János Gonda (11 January 1932 – 10 March 2021) was a Hungarian

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

pianist. Born in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

, he studied at the

Franz Liszt Academy of Music The Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music ( hu, Liszt Ferenc Zeneművészeti Egyetem, often abbreviated as ''Zeneakadémia'', "Liszt Academy") is a music university and a concert hall in Budapest, Hungary, founded on November 14, 1875. It is home to the ...

and earned his diploma first at the musicological and then in the piano department. His activities include composition, concert performances, teaching, and musicological research.

Music

He formed his first band in 1962, and with them made the first LP in the Hungarian "Modern Jazz" series. He led several bands which are featured on anthology albums in the same series. In the late 1960s, he co-led the Gonda-Krusa Quartet with the Polish vibraphonist Richard Kruza. He also recorded with his Gonda Sextet, which he formed in 1972. One of their famous recordings is titled ''Shaman Song''. The sextet consisted of János Gonda (piano, electrical piano), Gábor Balázs (bass), Tamás Berki (vocal, guitar, percussion), Péter Kántor (soprano and alto saxophone), István Dely (conga, percussion) and

Gyula Kovács Gyula Kovács (4 October 1874 – 10 October 1963) was a Hungarians, Hungarian politician, Member of Parliament, who attempted to assassinate List of Speakers of the House of Representatives of Hungary, House Speaker István Tisza on 7 June 1912. ...

(drums, percussion). As a composer, he mainly wrote jazz pieces, but also branched out into other musical forms. He wrote film scores, such as for the

István Szabó István Szabó (; born 18 February 1938) is a Hungarian film director, screenwriter, and opera director. Szabó is one of the most notable Hungarian filmmakers and one who has been best known outside the Hungarian-speaking world since the la ...

film ''

Father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fathe ...

'' (''Apa'' 1966), and other incidental music, his dance compositions and symphonic jazz works. The most significant of the last is his ''Australian Concerto'' of 1970. In 1974, he composed a musical entitled ''Pro Urbe''.

Teaching and research

Gonda's theoretical works also focused on jazz. Of his books and studies, the book ''Jazz'', published in 1979, was the best-known. He was a professor and head of the jazz department at the Béla Bartók Conservatory in Budapest, Hungary, and vice president of the International Jazz Federation. Gonda was head of the jazz department affiliated with the Association of Hungarian Musicians. From 1965 to 1997, he was leader of the jazz department of the

. Gonda was the artistic director of Tatabánya International Jazz Camp and Tatabánya International Institute of Creative Music Education.

Awards

In 1974, he was awarded the Hungarian Erkel Prize.

Discography

* 1964 ''Modern jazz IV-V. - Anthology 64'' Hungaroton LPX 7279-80 Közreműködő * 1967 ''Modern jazz VI. - Anthology 67'' Hungaroton LPX 17372 Közreműködő * 1968 ''Modern jazz VII. - Anthology 68'' Hungaroton LPX 17392 Közreműködő * 1969 ''Modern jazz VIII. - Anthology 69'' Hungaroton LPX 17406 Közreműködő * 1976 ''Sámánének'' (Shaman Song) Hungaroton-Pepita * 1980 ''Vonzások és választósok'' Hungaroton-Pepita * 1980 ''Solo Piano'' Hungaroton-Pepita * 1986 ''Keyboard Music'' Hungaroton-Krém * 1999 ''Képek, Emlékek'' (Pictures, Memories) Binder Music Manufactory BMM 9904-26173630 Saját Film scores * 1975 ''A járvány'' * 1974 ''Holnap lesz fácán'' * 1972 ''Utazás Jakabbal'' * 1970 ''Mérsékelt égöv'' * 1970 ''Horizont'' * 1970 '' Szerelmesfilm'' * 1970 ''A gyilkos a házban van'' * 1967 ''A múmia közbeszól'' * 1966 ''Apa - egy hit naplója'' * 1965 ''Szentjános fejevétele'' * 1964 ''Karambol'' * 1963 ''Nappali sötétség''

Writing

* 1979 ''Jazz'' * 1982 ''Mi a Jazz?'' (What is Jazz?) * 2004 ''Jazzvilág'' (World of Jazz) RÓZSAVÖLGYI ÉS TÁRSA publishers,

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gonda, Janos 1932 births 2021 deaths Hungarian jazz pianists Franz Liszt Academy of Music alumni Academic staff of the Franz Liszt Academy of Music 20th-century pianists 20th-century Hungarian musicians 20th-century Hungarian male musicians 21st-century pianists 21st-century Hungarian musicians 21st-century Hungarian male musicians Male jazz musicians Musicians from Budapest