From : THE VOICE OF AMERICA JAZZ HOUR December 7 program - (Friday November 23, 1956 recorded date):

- W.C. The voice of America jazz hour: Willis Conover speaking from Washington D.C. Ladies and gentlemen, you are about to hear some jazz recordings never before broadcasted. Jazz by Hungarians recorded a few weeks ago, just before the freedom fight broke out in Hungary. This group of jazz enthusiasts, young men most of them, and mostly amateur musicians met together in a studio in Budapest and recorded some jazz of their own. Their inspiration was the American jazz musicians they had heard on music U.S.A. And today you will hear some of these American musicians as they comment on the performances of those young Hungarians. With us today are GERRY MULLIGAN, award winning baritone saxophonist, arranger and composer of distinguished big band and small groups musical scores, and leader of his own highly popular sextet and quartet; J. J. JOHNSON, the most influential of modern jazz trombonist; until recently, co-leader of the popular Kay-Johnson- Windings Sextet. QUINCY JONES, trumpeter, and a favorite composer, arranger of musical scores for America's leading instrumentalists, who recently returned from a tour of the middle East with the Dizzy Gillespie Orchestra, for which Quincy wrote most of the arrangements. TONY SCOTT, who has been the strongest influence in the clarinet's return to favor since the days of Benny Goodman; And BILLY TAYLOR, recognized by all jazz pianist, by music critics, and by jazz fans, as one of the most tastefully creative American pianists. We don't know weather the musicians who made this music are able to listen today, nor even where they may be as we broadcast their music. But here, for the world, is their living testimonial in the universal language of music.

(Listening Hungarian group NN song 1: vib NN, piano NN, bass NN, drum

V.C.: Our commentator is Tony Scott.

T.S.: This is obviously influenced by George Shearing, and it as done very well. And the composition, I believe, must be original… it's a very interesting original composition, I think very well played…there was no actual jazz solo, improvised things; most of the stuff sounded written and.. I think it's a very, very good interpretation of the George Shearing influence, and considering as we know, that they've only been listening to the music of America for the past two years, I think it's a fabulous recording

V.C.: Quincy Jones.

Q.J.: Well, I'd… I heard a little bit of Shearing in there, too, but I also think that they were slightly influenced by the Modern Jazz Quartet. I heard some of the traces of that music in it., and like Tony said, it was very well, and they have a much better conception that some of the other countries that have been playing jazz, and a much looser conception than some of them that have been playing jazz much longer.

:V.C. Gerry Mulligan.

G.M.: Yes, I'd agree with you, Quincy, I'd notice a strong M.J.Q. flavor more in the mood and the construction which was not really so much Shearing. The execution seemed to not have quite intensely, the emotional intensity of the M.J.Q., but I'm wondering is a lot of that isn't in the quality of the vibes themselves. There's only a certain amount intensity you can get when the sound is very light. But…I disagree, it sounded like he was improvising quite intensively, in about a chorus and half there, the vibes especially.

Q.J.: I thought he did too.

G.M.: And I thought he constructed nice solo on a difficult progression to construct a solo.

T.S.: That's funny, I'm sorry...I though there was no improvisation. I felt to me that most of the stuff was… I think it was written out.

Q.J. Well… I think that what makes it sounds like that is, I think that most of them have a very good classical background, in fact I'm sure they do, cause I had met some musicians from Budapest in Switzerland in 1953 and there's no such thing as not having a background, you know, and they have a very strong classical background, I think it's just a way, their conception, you know, their training would influence their improvisation too.

T.S.: I would say that the reason I say it wasn't improvised…I am not saying that they have no background, the background is fabulous, they' re able to do this, but I actually believe that solo was written out because it , for my taste, it didn't sound as though it were improvised, but it was of such good lines that it sounded written, and you know what I mean by that. An improvised solo sometimes falls apart, and you know, it 's improvised because it, because of that. But it sounded as though it was an actual written part, it was done well.

