Ági Szalóki
Cipity Lörinc
FolkEuropa / Hangvetö

Various Arists
Csillagok, Csillagok… / Stars, Stars…: A Celebration of Hungarian Music
FolkEuropa / Hangvetö

Kerekes Band
Pimasz: Magyar Funk
Hangvetö (www.hangveto.hu)

The Soviet Union's demise had a bracing effect on musical creativity in Hungary, where talent abounds and the hits keep coming-as anyone who's turned an ear eastward already knows. Singer Ági Szalóki straddles genres like no one else in her realm, leader of her own ensemble after woodshedding with the Ökrös Ensemble and Besh o droM. Following up on Hallgató (Lament), the wraithlike soprano's 2006 Golden Fonogram-Hungarian Music Award winner for best jazz album, Cipity Lörinc is ostensibly pitched to children, although this is anything but the bubblegum treacle you'll extrude by querying cdroots. Szalóki reinterprets Transylvanian children's songs backed by her top-shelf ensemble (guitar, cello, bass, and percussion, with additional players on piano, bagpipe, furulya-a modified shepherd's flute, and violin), amongst lyrical readings of Hungarian poets Sándor Petofi, Ágnes Nemes Nagy, Sándor Weöres, Attila József, and Ervin Lázár by herself and two popular actors, Mari Kiss and János Kulka. Szalóki swings with the best, as on the gypsy café drive of "Pergeto" (scatting like Magyar Ella), a reggae-inflected "Mit Beszél a Tenglice," or the Miles-in-a-silent-way "Kutyateszi Bálint," where her teasing, seductive voice plays off a spirited children's call-and-response chorus and Dávid Lamm's vintage but never-derivative rock guitar lyricism.

Szalóki also appears on an illuminating collaboration, Csillagok, Csillagok..., a live February 2006 Budapest showcase of some of the country's finest classical, folk, and jazz artists, an excellent gateway for curious listeners seeking an introduction to contemporary Eastern European sounds. Produced by Endre Liber and musical director Róbert Lakatos (violin, viola), its 22 tracks include numerous reimagined Béla Bartók compositions, Romanian folk songs, and Hungarian jazz, played by luminaries including Adam Takács (violin), Ferenc Kovács (violin), Mihaly Dresch (soprano sax), Kalmàn Balogh (cimbalom), and a host of other equally talented artists.

Formed in 1995, Kerekes Band is (like Szalóki) schooled in the folk traditions of Gyimes and Moldova (the Romanian borderlands), where the group has collected hundreds of old songs. Fehér Zsombor (furulya) is the mad-piping leader of this unlikely quintet, rounded out by koboz (a short-necked, Middle Eastern lute), brácsa (a viola with a flattened bridge that allows three strings to be bowed simultaneously, to stirring effect), bass guitar, and drum kit. Winner of the "Young Masters of Folk Art" award conferred by the Hungarian Ministry of National Cultural Heritage, Kerekes takes its roots in a provocative new direction with an inimitable brand of Pimasz (likely to be superficially imitated by hip denizens of Middletown, Bloomington, Austin, Seattle, and UCLA).

Drawing high praise from traditionalists including cimbalom wizard Kalmàn Balogh and folklorist Ferenc Sebo, and enjoying a serious domestic following, they team with mix master Lepes Gabor to forge an amplified latter-day Carpathian groove, a peppery funk-rock-jazz-drums 'n' bass sonic goulash. Contemplate a blend of Jethro Tull, garage guitar, and slap bass (your choice of tune); Zamfir on white lightning ("Csángó Boogie"); Hendrix on shepherd's flute ("Searching," "Két Pásztor"); and Lightnin' Hopkins ambles to Mali via Budapest ("Amadou"). The rest is up to your ears, and your imagination. - Michael Stone Artist web sites:
www.szalokiagi.hu
www.kerekesband.hu

CDs available at cdRoots:
Ági Szalóki
Csillagok…:

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