Springing off a sound reminiscent of acoustic piano trios of the 50s and 60s, Oùat explores the memory and perspectives of hand crafted, collective music making. Jazz in its most open operative meaning, in which improvisation is a real necessity, stimulates the trio to confront and investigate our times of sounds and movements. Oùat's music is transmitted through consistent listening and risk taking. An inviting work that gesticulates the most obvious as well as surprising in coming together. Being one of many groups made possible due to the venue Au Topsi Pohl (2019-2022) in Berlin, Oùat started off with performing the music of Ellington, Hasaan Ibn Ali, Elmo Hope, Per Henrik Wallin and Sun Ra. A chatty trilogy instantaneously finding the sonorous meanings of what, where and when, Oùat continues to praise the sound and momentum of collective concentrated creativity, making as much as possible out of an idea, a shared place and time. In the days of the concert, they are recording a new album for BMC Records.    

Following his trio, which has been performing since 2019, guitarist Péter Cseh has formed a new band, which will make its debut on the Day of Hungarian Culture. True to its name, the HIDAK (Bridges) Trio strives to connect different points: the members of the band with each other, the performer with the listener, and tradition with innovation. The band's sound covers a wide range, and almost anything can serve as inspiration for its members, so their repertoire includes the rich harmonies of modern jazz, the rhythmic rattle familiar from minimalist music, and slowly flowing streams of sound. All three members contribute to the program as composers, so roles within the band can be exchanged – thanks to the bridges that have been built.  

The Kristóf Bacsó Triad's music blends elements of jazz and contemporary music with an Eastern European feeling; in addition to carefully composed sections, improvisations also play an important role. Their latest album features the bandleader’s songs, whose magic lies in the multitude of unique melodies, sensitive harmonization, and individual forms, as well as the high level of (ensemble) playing. However, their greatest virtue is perhaps the accessibility that they are able to preserve and even bring to the fore despite all musical sophistication. Let It Go not only expresses deeply human feelings and experiences through its central theme – grasped and missed opportunities, taking responsibility for decisions or letting them go, the limits and unlimitedness of freedom in music –, but also gives space to personal statements such as Soulbird, an homage to Mátyás Szandai. 

Serendipity is not only the closest meanings of Nasip Kısmet, but also the best way to describe this international band’s authentic, multi-genre music: an ancient folk melody turns into a psychedelic outburst by a sudden chord progression, then eases into a mild jazz-fusion breeze by a touch of masterful musicianship. Nasip Kısmet was founded in Budapest in 2019 by Turkish musician Arif Erdem Ocak, who is also the founder and guitarist of the famous Turkish band Seksendört. The band consists of high-caliber jazz musicians from the Hungarian jazz scene, such as Daniel Mester (saxophone & clarinet), David Szegő (drums) and Marton Eged (bass guitar); and Turkish folk/rock musicians, siblings Arif Erdem (guitar & vocals) and Derya Ocak (vocals). Nasip Kısmet plays Turkish psychedelic-folk/jazz/fusion genres and continues to grow its audience throughout Europe.

Tri-City Jazz Collective is an experimental formation including jazz musicians from three big cities, Vienna, Berlin and Budapest, dedicated to a unique way of blending modern original compositions and jazz standards, spiced with a pinch of groove music. Their repertoire ranges on a wide scale of genres from swing through straight-eighth tunes to modern ballads. The quintet initiated by jazz guitarist, singer-songwriter Dávid Lamm features the internationally renowned vibraphonist-marimbist, composer, and jazz educator David Friedman, bassist Stefan Pista Bartus, drummer Valentin Duit, and guest artist Zeek, one of the best MCs and slam poets of the Hungarian music scene.

The poems in the lyrics contribute to the innovative world of Ötödik Évszak (Fifth Season), as do the use of both Hungarian and French, the immersion in the values of folk music that are not commonly known, the creative understanding of folk culture and the joy of chamber music. Their music playfully combines an urban environment and respect for tradition, and runs the gamut of emotions: their compositions alternate between dynamic, virtuosic, melancholic and life-affirming. The core of their songs is the folk music of the Carpathian Basin, which is expanding into the world of improvisation. Sometimes featuring guest musicians, the band sees traditional folk music as a legacy of European culture, in which the creation as an intellectual heritage is also a community's contemporary imprint. Formed in 2018, the band has enjoyed great professional success, in 2020, they represented Hungary on the stage of the Womex Regional Showcase. The members are prominent representatives of the Hungarian music scene, who have already demonstrated their love of music in numerous productions (Buda Folk Band, Lajkó Félix, Dresch String Quartet, Hungarian State Folk Ensemble, Ifjú Szívek String Quartet or Ephemere).  

