Budapest Bár

Budapest Bár was formed by Róbert Farkas (violin) with two musicians he met at the Hungarian Music Academy: Mihály Farkas (cimbalom) and Károly Ökrös (accordion). 

Róbert was performing with several bands, ranging from traditional Hungarian gypsy (Budapest Gypsy Symphony Orchestra – where he performed as a lead violinist), to Balkan music (Besh o droM), to authentic gypsy (Romano Drom), to rock and roll. His friend, Mihály studied cimbalom on the Music Academy. He is not only a great cimbalom player, but he also composes and arranges music. Károly Ökrös was grown up in a family of musicians, and there is no song of which he could not play, he would not have in his collection, being it Hungarian or foreign. Richárd Farkas, Mihály’s young brother became a great doublebass player in this georgeous band throughout the last years, progressing during the many rehearsals and concerts.

In their first big project, the band revived the great heritage of the 30's and 40's café music culture of Hungary. They invited 10 of the most interesting underground rock singers of Hungary to join the band to re-wamp some of the most famous Hungarian chanson and film songs from this period.

The idea of a collaboration between rock singers and a gypsy band may sound crazy – but it has proved to be one of those excellent ideas! All invited singers joined the band happily as they see these songs and culture something that is deeply in their souls, traditions and musical heritage. All of them had a grandfather, a mother who loved these songs and who loved gypsy music. Though it was originally planned as a temporary project, Budapest Bár has become a strong community of 4 musicians and 10 singers, who have continued to work together.

In the meantime, thanks to a lot of rehearsals and concerts, a particular „budapest bár” sound was created, and the audience appreciate the instrumental pieces more and more. The idea of recording a mainly instrumental double album was born, on which one can find classical and jazz music alike. By their third album entitled Music, released in November, 2010, we get to know again a new face of the band: a very exciting mix of Hungarian and international repertoire of jazz, contemporary and classical music, played with the highest musicianship by the band and their Hungarian and international guests.

Released albums

The first Budapest Bár album, entitled Volume 1, was released in 2007. On this album one can hear revived old Hungarian film songs, and chansons from the 30’s and 40’s, arranged to gypsy line-up.

In October 2009, the second, double album was released, entitled Volume 2 – Dance. This album is more lively and more colourful, than the first one: step, rumba and swing make the base of the rhythms, and some songs are good for dancing, others are to chill out. For summer, 2010 both albums became platinum.

In November, 2010, the third album: Volume 3 – Music was launched. This is a mainly instrumental CD, and the repertoire of the album is very unique: it ranges from American jazz standards to Astor Piazzolla. There are American swings, Brazilian bossa novas, sambas, Hungarian evergreens and Argentin tangos and classical pieces influenced by gypsy tunes, Haydn adaptions, and Astor Piazzolla’s beautiful modern tangos arranged for gypsy line-up. All this presented in a high standard, virtuoso and ingenious way, common from Budapest Bár.

Concerts

On the Budapest Bár concerts, people find themselves in old cafés, where audience and musicians lived in a strange cooperation. The band gives the base for having fun – 100% live – and the singers come out after each other to sing the songs everybody knows from somewhere: from grandmas, or old films, or from just from the back of their brain.

When releasing their second album, they renewed the show, and made theater of one of a kind. The scene is the dressing room of Budapest Bár, where musicians and singers get together for secret rendez-vous, and start to play. This is not only a fantastic concert, but also a theater revue with sets and props, where music is playing the main role, and the songs of Budapest Bár is played by the singers, this time turned into actors.

Thanks to the band’s virtuoso way of playing, and the special sound that they create, they are more and more invited to cooperate in international musical collaborations. They have played in New York, in London, and in Rome as well. The musicians they meet during these events, become regular guests and continue to work together with Budapest Bár in Hungary and abroad as well.

Awards

In March 2010 Róbert Farkas received the Honorary Gold Cross medal of the Hungarian Republic for his artistic achievements and work in the Budapest Bár. At the same time, two singers of the band – András Lovasi and Tibor Kiss – also got honored for their artistic careers.

