Normafa by Bognár, Boros, Hock

"A spiritual jazz masterpiece" Diskunion, Tokyo

The recording was taken in the courtyard of Normafa Ski House, an Art Nouveau-style building on a unique slope of the Buda Hills, known for locals simply as Normafa. What we hear is a spontaneous improvisation between three musicians who have been playing together on many occasions in numerous different constellations. Keyboardist Szabolcs Bognár is best known for his Berlin based international project Àbáse, double bassist Ernő Hock has been a unique sound on the Hungarian jazz scene for decades and drummer Levente Boros besides being one of Budapest’s most sought after drummers, also releases abstract compositions under the Lev Toystore moniker. On "Normafa", the Bognár, Boros, Hock trio performs various standards with a high degree of freedom, bringing the ghosts of iconic eras of modern jazz to life.

Ghosts play an important role on this album, we can perceive them in many aspects of the release. It is a tribute to the work of musicians such as Oliver Nelson, Herbie Hancock, John Coltrane, Bill Evans or Fela Kuti, a humble and gentle homage to their eternal harmonies. The ghosts are also present both technologically and medially, as the recording was made using a traditional mobile phone but given its final form as a vinyl record through processing in an analog studio environment. The atmosphere of the Ski House is captured as a time capsule, with the live recording echoing the chatter of the audience, the clinking glasses and the chirping of cicadas and birds from the towering pines in the courtyard.

Szabolcs Bognár, Levente Boros and Ernő Hock's light playing is also a special experience in its sound, carrying all the tension, essence and diversity of a jazz trio, both classical and contemporary. They spiritually experience the performed pieces and in the process of understanding them, they unleash everlasting melodies such as Pharoah Sanders’s "The Creator Has A Masterplan".

The character of the live recording, the atmosphere of intimacy and the pieces performed, like two palms, lock together perfectly. Notice how, as the needle begins to play the record, the ghosts are released from the grooves.




Liner notes by Mark Fridvalszki