Bohém Ragtime Jazz Band

On Saturday, 14 September 2024, a one-day programme series, the Celebration of Hungarian Jazz, pays tribute to the genre with free open-air concerts, a book presentation, an awards ceremony and – with a combined ticket – some evening concerts, in this joint production from the Hungarian Jazz Federation and House of Music Hungary. The Open-Air Stage will host the Nart Orchestra, the Bohém Ragtime Jazz Band and Kovász, with Gábor T. Szántó presenting his book on the pianist János Gonda in the Lecture Hall, where the Hungarian Jazz Federation’s awards ceremony will also take place prior to the evening concerts. The Róbert Szakcsi Lakatos Trio will perform at 8 pm in the Concert Hall, while Tzumo Gypsy Dreams will close out the programme at 9.30 pm

.László Matisz of Gramofon magazine writes that the music of the Bohém Ragtime Jazz Band, very likely the world’s most versatile jazz band, “should be medically prescribed to the neurotic half of the world.” The eight members of the Bohém Ragtime Jazz Band bring a total of fifteen instruments to the stage, and they play on all of them too. And that’s not even counting the various instrument-like objects suitable for making music that they employ, let alone the singing and dancing. And they play in almost the same number of styles. Their concerts pay tribute to the America of the 1910s, 1920s and 1930s and feature no little element of bohemianism – as their name suggests – in addition to the music. Their classic Hungarian songs, on the other hand, hark back to the atmosphere of the happy, peaceful times of Budapest. Ideal recreation for people of all ages. The Bohemians have performed at almost every traditional jazz festival throughout the world, from Berlin to Oslo, Dresden, Breda and Pori, and from Montreux to Ascona, Bude, Rimini and Sacramento. Tracks from their 28 albums are regularly played on jazz shows all over the globe. They have organised the Bohém festivals since 1992, and have also hosted the JAZZ CAPITAL events since 2016. In 2003, they won the eMeRTon prize for the Jazz Ensemble of the Year, and received the Bács-Kiskun county Prima Award in the Hungarian Artist of the Year category in 2010.

A joint production from the House of Music Hungary and the Hungarian Jazz Federation.