David Helbock, a leading figure in Austrian jazz, delights audiences worldwide with his projects at festivals on all continents. His virtuosity and creativity have earned him numerous awards, including several prizes at the world's largest Jazz Piano Solo Competition in Montreux (CH), as well as the “Outstanding Artist Award” from the Austrian federal government. In his latest project, Helbock has been able to win the versatile electric bassist and cellist Julia Hofer from Vienna as his duo partner. Hofer has so far mainly made a name for herself in the pop world, whether through tours with the No Angels or appearances in German TV shows like those hosted by Stefan Raab. In addition to her impressive online presence on YouTube, she is now dedicating herself more intensively to jazz together with David Helbock. In autumn 2025, the duo released a new album on the internationally renowned label ACT Music. Faces of Night was immediately selected by The Times (UK) as one of the best jazz albums of 2025. The album promises a fascinating mix of quiet, dreamy original compositions and groovy jazz pieces that bear the unmistakable style of Helbock and Hofer, and it is also complemented by exciting guest musicians. With inventive effects, rhythmic percussion elements in the grand piano, and the dynamic switch between cello and electric bass, this evening promises an extraordinary sound experience and a musical journey full of emotions and innovations. This concert is a very rare opportunity to experience the duo live with all three guests from the album. Singer Veronika Harcsa is a steady guest at BMC. Lorenz Raab is the Solotrumpeter at Volksoper Vienna but also one of Austria’s best jazz trumpet players, while Mahan Mirarab brings a lot of new interesting colors to the duo with his special double neck Persian guitar.  

With their outside-of-genres, song-centric compositions, Subtones has become a favourite concert band on the Hungarian jazz-pop scene in just a few years. In order to connect even more directly with the Hungarian audience, their award-winning album Lángolj features only Hungarian-language songs with lyrics written by Mátyás Szepesi and Péter Závada. Subtones, founded in 2019 by trumpeter Gábor Subicz, is one of Hungary's most exciting supergroups. The arrival of vocalists Vera Jónás and Flóra Kiss has pushed the band towards vocal forms. "Right from the beginning, when this line-up was born, it became clear to me that I wasn't driven by a desire to communicate. With Subtones, I want to make music that I enjoy listening to. People often ask whether Subtones plays jazz or something else. For me, jazz is a mindset: you have to leave as many possibilities open as possible, while excluding playing music just out of habit. I love it when I don't know what other people are going to play, and those are my favourite moments when we kick the chair out from under us. There are so many different elements to our music, we play on quite a variety of stages, from TV studios to jazz clubs to festivals, and I feel that our music is relevant everywhere. With Hungarian lyrics we want to get closer to the audience. I feel that in a local context, English lyrics are a bit of a hiding, a mask. In our own mother tongue, the effect is much more instinctive, the song flies directly into the listener's ears", says Gábor Subicz, band leader and mastermind behind Subtones.  

Kuhn Fu, a jazz-rock psychedelia band, is led by Berlin-based guitarist and composer Christian Kühn. The band, consisting of a fierce woodwind section, a hard-driving rhythm section, and himself on the red Telecaster, plays strange, beautiful, energetic, and eclectic compositions. Founded in 2012, Kuhn Fu has released seven albums to date, was nominated for the German Jazz Prize 2023 and toured extensively throughout Europe, giving over four hundred concerts in twenty-three countries. Zappa meets cabaret; surf sounds and metal riffs ride the Chattanooga Choo-Choo while Shakespeare, Brecht, and Monty Python serve as the godfathers.  

In December 2022, Alex Hitchcock was a guest in Krisztián Oláh's own band, and although a long flight delay and the Christmas traffic shortened the rehearsals considerably, the two musicians found their harmony from the very first moment. Krisztián met Michelangelo Scandroglio at a Spanish jazz festival, and they have stayed in touch with the Italian double bassist ever since, who has performed with leading European bands on several occasions in Budapest, including at the Opus Jazz Club. They quickly connected – "everybody knows everybody", as it turned out –, and Krisztián, Alex and Michelangelo founded a quartet together. Krisztián asked one of Hungary's most outstanding drummers, Ferenc Dániel Szabó, who is also versed in a wide variety of genres, to join them. The members of the Quartet are all composers and bandleaders, so their repertoire consists almost exclusively of their own compositions. Their pieces reflect not only their individual styles, tastes and influences, but also a sense of the pan-European zeitgeist that four young artists of the same generation can create today, here and now.

