Now being organised for the eleventh year by Müpa Budapest, the Jazz Showcase is firmly established as Central and Eastern Europe's most important jazz talent exchange. As in previous years, nine bands composed of musicians at the start of their careers will introduce themselves at the afternoon concerts, representing all the variety of the jazz palette. The youngsters will be able to compare their skills before an invited international jury of invited professionals, with the audience also invited to vote: the winners of the professional grand prize and the audience prize will get a chance to play at Müpa Budapest again soon: at the International Jazz Day or as part of the Jazz 0820 programme.
The major concerts at this three-day celebration of jazz will again entice the audience with a colourful set of offerings, since this will be the crème de la crème of Hungarian jazz performing, from the youngest generation to musicians with decades of experience. Taking the stage of the Festival Theatre on the first day will be the Áron Tálas Trio. Led by the eponymous pianist, drummer and composer whose reputation belies his young age, they'll be introducing the material from their first album, recently issued in Japan, to what will no doubt be an even larger audience. The second day will bring to the stage, under the artistic leadership of Attila László, a group of five of our country's superb jazz guitarists assembled to pay tribute to the memory of Hungarian guitar legend Attila Zoller, who died in 1998. The closing-day concert includes a distinctive figure in the Hungarian jazz scene: saxophonist and composer Kristóf Bacsó and his most important ensemble Triad, supplemented on this occasion by New York-based Israeli guitarist Gilad Hekselmann.

The Coquette Jazz Band is a completely new formation comprising students of the Jazz Institute of the University of Performing Arts Graz, while it was founded by two Hungarian musicians: Mátyás Papp and Mátyás Bartha. The primarily play the danceable swing music of the 30s and 40s, and go in search of the era of the Dixieland revival. Their repertoire largely comprises arrangements of works by Fats Waller, John Kirby, Bix Beiderbecke and Duke Ellington. In recent years, they have enjoyed successful performances at several highly regarded festivals in Europe, such as Jazzland in Vienna and the Jazzfőváros Festival in Kecskemét.

Presented by: Müpa Budapest