Primas Parade
Primas Parade
When we hear the word prímás, a picture of a violinist dressed in a blue or red waistcoat playing in the middle of a (HUngarian) restaurant usually forms in our mind’s eye. However, musical history informs us that it was not only violinists who found fame as a prímás, it was also cimbalom players who very often took the leading role in a band as well, such Aladár Rácz or Pál Tendl, two of the most famous examples…
A good prímás is famous for the ability to entertain the audience in such a way that he perfectly feels any change of mood, and can even often predict what kind of music the audience will long for next….
It is thanks to Róbert Lakatos that this production could come into existence. He invited musicians to participate who have not only been band leaders for a long time, but who also found a common starting point in folk music, which each one of them arranges in their own particular style. So, each of the soloists on this album, one way or the other, is a prímás…
The musical ’explorations’ of Kálmán Balogh are of such an extent that he simply could not be absent from a soloistic, improvisational, folk music-inspired production such as this. He appears here not only as a soloist and accompanying cimbalom player, but also evokes the Gypsy village vocal tradition with his excellent tumbling vocals on the final track…
András Lelkes, 2009. Rendhagyó Prímástalálkozó cd