Gyula Kovács (December 27, 1929 – February 13, 1992) was a Hungarian drummer and music educator. He was widely recognized by American music critics as one of the best

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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

drummers in Europe.

Life and career

Gyula Kovács was born in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

on December 27, 1929. He was educated at the

Franz Liszt Academy of Music The Franz Liszt Academy of Music (, 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 Liszt Collection, which features several ...

. He played with a band led by Filu (real name Fülöp Schenkelbach) in 1949-1950 and then in Lajos Martiny's quintet from 1950 through 1962. He made recordings with Martiny in 1960. In 1958-1959 he recorded with Andor Kovács. In 1962-1963 he played in

Mihály Tabányi Mihály () is a Hungarian language, Hungarian masculine given name. It is a cognate of the English Michael (name), Michael and may refer to: *András Mihály, Mihály András (1917–1993), Hungarian cellist, composer, and academic teacher *Micha ...

's band. He made several recordings with

Aladár Pege Aladár Pege (8 October 1939 – 23 September 2006) was a jazz musician from Hungary. He was well known for his work and was dubbed "the Paganini of double bass". He was chosen as best soloist of Europe in 1970, performed at Carnegie Hall an ...

from 1964 to 1968 and with Csaba Deseő from 1967 to 1969. He also recorded with a quintet whose other members included the pianist

János Gonda János Gonda (11 January 1932 – 10 March 2021) was a Hungarian jazz pianist. Born in Budapest, he studied at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music and earned his diploma first at the musicological and then in the piano department. His activities inclu ...

and the vibraphonist Richard Kruza in 1969 and 1976. Kovács also organized his own trio and quartet for performances and recording in the 1960s. From 1965 until his death in 1992 he taught on the faculty of the Béla Bartók Musical Training College (formerly the National Conservatory). Kovács died at the age of 62 on February 13, 1992, in Budapest.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kovács, Gyula 1929 births 1992 deaths Hungarian drummers Hungarian music educators Jazz drummers Franz Liszt Academy of Music alumni