Live Jazz in Budapest

The current incarnation of the Test Jazz Group made its debut in May 2022 at Mixát, originally formed for a special concert celebrating bandleader György Regály’s 60th birthday. By reviving the name, Regály continues the legacy of one of his most significant ensembles, the original Test Jazz Group, founded in 1983, which became a respected presence on the Hungarian jazz scene over the decades. György Regály is well known from a number of influential Hungarian jazz and crossover projects, including No-Spa, the Kőszegi Trio, Cotton Club Band, Afro Magic, Afro Jam, and Katona Klári’s band. Although teaching has become the primary focus of his professional life in recent years, he still appears on stage on special occasions, performing alongside some of the most distinguished figures of Hungarian jazz. Joining him in the partly reformed Test Jazz Group are Sándor “Soso” Lakatos, Krisztián Lakatos Pecek, and Elemér Balázs. The repertoire is built around Regály’s original compositions as well as selected works from the jazz canon, brought to life through the ensemble’s distinctive musical

Attila Kiss has learned the ways of jazz in New York City. On this night, the audience can hear his compositions. . Attila Kiss – guitar, Árpád Tzumo – piano, Sándor Zsemlye – alto-saxophone, Gábor Vermes – bass-guitar, Szilárd Banai – drums

Fri, Jul 10, 8:00 PM

Salamon Tűzkő All Stars (HU)

Opus Jazz Club / Ferencvaros / Map

Salamon Tűzkő began playing the classical trumpet, but was soon captivated by jazz, the theory and practice of which he also learned from his father. His quintet won a special prize at the Müpa Jazz Showcase in 2022, and has been active on the Hungarian and international jazz scene ever since. For this concert, the young bandleader has gathered the country’s most sought-after and acclaimed musicians: Krisztián Csapó (trombone), Máté Balogh (saxophone), Béla Szakcsi Lakatos Jr. (piano), János Egri (double bass), and Elemér Balázs (drums), to pay tribute to the jazz tradition. Their program features iconic hard bop arrangements with three winds of compositions by Miles Davis and Art Blakey, as well as their original pieces.

Sat, Jul 11, 8:00 PM

Fusio Group feat. Erika Kertész: New Visions – album premiere (HU)

Opus Jazz Club / Ferencvaros / Map

At the end of 2025, the Fusio Group released its ninth album, New Visions, featuring Erika Kertész. The band, which has been active for over 30 years, was formed from the country’s leading artists. Their program consists of compositions by bandleader, drummer-composer Péter Szendőfi, whose musical world is closest to the fusion jazz genre and spans an extremely wide spectrum of moods and dynamics, ranging from lyrical, ballad-like, sensitive songs to energetic, virtuosic themes and grand instrumental solos. Since 2024, the band’s regular guest has been Erika Kertész, whose presence has given their work a new direction. The singer’s voice and performance style harmonize superbly with the instrumental pieces, while her collaboration also brings English-language lyrics to several previously instrumental tracks. As a result, the music on the new album is an intriguing and unique blend that promises an exceptionally diverse and varied soundscape.

Hans Lüdemann and his French-German octet TransEuropeExpress have started their long-term project On the Edges in 2019. Their latest BMC Records album was just released in May, and the musicians are now taking the next step, presenting a grand finale live: the fifth and final new project of the cycle, also to be released on BMC Records, features Ukrainian singer Tamara Lukasheva and Polish trumpeter Tomasz Dąbrowski as guests. Both guests will perform their own compositions, which will serve as the basis for improvisations by the outstanding soloists of the Franco-German ensemble. Hans Lüdemann creates the framework for this edition of On the Edges with new ideas, thereby integrating all five projects in the series into a grand pan-European musical mosaic. The On the Edges series visits five regions inside and outside the European Union. The members of the TransEuropeExpress Ensemble and invited guest artists draw creative energy from the interplay and fusion of their musical languages to paint a colorful, richly layered picture of European jazz, while making palpable the clash of mu

József Balázs is one of the most recognized keyboard players of the middle generation in Hungary, who who is equally at home in the world of ethno-jazz and the mainstream of the genre. The pianist is the leader of the East Gipsy Band, which has been a smash hit at the legendary Blue Note in New York and the Detroit Jazz Festival. Since the formation of the Elemér Balázs Group, he has been the band's other main driving force alongside his brother, making his first recording debut with them (My New Way, 1997), and has been involved as an arranger and songwriter on all of the band's subsequent albums. He has played in the Kőszegi Quartet and has been a member of the László Dés Septet since 2003. In 2005 he joined the Contemporary Gregorian project together with his brother. He has performed with many world-famous musicians such as Randy Brecker, Erik Truffaz, Charlie Mariano, Pat Metheny, Robin Eubanks, Stéphane Belmondo, Bobby Watson and Steve Houben. In addition to his success in the jazz world, he is also recognised as an arranger and composer in other genres (pop, film music).

Floating Beats is an open, fluid musical and visual platform where hip-hop rhythms, the freedom of jazz improvisation, atmospheric electronica, and acoustic instruments intertwine organically. Bence Dóczi (IMDB) uses a sampler, guitar, and effects to build deep, layered grooves and soundscapes, to which Dominik Kosztolánszki (Dom Beats) responds with singing, expressive melodies and psychedelic layers on saxophone, flute, synthesizers, and vocoders. Áron Horváth’s cimbalom adds a unique texture to the music with crystal-clear rhythms and rich resonances, while Pham Van Quan’s live visual alchemy shapes the entire concert experience in real time – sound and image thus forming an organic unity. The artistic goal of the project is to create a wide-ranging, floating, and pulsating soundscape where the boundaries between genres constantly dissolve: deep, hip-hop-inspired grooves alternate with moments of free improvisation, ambient atmospheres, and unexpected bursts of energy. This real-time creation is fueled by the strong chemistry between the musicians, their longtime shared musical hi

The members of Symbiosis 5 met at the Liszt Academy of Music, Budapest and started working together in 2020. They have developed a repertoire of original compositions combining elements of modal and contemporary jazz. The ensemble performed on a major stage for the first time in 2021 at the Babel-Laureate World Jazz Competition, where they earned third place. Subsequently, in 2022, the ensemble gained recognition at international competitions abroad, winning first place at the Getxo International Jazz Competition and Festival and the Sibiu International Jazz Competition. They continue to collect prizes, for example, in January 2023 they not only won the Judge’s Award and the Audience Award at the Müpa Jazz Showcase, but also two special prizes. The group returns to the stage of Opus with a guest soloist, this time joined by cimbalom player Áron Horváth.