An ensemble of musicians from Hungary, including pianist and composer Bela Szakcsi Lakatos, pianist George Vukan and Mihaly Dresch on saxophone, will be performing in the City on January 20 at 7 pm in Guru Nanak Bhavan. This rare Hungarian jazz concert with two grand pianos, saxophone and percussion has been organised in collaboration with Hungarian Cultural Centre and Embassy of the Republic of Hungary.

Bela S Lakatos began classical music on piano and was inspired by jazz. He learned from guitarist Andor Kovacs and soon became the band leader.

 He has won many prizes from Hungarian Radio, at the Montreux Jazz Festival and other international festivals.
 His eleven record albums with percussionist George Jinda and Chich Minucci was followed by record contracts from GRP record company from 1980s onwards. His other collaborators include Chick Corea, Carmen Jones, Frank Zappa and other jazz greats.

George Vukan is another virtuoso and one of the most versatile musicians in Hungary and Europe. He graduated from the Liszt Academy as a classical pianist at the age of 18. He has been performing both classical and jazz piano all over the world for over 40 years as soloist and with various jazz ensembles.

 His compositions include Masses, Operas, ballet arrangements and others with numerous awards to his credit.
Mihaly Dresch is a graduate from the Budapest Conservatory. He formed the Dresch Quartet and performs at concerts and festivals internationally and writes scores for movies, one being Gangster and folk-dance-inspired dance productions among others.

Entry by donation cards for the Outreach Project are available at the Bangalore School of Music - Phone: 41253208 and 25483409; Alliance Francaise - Ph : 41231340; and exclusive Dockers Stores - Phone: 41497144 /41267007.

Workshop with Hungarian musicians will be held on January 19 at 5 pm at the Music School East West Centre at R T Nagar.

DHNS