Djabe
 The No1 jazz/world fusion band of Hungary
Djabe is the number 1 jazz/world fusion band in Hungary. It has been established 19 years ago and since then, Djabe won numerous domestic and international awards and recognitions. Since 2007 Djabe has common concerts regularly with the former guitarist of Genesis, Steve Hackett. From 2002, the band gave concerts in 41 countries throughout Europe, Asia and North-America. Djabe is one of the most invited Hungarian bands by international festivals.
Just to name a few of the most important venues:
Rochester, Baltimore, Washington DC, San Jose – USA; Kaslo, Toronto – Canada; Burghausen, Berlin, Regensburg, München – Germany; Klaipeda, Kaunas – Lithuania; Riga – Latvia; Pori, Imatra – Finland; Glogow, Cracow, Warsaw – Poland; Stockholm – Sweden; London – England; Hradec Králové, Prague – Czech Republic; Bansko – Bulgaria; Graz, Vienna, Wiesen – Austria; Sarajevo – Bosnia and Herzegovina; Udine – Italy; Sines, Portiamo – Portugal; Baku – Azerbaijan; Seben, Garana – Romania; Nis, Novi Sad – Serbia, Ulaanbaatar – Mongolia; Almaty – Kazahstan; Bishkek – Kirgistan; Kuala Lumpur, Penang – Malaysia, Dubai – United Arab Emirates, Koktebel – Ukraine; The Hague – The Netherlands; Zagreb, Dubrovnik – Croatia; Bratislava – Slovakia; Crete – Greece; Moscow, Kaliningrad – Russia.
Djabe plays unique music in which the elements of jazz are mixed with various parts of Hungarian and world music. The main composer of the band is Tamás Barabás, who – at the same time – is the most virtuoso Hungarian bass guitarist. Jazz and authentic Hungarian music are simultaneously present in the play of Ferenc Kovács. According to Archie Sheep, who worked with Ferenc Kovács on several occasions “he is one of the best violin players in the world and in the meantime plays the trumpet like Miles Davis”. He also worked with Dave Murray, Balanescu and Hamid Drake.
The pianist, Zoltán Kovács’s colourful play, sometimes tending to be classical, increases the standard of Djabe’s performance on a large scale.
Djabe means freedom in the African Ashanti language. The founder and other composer of the band is Attila Égerházi – playing the guitar and being the leader of the band, too –, who interprets this freedom primarily by freely mixing the styles and instruments. Djabe’s drummer, Szilárd Banai is one of the most talented Hungarian jazz drummers, his reliable and musical play gives the best possible rhytmic background of the band.
As a sound engineer, the arranger of the band, Tamas Barabas has won the recognition of the experts at Abbey Road with the 5.1 surroud mixing of ‘Sheafs are Dancing’. This release was nominated to surround music award in Los Angeles in 2004.
The outstanding project of the band, the show of ‘Djabe special guest Steve Hackett’ not only contains Steve playing Djabe tunes, it includes playing Genesis and Hackett classics with Djabe. At the Garana Jazz Festival in Romania, 13.000 music fans enjoyed the music of Djabe and Steve.
Djabe in the past 18 years worked together with several foreign and domestic musicians. Ben Castle saxophonist (The Brand New Havies, Sting, Jamie Cullumn) can be heard on 4 albums and 3 concert releases of Djabe, as he also toured with the band. John Nugent, American saxophonist (Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett, Carla Bay) plays on the album Take On and regularly participates in Djabe’s concerts. Malik Mansurov is the master of the ancient instrument of Azerbaijan, the tar – Djabe played with him in Baku and in Hungary as well in addition he can be heard on the album Take On. From the domestic musicians we have to emphasize 2 saxophonists, Mihály Dresch and Viktor Tóth.
