“Both the compositions and the improvisations, whether duo or trio, exhibit a depth of creative understanding that was impossible on our initial encounter. This communication transcended the music, and it transcended language as well.”

Ken Vandermark

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Tracklist

1. Extracted color (Megsz?rt szín) 03:12
2. How good it would be … (De jó lenne …) 03:55
3. A question of rate (Sebesség kérdése) 02:25
4. Letters in any order (Bet?k bármilyen sorrendben) 01:05
5. Rise lonesome (Magányosan kelni) 05:14
6. Engarian-Hunglish 02:33
7. Woven paper (Sz?tt papír) 03:28
8. Like a jaguar loves its spots (Ahogyan a jaguár a foltjait szereti) 05:20
9. Object 2020 03:49
10. 2128 ½ South Indiana Avenue 03:24
11. Ode to women (Ajánlás asszonyainknak) 04:35
12. Anagram or acronym (Anagramma vagy akroníma) 02:02
13. At a table of togetherness (Az összetartozás asztalánál) 03:54
14. Triple braid (Hármas fonás) 06:04

Musicians

Róbert Benk?: Double Bass
István Grencsó: Tenor & alto saxophones, Bb & bass clarinet, flute – Left side
Ken Vandermark: Tenor saxophone, Bb clarinet – Right side

Tracks 1, 5, 8, 9, 12 & 14 by Róbert Benk?, István Grencsó (BIEM – Artisjus) &
Ken Vandermark (Twenty First Mobile Music / ASCAP – Cien Fuegos)
Track 4 by István Grencsó (BIEM – Artisjus) & Ken Vandermark (Twenty First Mobile Music / ASCAP – Cien Fuegos) Tracks 2, 6 & 13 by István Grencsó (BIEM – Artisjus)
Tracks 3, 7 & 10 by Ken Vandermark (Twenty First Mobile Music / ASCAP – Cien Fuegos)
Track 11 by György Szabados (BIEM – Artisjus)

Recorded by Andás Makay at SuperSize Recording, Törökbálint, on January 19, 2020. Mixed and mastered by Gábor Halász.

Recorded audio formats: Native DSD 256, Piramix, Merging Hapi.

Thanks to Róbert Zoltán Hunka (Hunnia Records), András Makay,
Gábor Halász, and SuperSize Recording; to Ferenc Koscsó (My Reel Club); to Adyton Art Foundation; to Mario Steidl and the Saalfelden Jazz Festival / 3 Tage Jazz 2020; to Federico Peñalva; and to the listeners.

Special thanks to Benedek Kruchió.

Design by Federico Peñalva / Photo by Krisztina Csendes

Cover artwork based on Kapcsolatok III by Nikolett Kováts (Hungary).

C & P retained by the artists / 2020

As I write these words in Chicago during May of 2020 and look back on the week of activity in January that led to these recordings with István Grencsó and Róbert Benk?, it’s hard for me to comprehend that the tour scheduled at that time would most likely be the last series of concerts that I play in 2020. Without warning the world changed for everyone between those months, and it’s very hard to predict how things will look in the future, for music and for everything else.

My work with István began exactly two years earlier, when he invited me to collaborate with his ensemble, the Grencsó Collective. We both composed music for the project, performed in Hungary, and recorded the album Do Not Slam The Door for BMC Records. I learned a lot about improvised music in Hungary during that week, particularly the history connected to György Szabados. It was a great starting point, and I knew that there would be more work to do with István in the future. In March of 2019 my group Marker did a night of collaborative performances with musicians in Budapest, and István was an importan