Born and raised in Transylvania/Romania, guitarist and composer Zsolt Bende started at the age 6 on classical violin and piano and by 17 had taken up jazz guitar. The fall of the communist regime brought greater freedom and Zsolt took the opportunity to leave Romania for Budapest where he immersed himself in the local jazz scene.In 1994 he moved to London and continued performing and developing his musicianship. While playing with leading British musicians, he auditioned for the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston. Upon receiving a scholarship he studied jazz composition and performance with George Garzone, Hal Crook, Mick Goodrick and Charlie Banacos (Mike Stern and Michael Brecker's former teacher).He returned to the UK to join Arnie Somogyi's Quintet. The band, which also featured saxophonist Tony Lakatos and pianist Liam Noble, debuted at Ronnie Scott's Club and the subsequent CD Cold Cherry Soup was met with widespread acclaim winning recognition as BBC Music Magazine's Pick of the Month.Zsolt's recent return to Budapest, Hungary has him performing his original music with his band at various venues and festivals throughout Europe.. Also he is a member of the band Improvokation which combines the musical heritage and creative talents of some of the world's leading improvising musicians from both Hungarian & UK jazz and folk backgrounds His upcoming releases include a project written for his sextet featuring some of the finest musicians on the hungarian and british jazz scene
Myspace Layouts - Myspace Editor - Image Hosting
