Kálmán Oláh

Kálmán Oláh (born March 7, 1970 in Budapest ) is a Hungarian jazz pianist and composer who became internationally known mainly in the field of crossover .

Live and act

Oláh, who comes from a well-known Hungarian family of Roma musicians , received classical piano lessons at the age of seven; at the age of 17 he began to compose. He studied jazz piano at the Béla Bartók Conservatory in his native town and the Franz Liszt Music Academy ; During this time he played with Tony Lakatos as well as in the band of the guitarist Attila László.

In 1990 he founded the trio Midnight with János Egri and Elemér Balázs , with whom he performed at the Umbria Jazz Festival , the Getxo Jazz Festival and the Ciney Jazz Nights in Belgium. Since 1994 he has also directed a sextet, with which he was celebrated at Jazz in Marciac in 1995 . He also appeared as a soloist and with musicians such as Imre Kőszegi , Lee Konitz , Randy Brecker , Herbert Joos , John Patitucci , Stefano Di Battista , Philip Catherine , André Ceccarelli , Paolo Fresu , Kenny Wheeler , Peter Lehel , Jo Mikovich and Tibor Elekes on. Together with the Stuttgart double bass player Mini Schulz , he created the album Sketches from Cello Suites (2001), an award-winning adaptation of Bach's cello suites . In his compositions, Oláh interweaves jazz with folklore and classical music; he brought the singer Irén Lovász to his album Contrasts & Parallels . In 2001 his Concerto for Jazz Orchestra premiered with the Budapest Jazz Orchestra. In 2004 his Concerto for Symphony Orchestra and Jazz Band could be heard with the participation of the Miskolc Symphony Orchestra .

Since 2000, Oláh has been teaching piano and composition at the Franz Liszt Music Academy in Budapest; he also led workshops at the Berlin Jazz Institute .

Prizes and awards

In 1990, Oláh received the jury prize at the Leverkusen Jazz Days , and the following year the Grand Prize at the Kalis International Jazz Pianist Competition . In 1995 the Hungarian radio celebrated him as the best jazz soloist of the year. In the same year he was "best soloist" at the Hoeilaart Jazz Competition and the winner of the Great American Jazz Piano Competition in Jacksonville (Florida) . In 2001 he was the recipient of the prestigious Hungarian Jazz Prize awarded by Gramofon Magazine . In 2006 he was honored by the Hungarian Minister of Culture with the Franz Liszt Prize of the State of Hungary and as a composer with the Grand Prize of the Thelonious Monk Competition . In 2007, the Gábor Szabò Prize of the Hungarian Jazz Association followed.

Discographic notes

• Budapest Jazz Orchestra Meets Kálmán Oláh Images ( Hungaroton , 2007)
• Kálmán Oláh Trio Always (with Ron McClure and Jack DeJohnette )
• Kálmán Oláh, Peter Lehel Hungarian Rhapsody (GOOD International Korea, 2002)
• Kálmán Oláh, Kristóf Bacsó, Sébastien Boisseau Fitting
• Moments from my Life (1999)
• Trio Midnight Live in Budapest (Pannon Jazz, 1997)

Web links

• Web presence with discography

Individual evidence

1. ↑ so Tibor Elekes in an interview
2. ^ Jazz Hoeilaart International Contest
3. ↑ Smalls Jazz Club via Kálmán Oláh
4. ↑ Portrait (Goldberg Project)