Jazz English

Though he is a citizen of a small country in Eastern Europe, the Hungarian bassist Aladár Pege, 44, is now making his considerable weight felt on the international jazz scene.

On stage four musicians. The pianist is on the left, the two reed-men on the right and the “singer” in the m iddle on top of a white table. The flutes begin shaping voices in a slow, silent way and soon the distorted (untuned?) piano joins them. The singer sits still facing the audience and then suddenly starts to recite his text without words. This is a ritual of instruments and voice telling a secret story.

Jazz made another breakthrough in Hungary last fall when jazz musicians were invited to appear for the first time at the Contemporary Music Festival in Budapest. Three leading Hungarian jazzmen, all pianists, unveiled their new programs in the concerts at the Academy of Music.

György Szabados, a representative of Hungary’s avant-garde jazz scene who combines in­ternational trends with local folklore, performed his composition Forgotten Songs in a trio with drummer Kázmér Faragó and bassist Sándor Vajda.

Although Hungary doesn't rank among the world’s great jazz exporters, its jazz history is richer than even many local experts might think.

This is shown by a new book, “Hungarian Jazz Records 1912-1984” by Géza Gábor Simon, a jazz lover who has devoted himself to collecting data, articles and recordings relating to Hungarian jazz. His book is the first detailed catalogue of recordings made by foreign musicians in Hungary, and released under license in this country.