The current lineup of Djabe are:
Barabás Tamás - bass guitar
Égerházi
Attila - guitar, drums
Kovács
Ferenc - trumpet, violin, vocal
Banai
Szilárd - drums
Kovács Zoltán - piano, keyboards
Djabe releases can be ordered from the new Djabe Webhop:
http://djabe.hu/en/uzlet/
Releases:
Djabe - Djabe / 1996 GR-004
Djabe - Witchi Tai To / 2CD, MC 1998 GR-007
Djabe - Witchi Tai To / LP 1998 GR-007-1
Djabe - Witchi Tai To Tour / 1998 GR-015-3
Djabe - Lay-A-Loya / 1999 GR-017
Djabe - Ly-O-Lay Ale Loya / 1999 GR-018
Djabe - Tour 2000 / 2000 GR-021
Djabe - Újrajátszás / 2001 GR-023
Djabe - Update / 2001 GR-025
Djabe - Djabe Archive 1993-2000 / 2001 GR-032
Djabe - What more is there to know about Update / 2002 GR-033
Djabe - Flying / 2002 GR-035
Djabe - Evolution / 2002 GR-037
Djabe - Live In Slovakia 2002 / 2003 GR-041
Djabe - Sheafs are dancing / 2003 GR-039
Djabe - Erre táncolnak a kazlak / 2003 GR-042
Djabe - Video archivum 2001-2002 / 2003 GR-046
Djabe - Unplugged at the New Orleans 2 CD / 2003 GR-047
Djabe - Gödöllõ 2001. június 23. / 2004 GR-049
Djabe - New Orleans CD+ / 2004 GR-053
Djabe - Sheafs are dancing - DVD-audio / 2004 GR-039-DVDA
Djabe - Goes to Festivals / 2005 GR-061
Djabe - Slices of Life / 2005 GR-063
Djabe - Slices of Life - DVD-audio / 2006 GR-063-EAD
Djabe - Tájak / 2006 GR-067
Djabe - Táncoltak a kazlak - DVD / 2006 GR-066
Djabe - Message from the Road - CD, DVD / 2007 GR-071/072
Djabe - Köszönjök, Sipi! / 2007 GR-073
Djabe - Take on / 2008 GR-074
Djabe - Take on DVD Audio, DVD Video / 2008 GR-077
Djabe/Steve Hackett - Sipi benefit concert 2CD / 2009 GR-080
Djabe special guest Steve Hackett: In the footsteps of Attila and Genghis 2 CD / 2011 GR-094
Djabe 15 2DVD / 2011 GR-096
Djabe: Update 5.1 - DVD Audio / 2011 GR-098
Djabe: Update 5.1 - DVD Audio Double Disc Edition / 2011 GR-099
Djabe: Slices of Live - koncert DVD / 2012 GR-102
Djabe: Down And Up - CD / 2012 GR-100-2
Djabe: Down And Up - LP / 2012 GR-100-1
Djabe: Down And Up - DVD Audio/Video / 2012 GR-100-5
Djabe special guest Steve Hackett: Summer Storms And Rocking Rivers - 2 LP / 2013 GR-107-1
Djabe: Live in Budapest - DVD / 2013 GR-109
Djabe: Witchi Tai To 2014 edition - DVD (Audio/Video) / 2014 GR-111
Djabe: Forward - CD / 2014 GR-113
Djabe: Forward - 2LP + CD / 2014 GR-113-1
Djabe: Forward - DVD Audio / 2014 GR-113-5
Djabe: Live in Blue - LP / 2015 GR-116-1
Djabe: Live in Blue - 2CD / 2015 GR-116-2
Djabe: Live in Blue - BLURAY / 2015 GR-116-5
Djabe: Witchi Tai To 2015 / 2015 GR-111-5
Djabe: Live in Blue - DVD / 2016 GR-116-3
Djabe: Ly-O-Lay Ale Loya - DVD / 2016 GR-120-3
Djabe: 20 Dimensions - CD / 2016 GR-121
Djabe: 20 Dimensions - DVD-Audio, DVD-Video / 2016 GR-123
Djabe – Sheafs are dancing - studio and live (2016 edition) - 2CD / 2016 GR-125
Djabe: 20 Dimensions - 2LP + CD / 2016 GR-124-1
Djabe: New Dimensions Update Live - CD / 2016 GR-127-2
Djabe: New Dimensions Update Live - LP / 2016 GR-127-1
Steve Hackett & Djabe: Summer Storms and Rocking Rivers - CD+DVD / 2017 EANTCD21065
Critics, reviews:
“What does Hungarian jazz sound like? Take
smooth jazz played by seven guys who look like truck drivers and dump
a couple of buckets of paprika on
them. Add a little Eastern European folk sensibility, particularly that gypsy
fiddle. A packed RIJF Big Tent ate it up.”
