BUDAPEST RAGTIME BAND (Hungary)

(https://www.facebook.com/budapest.ragtime.band)

 

The Budapest Ragtime Band was founded in 1980 by former students of the Franz Liszt Music Academy of Budapest, the band has seven highly qualified musicians. 

The high standard and creativity of their performances have made them one of the most prestigious jazz bands in Hungary and abroad for more than four decades.

The repertoire of the musicians includes pieces of traditional ragtime and classical music, swing melodies, dixieland-evergreens, virtuoso instrument solos.

In addition to nurturing the traditions of ragtime music, the band aims to introduce a multitude of other traditional American music genres. 

The unique and extraordinary shows of the popular band of Spike Jones gave them the idea to prepare and play humorous adaptations and parodies of classical music pieces like e.g. Strauss’ Blue Danube Waltz, Khachaturian’s Sword Dance, Brahms’ Hungarian Dances and the Monti Csardas. 

The musicians have produced exceptional instrumentation setups, in line with their own interpretation of ragtime. 

The band constantly freshens up its repertoire with musical gags, improvisation and extraordinary instrumentation that guarantees a great show and special music experience.

 In the last years there have been some changes in the band, the new young talented musicians in the frontline reach and attract younger audience as well.

The band has regular concerts in Hungary and abroad, in the past decades they have toured in Europe and the USA with great success, performed in plenty international festivals and jazz clubs, also played together with such magnificent artists like Dave Brubeck, Chris Barber, Clark Terry, John Scofield, or Johnny Griffin. The Budapest Ragtime Band consists of seven instrumental musicians:

 

Ferenc GAYER, bass (band leader)

Krisztián CSAPÓ, trombone

Tivadar VARGA, piano

Sándor CSÁRICS, trumpet

József SZÉKI, xylophone, percussions

Tibor ANTAL, violin

János WESZELY, drums