Szilard Mezei and his Szabad Quartet, "Februari Fadontes"

Szilard Mezei, Hungarian violist-composer-bandleader has been as prolific as he has been interestingly progressive. A look on his website reveals quite a few albums released under his leadership. I've only heard and reviewed a few for Cadence, but what I heard on those convinced me he was someone to watch.

The new one, a limited-edition LP release, features his Szabad Quartet and is titled Februari Fadontes (No Business NBLP 28). The several previous albums I have reviewed tended to have a dark palette, with the lower register holding a very active place in the mix. In contrast Szilard's Szabad Quartet has a bit more of the full range, thanks in part to the instrumentation of viola plus the tenor sax and clarinet of Peter Bede, the bass of Erno Hock, and the somewhat bright drumming of Hunor G. Szabado.

This is a free-form date with plenty of room for four-way interplay between the band members. Mezei has his own way with the viola, and Bede plays a tenor and clarinet in ways that aren't typical--free-form but mostly pure-toned. Hock and Szabado (bass and drums) have an important presence and give depth to the floating suspensions and brooding meditations of Mezei's music.

This is music that does not wear influences on its sleeve, so to say. It's quite out of the norm and holds a musical interest that only increases with increasing familiarity. Mezei is fast-proving himself to be one of Europe's unique avant jazz voices. This is a good one to check out to find out why. I'll leave it to you. With only 300 copies pressed in this limited vinyl offering, you may want to grab it quickly.

Robust Darkness in the Music of Szilard Mezei

Violist-composer Szilard Mezei favors a slightly darker palette than the norm. For a recent album on Leo, We Were Watching the Rain (which I reviewed for Cadence), his ensemble included the lower-registered sounds of the tuba, bass clarinet, and trombone. It may be the the less brilliant, more mellow range of the viola (as compared with the violin) has influenced the group sound he envisions. Whatever the case his music is distinctive in this way, and in other ways as well.

That Leo disc was without a rhythm section and the emphasis was on a chamber kind of sound. The recording we consider today, As You (Ayler, Download Series), includes bass and drums (along with tuba and cello). That addition gives contrast to the end result vis-a-vis the Leo session. It successfully propulses the group further into the free blowing, free rhythm areas of Szilard's stylistic outlook.

The Serbian-Yugoslavian born Mezei plays viola with a kind of presence that brings out the thicker, darker potentialities of the instrument, and of course that fits with the above. The compositions are at least equally important, if not paramount to his musical approach. They are brooding meditations that come alive, enhanced by the group improvisations and solo spotlights that occur as the music unfolds. Everyone in this ensemble is capable of sensitive interplay and that quality is one of the salient aspects of this strong set.

If I am not wrong, we have not heard the last from Szilard Mezei. Growth seems inevitable. As You not only shows the artists' potential. It is a fully formed, dramatic statement and a musical document that absorbs the sympathetic listener at every turn.