Jeff Spevak, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
“It's not hard to figure out why Djabe is the leading jazz-fusion
band of Hungary. The group's music is filled with lush textures and appealing
melodies.
Group member Kovács Ferenc, who has worked with David Murray and Archie
Shepp, is an excellent soloist on trumpet, flugelhorn, and violin.”
Rochester Citynews
"I enjoyed Djabe's music and the packaging
for Sheafs are dancing is superb."
Jim Simpson, Birmingham International Jazz Festival
"We all think that Djabe sounds great!"
Mia Hansson / Stockholm Jazz Festival
"This is
a very interesting and intriguing music."
Maurycy Meczekalski, Director of Od Nowa Club, Jazz od Nowa Festival, Poland
"It
is most beautiful music, an excellent production, and the music is
superb."
Brian Dempster, Holywood International Jazz Festival, Northern Ireland
"I
love their sound and stage presentation."
Roscoe Dames, Bahamas Jazz
Festival
"Djabe's music is very interesting, well played
and well produced. Congratulations!"
Associazione Blue Note Orchestra, Italy
"Their music is
good, very good!"
Philippe Méziat, Bordeux Jazz Festival, France
"Djabe is a band from Hungary that has a nice combination of fusion, world music and folk music from their country. It really sounded very good to me. I was pleased over the nice blend of different styles combining into one sound. The pianist and trumpeter were both very good at playing the solos, too. And the rhythm section was very good in keeping the beat together as well."
Andreas Ulanowsky, Sweden
“Djabe
knows everything that is to be known about music. This is proved
by their compositions, the carefully put together pieces together
with their
precise solos. Humour and lyric gentleness, relieved, drifting pulsation
and sentimentalism follow each other in a way that it does not change over
into
soppiness not even for a minute.”
Neltz János, Hungarian Radio
“By the end of the concert we will become slightly different people…”
International
DVD Magazine
“It’s very nicely played and produced
and the musicianship is certainly world class. I think Steve surpassed
himself. The packaging looks
fantastic. Congratulations!”
Billy Budis, the manager of Steve Hackett
“They inspire
and induce each other in order to get the best out of everyone. They
are driven by one intention, by one emotion that is the endless
love of the music they are playing. This is Djabe.”
Digital HomeMovie
Magazine
“Both the content and the design of the album ‘Witchi Tai To’ by
Djabe was made with professionalism that is becoming more and more indispensable
in our days.”
Matók István, Stereo Magazine
„The sound experience consorts with special lighting effects – from
here comes the particular style of the production, a fusion of jazz and world
music using elements of European, African and Asian tunes and rhytms. Already
at the foundation of the band in 1995, Djabe represented the similar style,
and one year later, their introductory CD made a stir at professional circles.”
Retkes
Attila, Magyar Hírlap
“The souls of the musicians
of Djabe were thinking as if they had merged. The instruments are not
accessories of the music, rather they are notions deflating
certain connotations, which melt into the attentive look of the audience
and into the continually projected patterns and lights.”
Underground Magazine
“Whether the music sets you free
or not, that's up to you to decide: one thing for certain, the mixture
of different musical styles will take you
from the land of the Magyars through a cultural array of musical influences
and styles!”
Budapest Week
“Presently, seven musicians are playing at Djabe Jazz Band, who – according
to László Varga, the director of the Cultural Centre – gave
the best concert of ‘Jazz Fair’ during its existence of seven
years.”
Medimurske Novine
“Not only etno and jazz elements are mixed in the music of Djabe, but
also some fantastic rock/pop themes, which were introduced to the band’s
musical profile by Sipos András, playing percussion, as well as being
the vocalist. The one who has met unequivocally with the greatest success is
Barabás Tamás, thanks to his famous solos on bass guitar.”
Jazz Prešov,
X-Cite
“The Hungarian Djabe was one of the greatest surprises of the first
night of Bratislavska Jazz Days 2002. Ethnic effects of worldjazz and the outstanding
solos were crowned by those sounds that were brought out on authentic instruments
by the members, ‘samans’ of Djabe.”
Národná Obroda
Official Djabe homepage: www.djabe.hu, www.djabe.com
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