USA: Laszlo Gardony-La Marseillaise (Sunnyside 2019)

Hungarian-born pianist Laszlo Gardony loves to perform his versions of jazz standards, and loves even more to compose new and original music—but he is most attuned to the production of creative work entirely in the moment. Everything else he plays is with an eye toward creating a context for devising and executing music on the spot.

That was Gardony’s scheme when he took the stage in March as part of Berklee College of Music’s Keys Fest, and his output, as documented on La Marseillaise, set for an October 25, 2019 release on Sunnyside Records. “When you are performing, what you are bringing into focus is the moment,” says Gardony of his concept for playing piano before an audience. “What you play has to sound alive, and that requires a careful reading of the moment. That’s what makes jazz stand apart from any other genre:

 There’s a real mastery of the intuitive moment.” La Marseillaise is Gardony’s third solo piano album in seven years. That recent productivity is all the more remarkable considering that in the three decades of his career prior to that, he had recorded without accompaniment only once, on his highly regarded 1993 Sunnyside debut Changing Standards.

Why the shift in emphasis? “I don’t know,” Gardony admits. “But I like the possibilities of energy, orchestration, and vibe when playing in solo, and obviously it’s a... more credits released October 25, 2019 Laszlo Gardony - piano license all rights reserved Laszlo Gardony - piano