Mihály Dresch to perform with Mezei Quartet in Magyarkanizsa and Szeged

SZEGED, Hungary — Hungarian jazz saxophonist Mihály Dresch will perform with the Mezei Quartet in Magyarkanizsa (Kanjiža, Serbia) and Szeged on Feb. 20–21, organizers said Wednesday, in a collaboration blending contemporary jazz and free improvisation.

The three-day program will open with a music workshop on Feb. 19 in Magyarkanizsa, focusing on Hungarian folk song and folk music as a shared foundation for the artists’ work. The first concert will take place Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. at the Magyarkanizsa House of Arts (Művészetek Háza). The second concert is scheduled for Feb. 21 at 8 p.m. at No Milk Today in Szeged.

Admission to both concerts is free, but table reservations are recommended, organizers said.

Dresch, a recipient of the Kossuth Prize and the Liszt Ferenc Prize, is a leading figure in Hungarian jazz known for blending folk traditions with jazz. He first performed in the Vojvodina region in 1979, and his influence there has been significant.

Szilárd Mezei, a member of the Hungarian minority in Serbia’s Vojvodina region, leads the Mezei Quartet. Born in 1974 in Zenta, Mezei is a composer and multi-instrumentalist active in contemporary jazz and free improvisation. The quartet’s repertoire spans structured compositions and free improvisatory work rooted in Hungarian folk, contemporary music and modern jazz.

While Dresch has previously collaborated with Mezei in other ensembles, this will be his first full concert program with the Mezei Quartet, organizers said.

The ensemble will feature Dresch on tenor and soprano saxophones, recorder and fuhun — a folk-inspired wind instrument; Mezei on viola; Ivan Burka on vibraphone; Ervin Malina on double bass; and István Csík on drums.

The events are presented by the Regional Creative Workshop of Magyarkanizsa, with support from the Szeged Regional Workshop of the Hungarian Academy of Arts and assistance from the Zenergia Association of Szeged.

Source: Hungarian Academy of Arts