The musicians of Budapest Bár

Róbert Farkas (violin): he started his musical career in the 100 Member Gypsy Orchestra, with which he travelled through the world at a very young age. The openness he gained during his travels drove him to try other than classical musical styles. He has played Balkan, authentic gypsy and rock music as well. Besides the violin, he plays the guitar, piano and accordion. He is a fanatic in everything he does. While he is on holiday it is not unusual that he practices until 5 in the morning on the beach, and he can eat 20 balls of ice-cream when he is in the mood.

Mihály Farkas (cimbalom): Róbert’s best friend (and not his brother!) also studied at the Music Academy and at a young age he was a member of the famous Hungarian Rajkó Orchestra. Besides being a magnificent cimbalom player, he is a dedicated composer and arranges music as well. His music literacy and interest is very colourful. He amazes even the greatest musicians with his perfect pitch and his theoretical knowledge. He is a heroic lover, who is ready to travel to Vienna for a rendez-vous and is never tired to write sentimental poems for his darling – even of doubtful literary value.

Károly Ökrös (accordion): Coming from a family of musicians, he remained here from the good old days. Thanks to his enormous collection of music sheets and all those long nights of playing music, there is no melody he would not know. Instead of talking about Liszt and classical music, Róbert and Károly were mainly talking about old gypsy musicians or bar pianists at the Music Academy. Whether he plays in a small restaurant or in a great concert hall, his love of music always shows. He delivers the newest X-Box games to the band and he has a strong faith in staying in bed as long as possible.

Richárd Farkas (double bass): Contrary to the others, Richárd, the brother of Mihály, didn’t learn the crafts of music in school but from his older friends. Thanks to the numerous rehearsals and concerts, he turned into a great doublebass player. Richárd is the „little baby” of his mother, and apart from the schnitzel of his Mom’s, he doesn’t eat anything else but pizza and kebabs.

Singers: Dóri Behumi, György Ferenczi, Frenk, András Keleti, Tibor Kiss, László Kollár-Klemencz, András Lovasi, Juci Németh, Bori Rutkai, Krisztián Szűcs (detailes coming soon)

One of the most valuable things of the Budapest Bár years is that Béla Szakcsi Lakatos, the greatest figure of Hungarian jazz scene became a friend of the band. He is present on the Hungarian and international stages for decades and has played with the greatest musicians from all over the world. He is a regular guest on Budapest Bár concerts as a pianist.

International guests

Mazz Swift (violin, vocal): she studied violin in the famous Juilliard Music School in New York City. She does her solo project MazzMuse that mixes various genres and collaborates with other musicians including top stars. She worked together with the Budapest Bár musicians in NYC in 2009 and the fruit of this meeting is this collaboration. She is also a singer and a violinist in the band. It is not only difficult to beat her in music but this beautiful black woman is a black belt HapKiDo master, a fitness maniac, understands computer games and eats three plates of „nokedli” (Hungarian pasta) without the blink of an eye.

Brian Kellock (piano): he is a worldclass pianist who is recognized as a stellar talent across the world by the greatest musicians. Brian has received many accolades including a BBC Jazz Award and remains one of the top piano players on the international jazz scene. Brian is a lifetime influence on both Róbert and Mihály, who were lucky enough to play with him in the past. He is equally at home with mainstream and contemporary jazz styles and despite the fact that he is in such demand on the major jazz stages world-wide, he still finds time for his local Edinburgh pub where he is surrounded by loyal fans and friends.

João Egashira (guitar): being an expert of the very rich Brasilian music culture, especially the choro music style, João is the leader of a great band in Brazil called Orquestra Á Base de Corda. He plays the guitar and mandolin, and he is a great composer and arranger. He is a center character of the music scene in his home town, Curitiba. João’s Japanese ancestors arrived in Brazil 100 years ago. Thanks to his kindness and directness, he manages to charm even the most unfriendly waiters. In these situations his Italian-Polish wife calls him Mr. Sympatico.