Magyar Masala
It was one of those January-end-of-winter-Sunday mornings where you don’t want to do anything but be at home and catch up with the newspapers or something. Caught a small note in an old newspaper announcing a Hungarian Jazz concert later in the day. My firstborn keeps hearing about dad going to concerts and this time wanted to catch up on this. He just hung on to this news item. Finally we made a plan and made our weekend worthwhile.
Asked to be at the venue early in the evening to pick up the tickets we landed there more than an hour early. Looking at my 5-year-old, Mrs. Aruna Sunderlal, of Bangalore School of Music walked up and asked us whether we would be able to survive for an hour more for the show to start. We sat in the hall and watched the musicians from Hungary tune their instruments. The little one found it interesting that each instrument made a separate (in his words) sound and it was ‘nice’. Then we explored the theatre - lighting room, projector room and all other places in that building. It was a first for me, I had never been into the projector room before. Though reluctant to do so, we stepped out of the hall for a walk. The interesting thing about Bangalore, wherever you go, a dug up road will greet you, provide you with a challenge and test your survival skills.
The opening act was the Dresch Quarter led by Mihaly Dresch, a saxophonist, Bass clarinet and flutist from the Hungarian Jazz world. Two well-known pianists from Hungary George Vukan and Bela Lakatos were slated to play after them.
The boy was impatient as it was 10 minutes past the start time and I couldn’t calm him down. He was already charmed by the organizer, Mrs. Sunderlal. So he walked up to her and enquired as to why there was a delay. She was apologetic about it and he was thrilled that somebody was as concerned as him about the delay. Guess everyone needs assurance when they are impatient and that is what makes such waits endurable.
Dr.Imre Lazar, Director of the Hungarian information & Cultural centre introduced the musicians and said this was the first of the Indo-Hungarian collaborations and this sojourn should be actually have been called “Magyar Masala.” Then came the Quartet to perform some soothing and refreshing jazz. The boy was enthralled by it. Instead of the blues, Hungarian jazz was influenced by traditional Transylvanian music which was very interesting. I was thrilled that the music captured the little boy’s imagination and kept him engaged for an hour in one place – no mean feat. He wondered aloud - each instrument made a different sound, but it was all wonderful music now.
Then came the break and it disturbed the boy’s concentration. The second session had an additional piano on the stage. Lakatos, who is instrumental in popularizing fusion jazz in Hungary, accompanied George Vukan, a seasoned pianist (playing for the last 40 years). Lakatos has collaborated with Frank Zappa amongst others. These two specialise in blending jazz with classical music. When they play together, they are always in tune. They said they never practice or rehearse the pieces together. Still, each one knew what the other would play. This is the beauty of the work by the duo and they continue playing, enthralling audiences worldwide.
The music with pianos didn’t suit the little boy’s temperament and he wanted to leave. Twenty minutes into the session, we left the hall. Once we were out, the little boy excused himself and ran back. I stood at the door and watched him walk up to the organizer and thank her. He told me it is very important to thank people. Guess he meant the people who respect you irrespective of your size and empathise with you without even knowing you. It was the end of a very pleasant evening. On the way back home, the boy wanted to attend concerts every Sunday!
Asked to be at the venue early in the evening to pick up the tickets we landed there more than an hour early. Looking at my 5-year-old, Mrs. Aruna Sunderlal, of Bangalore School of Music walked up and asked us whether we would be able to survive for an hour more for the show to start. We sat in the hall and watched the musicians from Hungary tune their instruments. The little one found it interesting that each instrument made a separate (in his words) sound and it was ‘nice’. Then we explored the theatre - lighting room, projector room and all other places in that building. It was a first for me, I had never been into the projector room before. Though reluctant to do so, we stepped out of the hall for a walk. The interesting thing about Bangalore, wherever you go, a dug up road will greet you, provide you with a challenge and test your survival skills.
The opening act was the Dresch Quarter led by Mihaly Dresch, a saxophonist, Bass clarinet and flutist from the Hungarian Jazz world. Two well-known pianists from Hungary George Vukan and Bela Lakatos were slated to play after them.
The boy was impatient as it was 10 minutes past the start time and I couldn’t calm him down. He was already charmed by the organizer, Mrs. Sunderlal. So he walked up to her and enquired as to why there was a delay. She was apologetic about it and he was thrilled that somebody was as concerned as him about the delay. Guess everyone needs assurance when they are impatient and that is what makes such waits endurable.
Dr.Imre Lazar, Director of the Hungarian information & Cultural centre introduced the musicians and said this was the first of the Indo-Hungarian collaborations and this sojourn should be actually have been called “Magyar Masala.” Then came the Quartet to perform some soothing and refreshing jazz. The boy was enthralled by it. Instead of the blues, Hungarian jazz was influenced by traditional Transylvanian music which was very interesting. I was thrilled that the music captured the little boy’s imagination and kept him engaged for an hour in one place – no mean feat. He wondered aloud - each instrument made a different sound, but it was all wonderful music now.
Then came the break and it disturbed the boy’s concentration. The second session had an additional piano on the stage. Lakatos, who is instrumental in popularizing fusion jazz in Hungary, accompanied George Vukan, a seasoned pianist (playing for the last 40 years). Lakatos has collaborated with Frank Zappa amongst others. These two specialise in blending jazz with classical music. When they play together, they are always in tune. They said they never practice or rehearse the pieces together. Still, each one knew what the other would play. This is the beauty of the work by the duo and they continue playing, enthralling audiences worldwide.
The music with pianos didn’t suit the little boy’s temperament and he wanted to leave. Twenty minutes into the session, we left the hall. Once we were out, the little boy excused himself and ran back. I stood at the door and watched him walk up to the organizer and thank her. He told me it is very important to thank people. Guess he meant the people who respect you irrespective of your size and empathise with you without even knowing you. It was the end of a very pleasant evening. On the way back home, the boy wanted to attend concerts every Sunday!
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