Beyond the Pulse is a boundary-defying ensemble operating at the intersection of improvisation, fractured digital layers, and intricate rhythmic structures. Featuring four distinct voices from the forefront of contemporary music, the quartet transcends genre conventions to craft a raw, immersive sonic terrain. Beyond the Pulse engages in a dynamic interplay of texture, pulse, and fragmentation, crafting a sonic environment where structure materializes through real-time negotiation and shared artistic intuition. Beyond the Pulse constructs a sonic realm where sound eschews traditional linearity, favoring non-linear trajectories and fractured sequences. Camarda's extended bass techniques and microtonal inflections intertwine with Hautzinger's singular trumpet voice – at once volatile, breath-like, and percussive – while Prowaznik treats rhythm as both anchor and interference, articulating time with agile precision. Forciniti shapes glitch-driven textures and spatial gestures into a fluid sound field, balancing instability with communicative intent. Abandoning predetermined structures, the quartet engages in acute, collective listening, constructing sonic architectures that balance spontaneity with deliberate precision. The resulting music inhabits a space that is simultaneously visceral and intellectual, atmospheric yet corporeal – transcending mere pulse to embody an expansive realm of shared creation and sonic inquiry.  

Dear Uncle Lennie, a band born out of the prolific Belgian jazz scene, experiments with the power of classical songwriting and storytelling without words through short instrumental forms. On the first album of this unusual guitar-piano-banjo trio by Camille-Alban Spreng, Benjamin Sauzereau and Marco Giongrandi, pieces inspired by haiku poetry created an imaginary world with its own locations and characters. Their second album, Sister Juniper – released on BMC Records in September 2025 – is a collection of similar snapshots: behind the evocative song titles lies an entire family epic. The album touches on numerous traditions and genres, from folk to repetitive minimalist music, jazz to country, without ever settling on any one. The miniatures are accompanied by longer, more complex compositions, and the expansion of the trio's universe is also evident in the guest appearance of clarinetist Joachim Badenhorst. The band is now presenting the album live on the Opus stage.  

"Somehow, it's so rare to be able to play music in a truly relaxed way. To create music regardless of time – even though we all long for it." The Surround of Silence project was born out of this inner need. The musical world of Gábor Weisz, Ernő Hock, and Jenő Lisztes is inspired by the freedom of American spiritual jazz, the subtlety of early 20th-century European classical miniatures, and the clarity of 1980s Japanese ambient music. In addition to original compositions, their repertoire includes arrangements of works by iconic composers such as Federico Mompou, Maurice Ravel, Hiroshi Yoshimura, and Pharoah Sanders. In their performances, they seek not dynamic peaks, but constancy and meditative stillness, inviting the listener on a shared inner journey woven around silence.

As a drummer and composer, Elemér Balázs is a defining figure on the Hungarian jazz scene, whose unmistakable drumming can be heard on nearly a hundred albums. In 2000, he founded and has since led one of Hungary's most popular jazz bands, the Elemér Balázs Group. He has played with many of the greats of Hungarian jazz, including Dezső Lakatos Ablakos, Gyula Babos, László Dés, Gábor Gadó, Aladár Pege, Ferenc Snétberger, Béla Szakcsi Lakatos, and György Vukán, and has also achieved success as a member of such bands as Trio Midnight, No-Spa, the József Balázs Quintet, and the Szakcsi Jr. Trio. In his quintet, formed with outstanding colleagues, he pays tribute to the pioneer of free jazz, Ornette Coleman. “I have wanted to make an album like this for a long time, and I felt that Coleman's works provided the perfect basis for it. In free jazz, freedom is the main goal, but that doesn't mean you can play haphazardly. Our goal was to convey our message in an honest, deep, and systematic way – that's the most important thing for us and for the audience, too.”

Bálint Gyémánt is one of the leading artists on the Hungarian jazz scene, attracted by all forms of music with genuine curiosity. He is open to new genres and styles, constantly searching for impulses that enrich his own sound world. In keeping with tradition, he will give his first trio concert of the year on the stage of the Opus Jazz Club. During the evening, the audience will get a glimpse of this year's artistic direction: more pronounced acoustic sounds, freer improvisations, and musical impressions of the world around us.  

