary compositions harmoniously combine to provide an exciting, alternative musical experience. The band’s versatile repertoire includes jazz standards, blues and soul songs, as well as their own compositions.

Magyar Jazz Quintet

The history of the Magyar Jazz Quintet, which is fifty years old this year, began with the band Rákfogó, the legendary formation of Szakcsi-Babos-Ráduly-Orszáczky-Kőszegi, and is currently an active participant in the Hungarian and international jazz scene. The band’s repertoire includes classic jazz standards, unique and remarkable sounds based on the themes of Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis and John Coltrane, as well as fresh and modern own compositions. At their concerts, dynamic improvisations and engaging musical communication make the experience unforgettable. In the unique arrangement, the combination of saxophone, guitar, piano, bass and drums sound perfectly complementary to each other. The members of the Magyar Jazz Quintet are looking for fresh sounds and are inspired by the compositions of Robert Glasper, Miles Davis and Joe Zawinul. At the orchestra’s concerts, in addition to virtuosity, musical joy and the transfer of emotions are also emphasized, and its energetic performance is guaranteed to enchant the audience.

Vas/Bukowski/Szmańda

The Vas/Bukowski/Szmańda trio has quite unusual line-up: Vas plays Bence Hammond organ, Dominik Bukowski plays vibraphone and Krzysztof Szmańda drums. At the concerts, they perform their own compositions, and their characterful, unique playing styles give the band a unique sound. Their debut album, “Open-Closed Principle”, was released in 2022 by Polish SJ Records.

Szakcsi Jr. Renaissance

The founder and leader of the formation, Béla Szakcsi Lakatos Jr., is the son of one of the most well-known performers of the Hungarian jazz scene, the recently deceased Béla Szakcsi Lakatos. Szakcsi Jr. has been a master of the piano since his youth and is recognized both at home and abroad. His band creates in the popular form of modern jazz, while preserving the harmonic world of demanding jazz. Their repertoire gives a taste of different eras of jazz, but the audience can also discover romantic and modern themes of classical music. The special feature of the band is that their music is based on vocals, but they complement the sound not as vocals, but as instruments.

Subtones

The 2023 Fonogram jury awarded the Subtones band the prize for the domestic jazz album or recording of the year category for their second LP, entitled “Lángolj”. Subtones is Hungary’s newest funk-jazz-pop supergroup. In their music, trip-hop grooves, playful ethereal vocals, catchy melodies, delicate electronics, and smoky jazz solos are mixed in a very unique fusion. The frontman of the band Konyha, Mátyás Szepessy, and the best-known figure among young Hungarian writers, Péter Závada, also wrote texts for Subtones, which are brought to life by the vocals of Vera Jónás and Flóra Kiss, the keyboards of Dávid Benkő, the guitars of Zsolt Csukás, and the double bass and bass guitar of Tibor Fonay. Their music quickly became popular among discerning ears and music lovers, and they are also a unanimous success live.

Concerts, programs:

AUGUST 3

AUGUST 4

AUGUST 5

AUGUST 6