Dés László was born in Budapest, January 9, 1954. He has been regularly present on the Hungarian jazz scene ever since 1978 and an award winner soloist of jazz festivals from San Sebastiano to Karlovy Vary. He formed his group Dimension in 1979, touring in Hungary and abroad and during their nine years together published three albums. With two masters of their art Snétberger Ferenc and Horváth Kornél he formed Trio Stendhal. The created distinctive chamber music recorded in Italy and distributed all around the world soon became popular. They have performed throughout Europe as well as in India and were greeted with enthusiasm wherever they played.

He had done a lot to popularise jazz. The knowledge he had gained in the field of jazz were implemented in pop music by creating a higher standard of the genre. He has the exact sense of proportioning the elements of jazz with songs for the wider audience so his academic education doesn't suffocate the actual performance.

His creative instinct urges him to work as performer and composer and has composed music for a number of Hungarian films (Out of Order, Samba, Pirates, Glass Tiger, We Never Die), contemporary music (Hanged), musical (Jungle Book) and pop music for the band Jazz+Az.
Beside enjoying growing popularity as composer he remained faithful to the instrument. In 1993 he continued his career as a soloist, featuring the work of contemporary composers with symphonic and chamber orchestras. His main instrument is the soprano saxophone of which subtle and 'subjective' pure tone, the ingenuity of his improvisational melodic lines reflecting his literate and sophisticated personality, made him one of the most personal and appealing of all jazz stylists praised by the audience and critics, too.

In 2003 he was the founding member of a new group with the following members: Balázs Elemér - drums, Dés András - percussions, Glaser Péter - bass, Balázs József - piano, Juhász Gábor - guitar, Fekete Kovács Kornél - trumpet, Dés László - saxophon.
They have toured throughout the country with their release Segments.

His latest project is called Contemporary Gregorian. The CD was released at the end of 2005. Members of the group: László Dés -saxophon, József Balázs-piano, Elemér Balázs -drums, Mátyás Szandai -bass and the Voces4 Ensemble. The vocal repertoire reaches from 9th century unisonic songs through polyphonic medieval organs to 16th century renaissance motets. Besides Gregorian movements, works of Stolzer, Festa and Lassus are displayed, on which the jazz quartet - as a continuation - reflects with free improvisations preserving certain elements of the original works (rhythm, keynote, harmonic frame etc.) The pieces have been adapted by Elemér Balázs, József Balázs, László Dés, Zoltán Mizsei and Mátyás Szandai.

Education:
1960-68 Kodály Zoltán Music School
1963-71 Piano studies
1971-73 Bartók Béla Conservatory - clarinet
1973-76 Ferenc Liszt Music Academy, jazz faculty - saxofon

Prizes, awards:
1988 Emerton-prize (Hallgass kicsit)
1991 Liszt prize
1994 Film Critics prize- Best film music (We Never Die, Ann)
1994 MAHASZ Golden Giraffe-prize (Great Journey)
1994 Artisjus Huszka Jenő-prize - Best composer (Great Journey)
1995 Artisjus Huszka Jenő prize - Best song (How Beautiful We Were)
1996 Theatre Critics Prize- Musical of the year (The Jungle Book)
1996 The Officer's Cross of Distinction of the Republic of Hungary
1999 MAHASZ Golden Giraffe- Best film music of the year(Jazz+Az:Pirates)
2000 MAHASZ Golden Giraffe - Best pop album, best recording (Jazz+Az:Good for one)
2001 MAHASZ Golden Giraffe - Best video (Dés László: Would you?)
2002 The best film music of the year (Dés-Bereményi: Strip-A Kind of America)
2002 For Budapest Prize
2003 Merited Artist of the Republic of Hungary
2003 Hungarian Jazz Award- Best jazz musician of the year

Festivals:
Dimenzio I.: 1980 Novi Sad, 1981 Wroclaw, 1982 Pori Jazz
Dimenzio II.: 1986 Umeo (Sweden), 1987 Bratislava
Trio Stendhal: 1988 Jazz Yatra - New-Delhi, Bombay, Bangalore (India), Ybs- Innsbruck (Austria)
1989 Kajaani (Finland), Pori Jazz
1991 Paris
1992 Berlin
Dimenzió: 1980; 1982 Finnország
Trio Stendhal: Ausztria, Olaszország, Spanyolország

Ensembles:
1978 - 82 Dimenzió I.
(Dés L., Másik J. - piano, Tóth T. - bass, Baló I.- drums)
1982 Super group
1984 - 87 Dimenzió II.
(Dés L., Szacsky R.- piano, Tóth T. - bass, Szende G.- drums)
1985 - 86 Budapest Big Band
1987 - 93 Trio Stendhal
(Dés L., Horváth K. - percussion, Snetberger Ferenc - classical guitar)
1998-2000 Jazz+Az
2003 - Dés sextet

