[Dixielandjazz] Bohem festival

[Marek Boym]

Last Monday I returned from the Bohem Ragtime & Jazz Festival in
Kecskemet, Hungary.  I must say that the festival, very smoothly and
efficiently run by listmate Tamas Ittzes, with the help of several
devoted volunteers, is the friendliest of all the festivals I've
attended (and there were quite a few over the last 36 years).

Of course, I would not have decided to go had I not known the host
band - the Bohem Ragtime Jazz Band - before: I heard the band in Breda
(the Netherlands) back in 2004, and loved it!

So, off I went.

The festival started with the young American pianist (almost 19) Will
Perkins playing in the lobby, without amplification (the programme
listed the Bohem Trio + One, who materialized only the next day).  How
lovely to hear the real piano sound!  After about half an hour,
"official" proceedings started in the Cultural and Conference Centre
concert hall, with, appropriately, an excellent set by the host band.
Tamas played the piano, the violin, and sang.  Another
multi-instrumentalist was Attila Korb, who played mainly trombone, but
also piano, cornet and trumpet.  Seeing Tamas and him changing places
at the piano was an experience in itself: when Tamas was about to get
up and play the violin, Attila stood by the piano, hand almost
touching the keys, and then took over without missing a beat!  Yet
another multi-instrumentalist was the reed player Zoltan Matrai, who
played clarinet and tenor, alto and baritone saxophone, and flute. The
band was hot and swinging, and gave the rags their due as well.  And
one should not forget that excellent (and experienced) German
trumpeter Herbert Christ, who also sang and demonstrated great sense
of humour throughout the festival.

Then there were George Washingmachine from Australia on violin and
vocals, featured with the Hungarian Swing Manouche Project (for those
who don't know: Manouche is French for "Gypsy").   I had been told
that George Washingmachine, in addition to being a great musician, was
also extremely funny, but didn't realize how until I heard him.  He is
one of those who can put through a joke in a language incomprehensible
to his audience and make everybody roar with laughter (somehow, most
of the Hungarian audience seemed not to understand English).

There were other attractions as well.  The Boogie Woogie Nights
programme featured the Hungarian Daniel Balazs Trio and the German
Frank Muschalle Trio.  The former must play for young audiences - it
was much too loud for my old ears.  But both played well an were
greeted with well deserved applause.  Or the Saturday afternoon piano
concert with Perkins, Balazs and the Scottish Frazer Gartshore, whose
name I had never heard before (well, actually I had - at the previous
night's jam session).

Friday and Saturday evenings ended with a jam session, the former -
hosted by  by the Penge Benge Jazz Band, most of whose members were
members of the Bohem band.  Washingmachine joined the fun, as did a 17
year old trombonist Matias Papp, a bashful looking kid with great
sound, who could hold his own with the grown-ups.  The next night the
jam session started with a big band - the Kiskörös Jazz Orchestra,
among whose members were the saxophonist Zoltan Matrai and the young
trombonist Matias Papp.  After a while, the band was joined by jammers
- Christ, George Washingmachine, some members of the Bohem band -
everyone seemed to be having great fun.  Then the big band left the
stage, and there was a break, after which the jam session, this time -
with Papp as a "jammer" - was resumed and continued till 1:AM (and
half an hour later daylight saving time came into effect.

On Sunday, activities started at 11AM, which left us very little
sleep; the musicians slept even less, having stayed behind an partying
for several more hours.  All bands and musicians came on stage in
succession, mingled with each other - a true musical kaleidoscope, and
great fun!

Earlier I have mentioned that this was a friendly festival, which
requires an explanation: the package offered to foreign visitors
included transportation from and to the airport, a free guided walk in
old Kecskemet, and an excursion of those who wished to participate (it
involved additional payment, but included an excellent lunch).  People
from the festival met the visitors at the airport (my driver was
Jozsef Török, the bass player with the Bohem band).  To the airport
(or, for those who were leaving the next morning) we had an escort, a
very nice young lady.  At the festival, the foreign visitors were
assigned a liaison person, a very energetic, pretty and friendly
English speaking lady named Bogie, who did not let her wheelchair slow
her down; she went with us on the excursion and was our guide at the
walking tour.  Everybody seemed to be going out of their way to make
the festival a pleasant and memorable experience.  I am already
considering a return  visit next year!

Cheers