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Gabor Bolla

He learned to play the clarinet in a virtuoso manner as a young child and won the Hungarian “Music School Competition” by the age of 12. Inspired by his music-loving parents, Bolla soon discovered jazz for himself and started to play the saxophone. A career as a child prodigy followed: After only six months of practicing, Robert Maloschik from public Hungarian radio discovered Bolla and started to support him. Bolla got to play with the great Hungarian jazz artists and was invited to Getxo Jazz Festival in Bilbao, Spain. During this time, he also met his musical soul mate – the classically educated pianist Robert Lakatos “We are like brothers” Bolla comments his professional relationship to Lakatos.

Awards

Montreux Jazz Festival in 2003. In 2004 Bolla was honored as “Talent of the Year” at the Hans Koller awards. Avignon Festival in 2005


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Gabor Bolla Saxophone Munich
Album Review

Chuck Owen: Renderings

Read "Renderings" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi


Nato dalla collaborazione tra la WDR Big Band e Chuck Owen, Renderings conferma quest'ultimo ai vertici dell'orchestrazione mainstream contemporanea e l'orchestra tedesca l'autorevole e avvincente ensemble che sappiamo. L'idea del progetto nasce quando la splendida sassofonista della big band, Karolina Strassmayer, ha chiesto a Chuck di arrangiare una sua composizione, stimolando il bandleader a impegnarsi in un ampio lavoro con l'orchestra di Colonia. Impegni personali e circostanze varie (tra cui la pandemia) hanno ostacolato il progetto, che ...

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Album Review

Chuck Owen: Renderings

Read "Renderings" reviewed by Pierre Giroux


Renderings by Chuck Owen and The WDR Big Band is a remarkable jazz album that showcases the artist's mastery as a composer, arranger and bandleader. This release stands as a testament to Owen's innovative approach to jazz music blending traditional elements with modern influences to create a unique and captivating sonic experience. The album title is an apt description of the musical approach taken by Owen, as he focuses on the works by other composers along ...

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Album Review

Chuck Owen and the WDR Big Band: Renderings

Read "Renderings" reviewed by Jack Bowers


Anyone who uses YouTube to search for contemporary jazz must surely be familiar with Germany's blue-ribbon WDR Big Band, as it is abundantly represented at the site. Bearing that in mind, it may come as no surprise to those seekers (and others) that the WDR's latest recording, on which it is paired with the esteemed Florida-based composer and arranger Chuck Owen, offers another master class in big-band artistry, or how to make even the most arduous charts seem deceptively simple. ...

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In April 2011 German newspaper “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” praised Bolla as “An improvisator of overwhelming individuality”.
Richard Pavlidis
Richard Pavlidis
saxophone, tenor

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Renderings

MAMA Records
2023

buy

FIND YOUR WAY

Unknown label
2012

buy
Knife's Edge

Knife's Edge

From: Renderings
By Gabor Bolla

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