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kedd, 17 február 2009 |
Free Style Chamber Orchestra
The Free Style Chamber Orchestra was founded in 2004 by composer János Nagy and flutist Máté Pálhegyi. Coming from different musical backgrounds, the two artists have convened a hybrid ensemble of 14 members, consisting of a jazz combo, a string section and woodwinds. As opposed to the sometimes shrill tone of a big band, this unusual setup enabled the establishment of a more delicate sound, thus facilitating the absorption of the kind of jazz and contemporary pieces which otherwise would usually come across to most listeners as cold and abstract.
Over the course of time the band managed to become an active entity within the Hungarian concert scene, and performed in various well known festivals such as the Budapest Mol Jazz Festival, the Kaláka Festival, the Sziget Festival and the Art Festival of Kapolcs. Having won first place award at the Budapest Fringe Festival in 2006, the band was given the opportunity of participating in the 2007 Budapest Spring Festival with a concert in the Urania Film Theatre.
Their first record entitled “Pop Music…” was released by Classic Sound Records in the spring of 2006. With the exception of the title piece composed by Gergő Borlai and Péter Lukács, all music was originally written by János Nagy.
The composer and artistic director of the orchestra, János Nagy is considered one of the most distinguished figures on the Hungarian jazz scene today. He won first place at the Jazz Juniors contest in Cracow, received the “Best Soloist” award at the Getxo International Jazz Festival, and in 2003, as “Best Soloist of the Year,” he received an eMeRton award. In 2005 he was given an Artisjus award. Over the course of his carrier he played and recorded among others with Alex Acuna, Arnie Somogyi, Ben Castle, Bernard Maseli, David Murray, Dave Samuels, Dewey Redman, Krzysztof Scieranski, Garry Willis, Paco Sery, Sangoma Everett, Tony Lakatos and Winston Clifford. In the frame of the Mediawave Festival held in 2001, his trio (which at the same time featured as the orchestra’s rhythm section) played together with world-famous saxophonist David Murray. The concert was later voted the Jazz Event of the Year by the critics of Gramophone Magazine. In May 2002 the trio had Dewey Redman in their midst as a special guest.
Amongst the aims of the FSCO is to make the values lying in contemporary music more accessible for a wider audience, and thus allow the music to become again an integral part of our everyday lives as it had been throughout music history. The emphasis improvisation gets during the concerts is oriented towards redefining the form of chamber orchestral performance. The FSCO also emphasizes its wish to perform many of other Hungarian composers’ pieces, which are adaptable to their musical milieu.
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