Live Jazz in Budapest

Caspar Thorpe and Bence Babcsán wrote their first original composition, titled naphajlat, in the spring of 2024. As a result of this collaboration, they continued to work together as a duo: the backbone of their ever-expanding repertoire consists of original compositions and arrangements that draw on the soundscapes of Hungarian and Balkan folk music. Their musical world emphasises natural sound and a refined style of expression, paired with polished, focused instrumental playing. Capturing the essence of folk music, they sometimes create intimate atmospheres, while at other times they invite the audience to dance with rhythmic, light-hearted music. For this concert, they are joined by guests Tamás Smuk and Nikolas Mantzourakis, with whom they perform their favorite Bulgarian, Romanian, Armenian, Macedonian, Greek, and original melodies, spiced with plenty of improvisation. In addition to the instrumental melodies, Bori Magyar’s enchanting voice makes the program even more memorable.

Fri, Jul 3, 8:00 PM

SamSaRa | Lantos – Juhász – Nyusztay (HU)

Opus Jazz Club / Ferencvaros / Map

SamSaRa, the influential Hungarian world music ensemble of the turn of the millennium, takes the stage at Opus in a reimagined form. The group was founded in 2000 by two renowned and open-minded jazz musicians, Zoltán Lantos and Gábor Juhász, along with two outstanding Hungarian experts and players of Indian percussion instruments, Péter Szalai and Iván Nyusztay. Both Lantos and Nyusztay spent several years in India to master the techniques of playing classical Indian instruments and the authentic harmonic and rhythmic world of the local music. Drawing on his experiences, Lantos even had a special, resonant stringed violin custom-made for himself, which allows him to produce a rich sound that combines the advantages of two Indian instruments – the plucked sitar and the bowed sarangi – with those of the traditional violin. The trio plays Indo-jazz, that is, it brings elements and colors from Indian classical music into the world of jazz. This music has a spacious atmosphere, an airy quality, and an ancient fragrance, the influence of which is impossible to resist.