Film music (without documentaries):
Nyomnélkül (1981)
Another Way (1982)
Szerelem első vérig (1986)
Szerelem második vérig (1987)
A whole day (1987)
Year of Monsters (1987)
Itt a szabadság (1990)
Three sisters (1992)
We Never Die (1993)
Ana (1993)
Pharmacy (TV-series, 1994)
Samba (1995)
Out of Order (1997)
Pirates (1999)
One life time (2000)
Wake Up Jancsi (2000)
Jazz+Az: Concert+Story (2000)
Glass Tiger (2001)
May Day Mayhem! (2001)
A Long Weekend in Pest and Buda (2003)
Világszám (2004)

Documentary music:
Meddő (1995)
Szívügyem (1997)
Szerelem első hallásra (1998)
Almási Tamás: Útközben (2002)

Theater music:
Jarry: Übü király, Fellini: Nők városa, Erdmann: Öngyilkos, Puskin: Borisz Godunov, Mrozek: Mészárszék - Kaposvári Csiky Gergely Színház
Gorkij: Nyaralók, Határ Gy.: Patkánykirály - Nyíregyházi Móricz Zsigmond Színház
Három lány kékben, Goldoni: Új lakás - Katona József Színház
Wesker: Konyha - Szeged
O'Neill: Utazás az éjszakába - Miskolc
Gombrowicz: Yvonne, a burgundi hercegno - Helsinki Nemzeti Színház, Burgtheater - Bécs

Musicals
Maria Vargas Llosa: Pantaleone és a hölgyvendégek - Vígszinház
Radványi Géza: Valahol Európában - musical - Fővárosi Operett Színház, Székesfehérvár - Vörösmarty színház
Kipling: A dzsungel könyve - musical - Pesti Színház /Ősbemutató/ - túl a 250. előadáson, Debreceni Csokonai Színház, Kecskeméti Katona József Színház, Egri Gárdonyi Géza Színház, Zalaegerszegi Hevesi Színház,
S zékesfehérvári Vörösmarty Színház, Szegedi Nemzeti színház
Veszprémi Petőfi Színház

Musicals (without accompanist):
Dés László - Nemes István: Somewhere in Europe
Based on the film of Radványi Géza and Balázs Béla
Libretto: Böhm György, Korcsmáros György, Horváth Péter

Shows:
Operett Theatre Budapest (two hundred performance)
Vörösmarty Theatre - Székesfehérvár
Pécs - over 100 performance (still on repertoire)
Eger, Győr

Dés László - Geszti Péter: The Jungle Book
First Hungarian musical reaching platina album
Adapted from the novel of Rudyard Kipling
Libretto: Békés Pál
Shows:
Pesti Theatre (more than five hundred performance, still on repertoire)
Csokonai Theatre Debrecen
Katona József Theatre Kecskemét
Gárdonyi Géza Theatre Eger
Heves Theathre Zalaegerszeg
Vörösmarty Theatre Székesfehérvár
National Theatre Szeged
Petőfi Theatre Veszprém

Discography:
Discography of Dés László (Author and performer albums)

1981 Dimenzió I
1981 Nyom nélkül (Filmdalok)
1982 Supergroup
1983 Udvaros Dorottya - Átutazó
1984 Fal mögött - jazz szólólemez
1986 Szerelem első vérig (Filmdalok)
1986 Básti-Cserhalmi - Hallgass kicsit
1987 Avec Plaisir - Dimenzió II
1987 Szerelem első-második vérig (Filmdalok)
1989 Trio Stendhal I
1989 Best of Dés Jazz - Running Time
1991 Earth Sound - Trio Stendhal
1992 Something Happened - Trio Stendhal
1993 Rag Handed - Horváth Kornél
1993 Sose halunk meg - Nagy utazás (Filmdalok)
1994 Trio Stendhal Live (koncert lemez)
1994 Patika (Filmdalok)
1995 Valahol Európában (musical)
1996 A dzsungel könyve (musical)
1996 Szamba (Filmdalok)
1997 A miniszter félrelép (Filmdalok)
1998 Jazz+Az I - Kalózok
1999 Jazz+Az II - Egynek jó
2000 Ennyi a dal (Dalválogatás I)
2001 Üvegtigris (Filmdalok)
2001 Évek óta már (Dalválogatás II)
2003 Jazz+Az koncert+Story DVD
2003 Metszetek (Dés Septet)
2004 Dés-Snétberger - Double Invention
2004 Világszám (Filmdalok)
2005 Utcazene (Dés Septet)
2005 Dés Septet koncert a Madách színházban DVD
2005 Dés Septet örömkoncert Randy Breckerrel DVD
2005 Contemporary Gregorian