Rites of Spring
The Budapest Spring Festival – an event mainly intended to give foreign visitors a representative sampling of the capital’s rich cultural life – included a series of jazz concerts organized in cooperation with Hungarian Radio. There were festival appearances in March by the Benkó Dixieland Band with special guests Ernie Wilkins and Harry “Sweets” Edison, the Paul Motian Band, a Finnish-Hungarian Workshop featuring Aladár Pege and Eero Koivistoinen, and groups led by violinist Csaba Deseő and pianist György Szabados. The programs included the premieres of several works commissioned by Hungarian Radio.
Székesfehérvár did host the Videoton Interjazz Festival (May 26-27), an event held every third year. On the first day, there were performances by Hungary’s Supertrio with singer Kati Bontovics, the György Szabados-Jiri Stivin Duo, Toto Blanke’s Electric Circus with Charlie Mariano, and the Soviet Union’s Allegro. The second day was highlighted by the Hungarian debut of the Art Ensemble of Chicago, an eagerly awaited concert which attracted fans from all over the country.
(Jazz Forum, 1984/4)
Turi Gábor: JazzForum 1984/4