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Jazz pianist Kálmán Oláh is the grand prize winner of the 2006 BMI-sponsored Thelonious Monk International Jazz Composer's Competition. The award was presented during the Thelonius Monk Institute's 20th Anniversary Gala held 20th September at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Oláh's winning work, performed by a group of jazz all-stars during the celebration, was entitled "Always." Jazz pianist Kalman Olah, a native of Hungary, has gained international reputation as an artist who masterfully combines the elements of jazz, folk and contemporary classical music. Kalman, a recipient of numerous awards, has appeared with artists including Lee Konitz, Randy Brecker, Steve Grossman, Jack DeJohnette, John Patitucci, Tommy Campbell, Ron McClure, Stefano Di Battista, Jay Leonhart, Daniel Humair, André Ceccarelli, Paolo Fresu, Kenny Wheeler, Palle Danielson, Ravi Coltrane, Gerard Presencer and Philippe Chatrene, to name a few. Kálmán Oláh was born in 1970 in Budapest, Hungary. He completed his musical studies at the jazz faculty of the Béla Bartók Conservatory. His unique voice earned him an early recognition. Throughout his student years he played in different formations, e.g. with Tony Lakatos and the László Attila Band. In 1990 Kálmán founded Trio Midnight (János Egri - double bass and Elemér Balázs - drums), an innovative jazz trio that helped him to earn recognition and made him a regular at such prestigious events as the Umbria Jazz Festival in Italy, the Marciac Jazz Festival in France, the Getxo Jazz Festival in Spain and the Ciney Jazz Nights in Belgium. In 1994 inviting leading Hungarian jazz musicians he founded the Kálmán Oláh Sextet. Next year they scored a great success at Marciac Jazz Festival. OLÁH KÁLMÁN SEXTET Oláh Kálmán - piano The new style of today's sextet is a modern jazz based on the compositional music of the 20th century especially the rich tonality of Bartók. However in its rhythm and pulsation a real contemporary modern jazz. Kálmán Oláh even approaches the Hungarian folk music through the Bartók harmonies, in his instrumentation - opposing the fashionable world music trends - there are no electronic instruments but the acoustic sounding and the natural dynamical balance is dominant. The style of the new Kálmán Oláh sextet unlike the Trio Midnight is bound, consisting of more parts and built on elaborate compositions topped with improvisation resulting in a perfectly modern tonality. He is also a regular guest either as a soloist or in different international formations including renowned musicians, at Grey Cat festival, Siena Jazz in Italy, Jazz Baltica, London Jazz Festival or Solo Piano Festival in Prague. Kálmán has won numerous awards including the Jury Prize at the Leverkusen International Jazz Competition in 1990, the Grand Prize at the Kalis International Jazz Pianist Competition in Poland (1991) and the eMerRton Prize "Best Jazz Soloist of the Year" – of the Hungarian Radio (1995). He was voted "Best Soloist" at the Hoeilaart Jazz Competition and was a Prize Winner at the Great American Jazz Piano Competition in Jacksonville, Florida in 1995. In 2001 he received the prestigious "Hungarian Jazz Prize" from Gramofon Magazine, a leading jazz and classical music publication in Hungary. In 2000 Kálmán became a member of the Jazz Faculty at the Liszt Music Academy of Budapest, where he teaches the piano and composition. As a composer, Kálmán has played and recorded his originals ever since his first album. His compositions fuse jazz and contemporary classical music with Hungarian folk. Kálmán's critically acclaimed Concerto for Jazz Orchestra was performed in February 2001 at the Hungarian Radio with the participation of the Budapest Jazz Orchestra. In 2004 "Concerto for Symphony Orchestra and Jazz Band", a musical arrangement of the Concerto for a symphony orchestra was performed with the participation of the Miskolc Symphony Orchestra. The Concerto reflects Oláh's devotion to contemporary music, and it was labeled as "a truly original composition", and a "unique and fresh re-interpretation of a melodic and harmonic world that was created by Bartók and Stravinsky". In 2001 Kálmán worked in co-operation with the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra for the Korean label Good International Co. on a special "cross-over" project: a rendition of Bach's Goldberg Variations with Oláh's improvisations over Bach's original themes. His trio record, "Contrasts and Parallels", which offers a unique experience of improvisations over Bach's original themes contrasting by a series of variations on a Hungarian folk song (Variations on a Folk Song), was published by the Japanese label, MA Recordings. His latest trio album titled "Always" was released in 2008 in the USA by Memphis International with Jack DeJohnette and Ron McClure introducing among other own pieces the BMI winner composition. The same year the album won "The best jazz CD of the year" prize of the Hungarian Gramofon Classic & Jazz magazine. Kálmán's latest appearance as composer and soloist is a CD called "Images" (In memoriam Bela Bartok) written for the Budapest Jazz Orchestra (Hungaroton 2008). Kálmán's versatility as a performer is demonstrated by his passion to expand musical boundaries and his everlasting quest for new forms of self-expression. His latest symphonic opus titled "Passacaglia for orchestra & jazz trio" – which title disclosed the fact that he compounded classical and jazz music – was presented at the Budapest Opera in December 2008 by the Orchestra of the Hungarian Opera and jazz trio. In 2006 he was awarded with the Liszt Prize by the Hungarian Government. In 2007 his musical activity was honoured with the Szabó Gábor Prize by the Hungarian Jazz Federation. Awards 1989 Mieczyslav Kosz International Jazz piano competition (Poland) – 1st prize Discography: www.kalmanolah.com
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