Montreux competition winner Nikoletta Szőke is one of the most popular jazz singers in Hungary. In addition to concert halls and festivals in Hungary, she has performed with great success in New York, Tokyo, Brussels, Copenhagen, London and Berlin, singing with Michel Legrand, Bobby McFerrin, Kurt Elling and Gregory Hutchinson, among others. She has released seven solo albums to date, with her latest album Moonglow produced by Grammy Award-winning producer Helik Hadar. Since the beginning of her musical career, Nikoletta Szőke has been a committed advocate of accessible vocal jazz; in 2006, she paid tribute to one of her greatest idols, Ella Fitzgerald, with her first national tour. In this concert, she will perform the standards made famous by Ella, her most iconic songs, with arrangements typical of the golden age of jazz.  

"Jure Pukl once again proves to be a smart composer who is able to channel emotional depth through instrumental eloquence." – All About Jazz Broken yet intricate rhythms, modern bass lines, powerful saxophone melodies, rich harmonic textures, and lyrical, spontaneous, spacey, and unpredictable improvisation – this is the musical language of Analog AI, a bold new band born from the deep connection of longtime friends. Their music is a compelling response to the rise of artificial intelligence. They make a defiant statement: that music remains at its most powerful, beautiful, wild, lyrical, and sensual when performed by real musicians, in the moment, and in front of a live audience. Following his critically acclaimed albums Broken Circles and Melt (Whirlwind Recordings), Jure Pukl – one of Slovenia’s most celebrated jazz musician – returns with his visionary project Analog AI. The group now embarks on a tour to present the material from their highly anticipated new album.  

The international band founded by singer Ilka Kisgyörgy performs Transylvanian folk songs transcending traditional boundaries. DUNYHA's unique sound is created by collective free improvisation, complemented by elements of doom metal and punk. The musical approach creates a unique atmosphere that simultaneously evokes the roots of folk music and places it in a contemporary, experimental context. The band's concept emphasizes the role of "fresh ears" – musicians who come from outside the tradition and can therefore approach this musical material from a new perspective. The aim of the project is not to alter or question tradition, but to present the psychology of folk songs in a more intense way. The name of the band was inspired by a word known in Hungarian vernacular, archaic yet deeply ingrained in collective consciousness: dunyha. This traditional, thick blanket represents both warmth and protection, but its density can also evoke a feeling of heaviness. It is both soft and suffocating – just like folk songs: they offer comfort, yet they are deeply painful; they are beautiful, yet they carry a heavy burden. The emotional world of folk songs is at the heart of the concept. These lyrics convey the feelings and pains of our ancestors and help us understand our heritage. The recurring themes of our carefully preserved folk music heritage are obedience, suppressed desires, forbidden love, fear of or longing for death, and the shocking memories of wars. DUNYHA's dark, experimental musical environment further emphasizes the melancholy inherent in these songs, allowing us to connect with them on a deeper level. These songs are not just relics of the past, but emotional messages that are still alive today.

The Daveform Quintet returns to the Opus Jazz Club with a renewed program, joined by guitarist Péter Cseh. The guitar plays a major role in this repertoire, as the band recorded their latest album with world-renowned Kurt Rosenwinkel in the spring. The band, working in the contemporary jazz genre, uniquely combines American, Balkan, and Scandinavian musical elements, leaving plenty of room for improvisation. Their repertoire features influences from contemporary classical music and the visceral energy of modern grooves. Composer and drummer Dávid Szegő and the cream of the Hungarian jazz scene guarantee an ecstatic experience for every listener.  

