Search - Szilard Mezei :: Cerkno

Superb compositions and playing.

greg taylor | Portland, Oregon United States | 04/28/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is Mezei's second CD for the Leo label and features his working quartet recorded live at Festival Jazz Cerkno, Slovenia on May 20, 2006.

The working quintet is Mezei on viola, Bogdan Rankovic on bass clarinet and alto sax, Milan Aleksic on piano, Ervin Malina on bass and Istvan Csik in the drum chair.

There are several things about this CD that demarcate the evolution of Mezei as a composer and player. I mentioned in my review of his first CD, Draught, that he was obviously influenced by composers the rank of Ellington and Mingus. I now hear less of the American jazz influence and what I think is more of Mezei himself. The man can flat out compose and for a wide variety of groupings. I have purchased in the last year about 4 CDs of Mezei's that were previously released on the GyorFree label that feature everything from a ten piece orchestra CD, Bot, to a duet CD for Mezei and Malina.

The other major change from Draught that I hear is that there is much more playing by Mezei as a solo voice. This may be because Draught featured an octet. But in any case, Mezei is a very strong improviser on a too little heard instrument. Listen to his solo on Inkabb/Rather. Great stuff.

This is a composer/player that should be appreciated by anybody interested in international jazz or contemporary chamber music. His talent is comparable to Tom Varner, Stefano Maltese, Daunik Lazro, etc.

If you are a fan of any of these musics or players, you should definitely give Mezei a listen. Prepared to be delighted."