A mercurial musician and composer, Szilárd Mezel works with a wind quartet, a string trio, hisown 
orchestra and this more conventional bass and drums accompaniment focusing more on his jazz and folk 
interests. Two of the tunes here - Iszik a betydr a csaponi and Rabé nek - are traditional folk songs, 
reflecting Mezel's own ethnic origins in Vojvodina, a strongly Hungarian region of Serbia and like all 
the best folk music, they conjure stories of joy, sorrow and strong pathos. The viola is a low profile 
instrument in jazz but here it has all the swooping freedom of its violin cousin while having just that 
little extra vocal gravitas. This, combined with Mesei's playing, gives the album an authoritative air 
that sits well with the music's deep roots. Which is not to imply that it's excessively serious. 
This is a true improvising trio, a partnership that juggles roles constantly, deftly and with humour.
Dave Foxall Jazz Journal March 2011
 
 
Without posing as last-hour mutineers, Szilárd Mezei (viola), Ervin Malina (double bass) and 
István Czík (drums) pronounce the death of marginality in the jazz trio format. It is even 
reductive to use the word "jazz" in this case, for Mezei's researching inventiveness is 
upgraded by a moving timbre that reflects East European ancestries more than anything else, 
travelling around quarter-tone trenchancy and melodic pathos with coordinate symmetry. 
Moreover, the Serbian's playing is always sustained by an essential modesty that prevents 
his patent virtuosity from appearing as a protective cover for hypothetical lacks of substantial 
matter. In this environment, the compositions – all penned by the leader – consent the comrades' 
active participation in the formulation of an argot that sounds both complex and indispensable 
for acquiring new perspectives on the score/improvisation kinship. Malina's work benefits from 
its aggregation of architectural exactness and sinewy musculature, empiric elegance and sober 
propulsion well equalized throughout. Czík's percussive solutions are blameless in a music that 
execrates anarchy while remaining "free" even when entirely written and orchestrated. 
Difficult scales in fractured tempos, evocative songs bathed in scarce tonal steadiness. 
There are chunks of pure excellency for everybody here, except lovers of "creative" orthodoxy.
Massimo Ricci http://touchingextremes.wordpress.com/2012/04/13/szilard-mezei-trio-tisza/

SZILARD MEZEI TRIO - Tisza (Slam 532; UK) Szilard Mezei on viola & 

compositions; Ervin Malina on double bass and Istvan Csik on drums & 

percussion. This is Mezei's second CD on SLAM, following Slam 521 

"Tank/Stump" by his Octet. Mr. Mezei is one of the most prolific 

musicians/composers to emerge from Eastern Europe in recent years 

with more that two dozens discs on numerous labels (Leo, Red Toucan, 

Not Two, Creative Sources, etc.) Although Mezei is a gifted 

improviser, it is his ability to draw from Hungarian folk influences, 

that makes his music distinctive. Viola led trios are pretty rare but 

this one is extra special. "Along the Coast" opens and reminds me of 

Billy Bang's fire music intensity and freedom. Each song has a 

different structure, providing a variety of challenges each member of 

the trio. "Rovas/Natch" has a sort of rather tribal beat with 

pounding drums and devilishly difficult viola lines. Although all of 

this music is adventurous, none of it is completely free. It is 

consistently exciting and has that edge-of-your-seat type of 

fascination. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery.Nov 2011

Only recently I appreciated Mezei's Wind Quartet release "Innen" on Ayler Records and here's another chance to get acquainted with his music. His long-time working trio is probably the most accessible musical context he works in and is a great point of introduction to Mezei's fusion of jazz and folk (with much less stress on his modern and classical interests shown clearly in the material composed for larger ensembles).

"Tisza" brings a selection of composed tunes heavily tinged with folk sense of melody, jazz sense of pulse and improvisation-derived passion. Earthy yet gracefull sound of viola corresponds to the potent sense of swing. The strong connection between the musicians, forged by the years of playing together, fuels the compositions with instant fire.

Whether it's the dynamic dance (like "Along the Coast" that starts the cd) or nostalgic ballad (like "Outlaw drinks from Tap" that follows) the trio's music is direct, almost straight-forward, filled with a plenty of strong sparking solos by all three players. Mezei's viola can be sharp like a sting, or gentle and subtle, his fierce playing is filled with virtuosic sense dramaturgy. Ervin Malina keeps the harmonic base and holds the music together with strong walking figures, his solos (like the gritty bowed notes on "Prisoner's Song") show considerable skills, sensibility and sense of adventure. Istvan Csik plays light, filling the air with swinging accents on plates and completes that with some classy solo statements, power and grace. In short: Szilard makes the notes sing while the other two keep the rhythms dancing.

This is a fantastic set of folk tunes (although, apart from two Hungarian folk songs, those are contemporary compositions by Szilard). I can easily imagine those being accompanied by a set of stories, folk fairy tales, telling events and adventures of joy, drama, magic, passion, broken hearts and outlaws.

While modern improvised music often creates the feeling of emotional distance and fills thus created gap between the performer and the listener with intellectual challenges, the music of this trio is down to earth and straight to the body. The sound may be raw but the playing is spirited, vivid, vigorous, vital and filled with gusto. Intense but accessible. Highly recommended.

Il trentasettenne violista serbo-ungherese Szilàrd Mezei è una di quelle figure (purtroppo non rare) la cui fama non tiene minimamente dietro allo spessore creativo. Discograficamente (iper)attivo dal 2004, ha pubblicato da allora oltre una ventina di album, tra i quali questo occupa una posizione certo non secondaria, a iniziare dalla compiutezza "geometrica" del gruppo, la sua felicità e preziosità timbrica, quel palpabile remare di tutti nella stessa direzione.

Si parte con "Part mentén / Along the Coast," episodio vitale quanto raffinato, intriso di un umore popolaresco sottile quanto avvertibile (non solo qui, del resto, ma già fin dall'approccio strumentale di Mezei, con quelle inflessioni bucoliche, quasi terragne e quasi solenni, che rimandano, fra gli altri, a un Leroy Jenkins come al Billy Bang dell'era-String Trio). Volatile, quasi astratto (e magari lievemente monolitico) è il successivo "Iszik a betyár a csapon / Outlaw Drinks from Tap," mentre subito più vivace si presenta "Kaffir Cat," come sempre dominato dalla timbrica particolarissima, quasi sonnacchiosa, obliqua, caracollante, della viola, anche nel suo impastarsi col contrabbasso.

Un bellissimo clima, cameristico e raccolto, si respira, ancora, in "Tisza," laddove più mosso, e comunque sempre con quel fascino dinoccolato e ancestrale, è "Rovás / Notch," e persino nervoso, nelle sue fitte intersezioni a tre, "Man with Little Flag". Più lineare e discorsivo si materializza a seguire "Rabének / Prisoner's Song" (come si sarà notato abbondano gli episodi a dittico), mentre ancora una volta la coppia di brani conclusivi vede una vivifica alternanza fra temperature più accese ("Hep") e immediati ripiegamenti (lo scuro, pensoso "Oldalt, le / Aside, Down"). Il tutto sempre nel segno di uninterplayassolutamente magistrale, col dialogare inesausto - per quanto quasi sempre di invidiabile aplomb - delle corde (non di rado archettate anche in Malina), con la batteria a tessere una trama sottostante del tutto sintonica.

Ciliegina sulla torta, notevole è anche la copertina, a firma di Erszèbet Mezei. Il che non guasta, mai, visto che di arte siamo pur sempre qui a dibattere.
Alberto Bazzurro http://italia.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=7302

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