After five years of discographic silence, OZMA returns with The Day We Decided to Live at Night, an intimate album by drummer and leader Stéphane Scharlé, marking a major turning point in the band's history. Paradoxically, while being Scharlé's most personal work as a composer, this album is also OZMA's most collaborative project to date. Alongside his long-time partner, bassist Édouard Séro-Guillaume, he welcomes a new team, bringing a fresh wave of young talent: Musina Ebobissé on saxophone, Martin Ferreyros on guitar, and a new addition to the instrumentation, Dan Jouravsky on keyboards, replacing the trombone. He also invites guest artists from vastly different musical worlds, creating a bold fusion of jazz, metal, and rock – his artistic foundations – along with Peul music, Eastern vocals, and electronic influences, reflecting his more recent passions. These diverse layers blend into a joyful and communicative soundscape. The Day We Decided to Live at Night could be the soundtrack to a dystopian sci-fi film noir. Yet, the music never falls into melancholy or despair. On the contrary, it conveys a vibrant message with intensity and energy: an incitement to remain open, to embrace transformation, fusion, and enrichment through others. An album that bears witness to the continuous evolution we embody. A gathering of facets, memories, desires, games, and promises made over a lifetime to the person we have become and will become, without ceasing to be who we once were. A key figure in modern French jazz, OZMA has been touring the world for over twenty years. With eight albums and more than 600 concerts across 43 countries on four continents, the quintet champions bold music that blends rock energy, electronic textures, and the freedom of jazz. Under the direction of drummer Stéphane Scharlé, the Strasbourg-founded group has built a musical universe that is both accessible and adventurous, exploring interdisciplinary dialogues and giving birth to numerous collaborative and multidisciplinary creations that transcend stylistic boundaries. Each OZMA project reflects a constant desire to push boundaries, explore new artistic territories, and build bridges between cultures and disciplines, offering a universal, vibrant, and resolutely contemporary narrative.  

Pianist György Pataj graduated from the jazz department at the Academy of Music, Budapest in 1997. Over the past fifteen years he has played with such prestigious Hungarian musicians as Aladár Pege, Imre Kőszegi, Gyula Babos or the Cotton Club Singers. Pataj Jazz Quintet, his own band was founded in 2009, and after a few changes, the present solid lineup of prominent musicians of the Budapest jazz scene came to being. The quintet revives the hard-bop genre of the '60s and '70s: their sound reflects the world of groups led by outstanding personalities of the period (Miles Davis, Art Blakey, Freddie Hubbard, McCoy Tyner, Lee Morgan, Benny Golson, Cannonball Adderley).

Echo Award-winning Swiss singer Andreas Schaerer is a true vocal acrobat who defies genre boundaries, moving playfully and spontaneously through a wide variety of musical contexts, captivating audiences not only with his breathtaking technique but also a strong stage presence. His latest duo project features Spanish pianist Daniel Garcia Diego, who unfolds his instrumental skills and emotional depth in a unique blend of flamenco, jazz, and classical music. The two artists met for the first time in 2024, when the French Jazz Academy nominated them for the title of Jazz Musician of the Year. After playing together for just a few minutes, they decided to start a collaboration, and following their debut concerts last year, they are now touring Europe.

This concert will be a special occasion not only because the Béla Ágoston QRtet will be presenting the material of their recent album, Joculator City, but also because they will be joined by guest artist Okazaki Masato, a Japanese master of the dallang (singing saw) currently living in Budapest. Masato studied Hungarian in his home country and became a fan of Béla Bartók's work. This shared musical base inspired the QRtet to perform improvisational arrangements of some of Bartók's themes. The traditional sound of the jazz quartet will alternate with contemporary musical moods in the style of Béla Ágoston, which is infused with elements of folk music and free jazz, spiced with a touch of subtle humor.

Armenian-born David Yengibarian studied in Hungary from 1995, where he became one of the most sought-after jazz and world music performers and composers. He has released seven albums, and has also composed several theatre and film scores. The main sources of his folk-inspired music are the Armenian musical tradition, European and American jazz and improvisational music, as well as Argentine tango and the work of its greatest innovator Astor Piazzolla. Above all, his trio is characterised by an emotional performance style heavily drawing on improvisation. In recent years, the band has performed with many prominent national and international guests, such as Miklós Lukács, Tony Lakatos, and Gevorg Dabaghyan. Their own compositions form the backbone of their repertoire at this concert, but Balkan and Latin songs may also appear in the programme.  

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A fresh, elemental energy surges from this album, whose introduction itself is legendary: "We have something special down here in Birdland this evening," announces Pee Wee Marquette into the microphone. And it truly was something very special. This very announcement was famously sampled by US3 on their track "Cantaloop". Art Blakey was at least as fantastic a bandleader as he was a drummer, although his stick work was groundbreaking in its own right, with his storm-raising solos built on enormous crescendos. Pianist Horace Silver was still a member of the Blakey Quintet here, though they would later co-found the legendary Jazz Messengers. The sonic ideal strongly associated with Blue Note was primarily born through Blakey and his band, becoming the basic formula for jazz worldwide for decades, and remains just as fresh today as it was in 1953.

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