I came across a video of a Hungarian pianist named Balázs Havasi (Havasi, for short) on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hje5mAO7EI). What interested me most about the video was the presence of After Crying cellist/bassist, Peter Pejtsik. I've been listening to a lot of After Crying recently and I'm in awe of these guys, particularly Peter, Balázs Winkler (trumpet/keyboards), and guitarist Ferenc Torma (now unfortunately departed from the group). These guys are one of the most criminally under-appreciated prog groups of the last 20 years. Being from Hungary probably doesn't help with their popularity in the West; we're just too insular most of the time.
Anyway, back to Havasi... the music is sort of the pseudo-classical, ethnic variety, kind of reminiscent of Yanni (not my favorite musician). But Peter's presence, as well as that of Judit Andrejszki (the female voice of After Crying) make Havasi's new album "Symphonic II" particularly interesting. I bought the album from iTunes, something I rarely do, but I had a $5 credit to burn. I'm not sure if you could characterize this as truly prog, but the album has a pleasant feel and good musicianship.
Bookmarks