Q.J.: Well, Tony, I think when you have… basically influenced by this classical training and form, and so forth, I think this is the way they automatically think after a while, and they have the same form they would to a composition, and it's just…they're playing the same notes, some of the same notes that another man would play differently, but it's got the classical technique

T.S.: I really argue very heavily on the point, the fact that I don't think it was improvised, but it sounded so good that, you know, an improvised chorus is a very tough thing to play because you've got to keep the lines moving at all times; something happening. And it sounded to me as though it were written. And I feel that they did have a lot of good classical background because you can tell their, you know, legit background because you can tell they're very studied musicians. And the fact, they're only been listening to modern jazz for two years… I've been listening to and playing it for, you know, 15 years, and I feel as though I'm just beginning to find out what I want to do so, I sure appreciate their efforts., yeah, wonderful.

V.O. All right, let's play the next track them.
(listening Hungarian group song 2

T.S. This me sounded better than a lot of things I hear cut over here. Like Gerry said before, it sounds… they're basic influences aren't outright steals, you know, like a lot of European musicians have tendencies to just imitate outright, it was very obvious what the influence was, but this seems to have the basic feeling that we have and their own approach to it. And I think that comes from their folksongs, because they have a lot of really soulful folksongs around there, and Yugoslavia too. They had a sort of a spiritual and some of our Western folk tunes that we have in America. I think it has a lot to do with the overall conception of a thing is as loose as this and depends on relaxation when they're playing it.

V.O.: Gerry.

G.M.: Yes, I think that it shows a much stronger, say, main stream influence of jazz. It would seem as if it was a sort of conglomerate influence between Count Basie and the old Kansas City feeling. The looseness of the feel when they got into the solos. It had more of an old time jazz session feeling. At the same time it points out something else in reference to what you were saying about the classical background of the musicians on the first side. It would seem, this brings up a point that I've thought about and I've wondered, it would seem that throughout Europe there are much fewer really successful, I mean musically successful jazz musicians playing horns than there are sax playing pianos or vibes or guitars. It seems those instruments, especially with the classical influence that George Shearing and the Modern Jazz Quartet have brought into jazz, makes those instruments more easily adaptable to a jazz feeling. But with a horn, the one thing about it is that the whole sureness of approach and the whole freedom of constructing a line spontaneously comes with the years of experience of playing it. It sounds like these fellows are off on the right foot. I hope that I am able to hear their future development because they show signs of developing in interesting directions. For instance, the tenor saxophonist is obviously influenced by Stan Getz , but with also other modernist overtones thrown in. And it's an interesting this to see what happens to a talent musician who's only been exposed to one or two influences, now he can blossom with the other influences that he may have neglected. You know, in other words, in the short time they've been listening to jazz, they've had to assimilate the whole history of jazz and not been exposed to the older influences and many things that really have to do with the basic attitude toward playing horn instrumental jazz.

T.S.: The interesting thing about this record to me is the fact that the alto man sounds as taught he should be playing tenor. He's playing a tenor-type chords and the tenor man sounds to me like he's been listening to Gerry Mulligan, not Stan Getz for me. He sounds as though he should been playing baritone. Matter of fact, I think a suggestion would be for them to make it tenor, tenor and baritone instead of alto, tenor and tenor sounded like to me - did it sound like three horns to you, or four?

G.M.: I think the guitar was playing the third part in there. It was nicely orchestrated to give a fuller sound.

T.S.: I can honestly say that there are very few amateur musicians in this country who could that could turn out a record as good as that.

G.M.: With this kind of musicianship, you're right Tony Scott: I just wanted to say one more thing: the drummer sounded very influenced by Chico Hamilton. Do you think so? To me it did.

Q.J.: I still think he has a little of the early bop metro school too. It sounded like a little of that influence, some of Kenny Clarke, Max Roach and…

G.M.: I can't say what I thought the influence was. I can say what I thought when the drum solos came, and I first thought of Chico and thought of Buddy Rich right after that, because the structure of his second break was a figure that Buddy uses, although he didn't play it with the same intensity, but it was still melodically constructed like Buddy Rich. ?…Well, it was as if he was playing a Buddy Rich melodic structure with a Chico Hamilton brush technique. ?…: Well ..can tell us, have they heard Buddy Rich recordings over there? U.O.A: Yes. ?…: Chico? U.O.A: Yes. ?…: And Chico?

V.O.: You were listening to the newest music to come out of Hungary...

© Cinzia Scott