Jazz Poetry Month: Mihály Borbély Quartet Ft. Poet Tibor Zalán at City Of Asylum @ Alphabet City

(run time 75 min)

We welcome Hungarian Mihály Borbély Quartet in their first Pittsburgh performance. Mihály is known for the versatility of his musical style, ranging from folk and world music to jazz and contemporary music. The Quartet has twice won “Best Hungarian Jazz Album of the year,” in 2014 and 2016. Well known for their rich, mature sound and the complex beauty of their compositions, the Quartet is influenced by Hungarian and Balkan folk music as well as contemporary jazz, interwoven by the spontaneity and freshness of improvisation. In this concert, the musicians collaborate with poet Tibor Zalán and a suite of poetry written about friendship and connection. Zalán reads the same poems in both Hungarian and English, with different collaborations and improvisations each time....

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(run time 75 min)

We welcome Hungarian Mihály Borbély Quartet in their first Pittsburgh performance. Mihály is known for the versatility of his musical style, ranging from folk and world music to jazz and contemporary music. The Quartet has twice won “Best Hungarian Jazz Album of the year,” in 2014 and 2016. Well known for their rich, mature sound and the complex beauty of their compositions, the Quartet is influenced by Hungarian and Balkan folk music as well as contemporary jazz, interwoven by the spontaneity and freshness of improvisation. In this concert, the musicians collaborate with poet Tibor Zalán and a suite of poetry written about friendship and connection. Zalán reads the same poems in both Hungarian and English, with different collaborations and improvisations each time.

Tibor Zalán is a poet, writer, and playwright. He works in the Theatre of Békéscsaba and teaches at the Carpatian Basin Talent Development Academy. He has published two collections of haiku: Frame (2008) and And some haiku (2015). For two consecutive years (2010 and 2011), Zalán judged the haiku contest organized by the Budapest Office of the Japan Foundation. He was awarded the Laurel Wreath Award of the Republic of Hungary. He lives in Budapest, Hungary.

Mihály Borbély Quartet:
Mihály Borbély - saxophones, tárogató, clarinet, bass clarinet, flutes
Áron Tálas – piano
Balázs Horváth – bass
Hunor G. Szabó – drums

During his career, multireedist Mihály Borbély has become a versatile musician working in different musical styles from folk and world music to jazz and contemporary music. Besides the saxophone and the clarinet he also plays several folk instruments including the beautiful sounding Hungarian tárogató. He has played at major folk, world music and jazz festivals all over Europe as well as in the US, Mexico and Australia. He has won several prizes like “Best Soloist’’ of the Karlovy Vary Jazz Festival, “Alto Saxophonist of the Year“, “Soprano Saxophonist of the Year“, "Clarinetist of the Year" (JazzMa), Gábor Szabó Jazz Prize and the prestigious Kossuth Prize as a member of the Vujicsics band.

The Mihály Borbély Quartet includes musicians with similar spirit and taste. The group is a tight-knight band with an improvisational style that includes various styles of jazz, contemporary music and the folk music heritage of the Carpathian-Basin and the Balkans. Their work is saturated by interesting melodic variations and powerful rhythmic patterns.

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