Later...But Not With Holland

This is a recording made live in Budapest by the Hungarian violinist Roby Lakatos and his band. Titled Later With Lakotos, it documents a fine gig. I guess you might call the music fusion or crossover, mixing as it does elements of classical, gypsy, folk and jazz. There is the spirit of Django and Grappelli and the Hot Club, Franz Liszt and the concert hall and countless generations of gypsy fiddlers around forest camp fires. Lakatos himself is the driving force, a phenomenal improvising player who only occasionally goes over the top into showboating. His band back him up very capably however. There's no percussion but a rhythm section of second violin, double bass and guitar. The guitar, Ernest Bango, doubles on cimbalom and has his standout feature with Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No 2. Kalman Cseki contributes sophisticated jazz piano touches throughout. As well as the Liszt, the Austro-Hungarian empire is evoked by Johann Strauss's Tritsch-Tratsch Polka and other material ranges through folk songs from Russia and Moldova, tango, Fiddler On The roof, Django's Nuages and even a few originals. The record label DG pushed the boat out on this release with quite a lavish booklet but they don't seem to have followed through in the half dozen or so years since its' release.