MYNK Quartet:
Nikolett Varga (violin), Tóth Eszter (violin), Boglárka Tuza (viola),
Brigitta Mészáros (cello)
The club is
in a somewhat shabby old residential, shopping and café area adjacent to the
centre of Pest. BJC is conveniently situated five minutes from the terminus of
the 23 Tram at Jászai Mari tér, a delightful 30 minute run from the main railway
station, with great
views along the lovely blue Danube.
Returning in the evening 15 minutes before kick off showed we had rather underestimated the enthusiasm of the fun seeking Tuesday night Budapest salsa and mambo crowd, as we squeezed into two of the few remaining seats at the back of the hall. We also felt rather underdressed relative to much of the crowd (never mind the band!) who were more like an opera/theatre audience.
I have to
confess some reservations beforehand regarding an Afro-Cuban jazz outfit in
Hungary: not only is Latin not my first call jazz genre, but I wasn’t convinced
of the authenticity in a country not exactly either close to Cuba or awash with
immigrants from that part of the world! I needn’t have worried though as
the leader of the band, Richárd Révész, is something of a superstar, a long
standing exponent who has spent many years travelling in Latin America to hone
his skills. The genre seems popular in Hungary (and thankfully with my
wife) and “Ricardo” has even received an award from the Mexican ambassador in
Budapest in 2006 for his services! His comprehensive website proclaims he has
played 3000 shows over 42 years, and he certainly knows how to put on a
spectacle.
While Ricardo
was clearly the MD, running the show from stage left, the singer Yulaysi
Miranda was the undoubted star of the show centre stage, bursting with energy
and threatening to take over the proceedings with her announcements and
exhortations (the very few in English all night). Miranda certainly provided
authenticity as a genuine Cuban, settled in Budapest by marriage to a local
violinist. Her vocals made the night, as she ranged from romantic songs
through to Cuban scat, clicking, yelping and an enthusiastically received call
response episode, surpassed only by her skills in shaking not just the maracas
but everything else she chose to deploy…..
While much of the night was show biz, there was solid and direct soloing from Ricardo, and a couple of very powerful flute solos. The rhythm section worked hard and tirelessly, the double bass particularly impressive. You can imagine the MYNK string quartet rounded out the sound very nicely, and provided some respite from the frenzy with a couple of (written out) features on their own, one a solid contrapuntal arrangement of Piazzolla’s Libertango.
An even more boisterous second set concluded with an encore of Oye Como Va and we headed outside and home to cool down. The jam session will have to wait for another visit!
Highly recommended next time you are in Budapest: a very professionally set up and run club with a printed seasonal programme and comprehensive web site. Plus the prospect of The Dave Holland Trio on 3 November leavening the mostly local acts – I’d advise getting to that one plenty early to get a good seat! Chris K
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