Tördelős

Sax and flute player Mihály Dresch is the leading figure in Magyar jazz and he formed his first quartet in 1984. Over the years he's recorded close to 20 albums and the current line-up of his ensemble includes Miklós Lukács on cimbalom, Balazs Horváth on double bass and István Baló on drums. Although the cimbalom and shepherd's flute Dresch plays on several tracks give the music a slightly folkish flavour, these are essentially jazz compositions with cimbalom taking what would be the piano's role in a regular jazz quartet. The title-track (which roughly translates as ‘wringing’, or something sorrowful) begins with a shepherd's flute over a slow irregular staccato rhythm, initially sounding quite promising. But then it falls into extended improvisations on flute and cimbalom that outstay their welcome. ‘Sirató-Lassú’ features a soulful tenor sax melody over shimmering cimbalom, which finally emerges as a song. Most of the ‘Lassú’ part is a spectacular extended cimbalom improvisation. The liveliest track is ‘Azért Adtam’, while the closing ‘Kecskés’, played on the shepherd's flute, seems to be based on a folk tune and, with its lively rhythm, maintains its folkish flavour.