Janos NagyAfter graduating form The Franz Liszt Academy of Music with a degree in jazz piano, composing and arranging, he won first place at the Jazz Juniors contest in Cracow, received the “Best Soloist†award at the Getxo International Jazz Festival, and in 2003, as “Best Soloist of the Year,†he recieved an eMeRton award. In 2005 he was given an Artisjus award. Over the course of his carrier he played and recorded among others with Al diMeola, Alex Acuna, Arnie Somogyi, Ben Castle, Bernard Maseli, David Murray, Dave Samuels, Dewey Redman, Krzysztof Scieranski, Garry Willis, Gumbi Ortiz, Paco Sery, Sangoma Everett, Tony Lakatos, Vernon Reid and Winston Clifford.
After participating in the competition in Vilnius, he gave a series of solo concerts in London and Prague. Not long after forming his own trio, they played together with world-famous saxophonist David Murray at the Mediawave Festival in 2001. The concert was later voted “The Jazz Event of the Year†by the critics of Gramofon Magazine. In May 2002 the trio had Dewey Redman in its midst as a special guest. The trio has since then performed in various festivals abroad (Cracow, Macau, Vilnius and Warsaw).
He has seven albums to his name featuring different formations. In 2002, on a request from the Béla Kövér Puppet Theatre of Szeged, he composed a one-act opera, which premiered in November 2003. In the same year, together with co-writer Miklós Malek he engaged in the adaptation of Bizet’s Carmen. Their collaboration gave birth to a new piece mingling elements of classical, contemporary and jazz music. The premiere of this featured special guest Al Di Meola. The piece was later preformed at the Arena of Pula in Croatia. At the same time he made the album ’To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul’ with Bela Szerenyi on hurdy-gurdy and Judit Kota folk-singer. The album contains contemporary adaptations of Hungarian Protestant songs.
In the spring of 2004 he a founded the ’Free Style Chamber Orchestra’. Coming he have convened a hybrid ensemble of 20 members, consisting of a jazz combo, a strings section and woodwinds. Having won the first place award at The Budapest Fringe Festival in 2006. Their first record entitled “Pop Music…†was released by Classic Sound Records on the spring of 2006. With the exception of the title piece composed by Gergo Borlai and Peter Lukacs all music was originally written by Janos Nagy.
He has been a member of the leading Hungarian jazz-rock formation called ’European Mantra’ since the beginnings. and 9:30 COLLECTIVE!!!
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