On the 21st February 2025, Hungarian jazz pianist, József Balázs gave a concert at our Institute. On this occasion, Virág Muzslai was in conversation with the artist, as well as, Péter Pallai, co-founder of the Hungarian Harmónia Jazz Workshop.
Virág Muzslai: You’ve just played a little on the piano, what do you think? Is it good? How does it feel to be the one who will perform the “initiation” of our new piano?
József Balázs: Definitely, I feel amazing, it’s an honour to be here in London and to be the first to play on this piano. And it’s a good piano, it has such a beautiful sound, it will work perfectly in every way because it’s a great instrument. It’s also good for classical music, as it has a beautiful tone. I think it has only been tuned once since it arrived, but it holds its tune very well, it’s a great instrument. So, it works perfectly. Especially for jazz, because the sound is a bit more mellow compared to a Steinway, so it’s fantastic to play on it. I feel very at home on it and I’m happy to play on such a piano by myself because playing solo is a bit different from playing with a band. I’ve fallen in love with it... only good concerts can happen here.
Péter Pallai: I know how much musicians complain when they sit down at a piano and something’s wrong with it. There might be little things wrong that I don’t notice, but they can hear or feel it with their fingers, and then they either fall into a slump or get angry, understandably.
V.M.: Naturally.
P.P.: It’s their life.
V.M.: Yes.
P.P.: And when a musician sits down with a good instrument or near a good instrument and falls in love with it, it sounds different. It sounds better than it normally would.
V.M.: Yes, it’s love.
P.P.: Yes.
V.M.: Now, this will be your second concert. Yesterday, there was a joint concert with 606 Jazz Club, which was organised by Harmónia Jazz Workshop and 606 Jazz Club, and I’d like to ask about that. Firstly, how did Józsi’s concert come about, how long have you been planning it, and also about the Hungarian Music Exchange, where did this idea come from?
P.P.: Originally, it started from this institution...
V.M.: Really?
P.P: …because at one point, I was the first jazz curator of this institution. Back then, we could bring over whole ensembles, and when the money started running out, I could say worldwide – especially in jazz – we realised it might be a better idea to bring over a soloist to play with local musicians, and then do the same the other way around. So, the musician exchange programme started in 2009, with soloists.
V.M.: Yes.
P.P.: And Józsi performed at such a concert with his trio, alongside Mornington Lockett – a well-known, English tenor saxophonist, and musically, they clicked so well that they spent months asking me to bring the band together again. There wasn’t enough money to take the trio out, but now we’ve got to the point where Józsi was here, Mornington Lockett was here, and it was a huge concert, sold out at 606, and the audience went wild. I should add that the majority were locals, not just Hungarian expatriates. So, it was huge... Józsi played spectacularly.
V.M.: Speaking about yesterday’s concert, how was it? I also heard you’ve been planning to play together with Lockett for a long time. How was it to meet again?
J.B.: It was great. A lot of time has passed – 10 years, yes – and I really like “Morny”, he’s the type of person – I actually mentioned this earlier – who always bursts out. And sometimes, you might be tired, or there might be something else going on, and you’re not really in the mood for the concert – but with him, there’s none of that – because he immediately jumps into the middle of it, and there’s such great energy, heart, and music – it was really good, a great experience with him, I like him a lot. He’s a good person and a good musician, it was a joy.
V.M.: My next question is a bit more future-oriented, and I’m going to ask something you mentioned earlier, what are you preparing for back home? Is there any big project you’re working on, especially since your whole family is made up of musicians, anything you can share with us?
J.B.: Yes, we’re preparing. We’ll have a family project at MüPa. My brother, Elemér Balázs, is one of the best jazz musicians, and a drummer and his son is one of the most talented classical pianists, he’s also a composer, which many people don’t know. He has a beautiful piece he wrote based on Goethe’s Faust, and we’ll be responding to that. That’s going to be our next material, and that’s what we want to do because it’s really interesting how classical and jazz can be blended, a “crossover”, although I’ll be honest, I consider myself a jazz musician, I don’t like mixing genres too much, it either works or it doesn’t. I also play gypsy music and I try to avoid playing it myself, so it doesn’t lose that rhythm, that vibe the music has. So, we’ll just respond to it and work with parts of it, but it’s an exciting musical project. I don’t know if you know him, but Ali Lugosi will be playing clarinet, he’s an incredible musician, and the way they play together with Elemér is fantastic, so it’s going to be a great project. Krisztián will be on the double bass. So, we’re preparing for that, I’m really looking forward to it, and I hope we’ll play and travel a lot with it.
V.M.: I have two more questions and then I’ll let you prepare for the concert. My next question is for you again, Péter, could you tell me a little bit about the Harmónia Foundation, about your activities back home, and about your mission? Those of us who work with you know a lot about it, but we’d like to share it with others.
P.P.: It was quite a simple story. I was in the sauna at the Mányoki swimming pool, and I overheard two people talking about jazz, so I joined the conversation. One of them was an architect, György Kerekes, and I said to him, let’s try to put something together, a jazz radio. So, we started with Harmónia Radio and applied for several grants. By then, we were seven, like the seven dwarfs, and we failed every application. I won’t go into details about why, but the idea of staying in jazz stuck. And even though we couldn’t get a radio station, Civil Radio and Fix Radio broadcasted our pre-recorded shows. Over time, that expired, and we started organising concerts. First jam sessions, then regular concerts. The musicians initially played for a door fee, we begged for money, and eventually, we were registered as a non-profit foundation in 2009. We made an agreement with the Budapest Jazz Club, saying we wouldn’t pay rent for the venue or pay for the technical or lighting, but we would pay the musicians – we’d also received private support and grants from the state – so we would pay the musicians, and if we didn’t increase the audience within six months, we’d part ways. Well, that six months has lasted for 15 years now, and both sides have kept their word. So, Friday evenings are ours, except for July and August, and we focus quite a bit on mainstream jazz, as our audience likes that, and we invite younger musicians because the avant-garde scene is represented at Opus Jazz Club.
V.M.: Yes. Thank you very much, I think this was a perfect summary of what we know behind the scenes, and how much work and dedication is behind giving good musicians the opportunity for continuous performances and connections.
P.P.: The work is in when you ask for the bill in the musicians’ name.
V.M.: That’s another thing, yes, yes.
J.B.: I’d add one thing to all this, what’s genius about it is that this concert organisation thing works, but the beautiful thing is that if someone really knows about it and is passionate about it – that’s the rarer thing. And that’s what musicians really miss when you’re playing somewhere, it’s not just that you’re a musician, or you know you’re a good musician, but they know why they invite you and they know why you’re good. That’s what makes this such a genius and rare thing in the world, and thank God...
V.M.: That they’re here.
J.B.: Yes.