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A sophisticated jazz improviser, pianist
Laszlo Gardony infuses his swinging post-bop music with nods to his Hungarian folk roots. Since his emergence in the early '80s,
Gardony has drawn favorable comparisons to such esteemed players as
Bill Evans,
Keith Jarrett, and
Herbie Hancock. Following his move to the United States, he debuted with 1986's The Secret, playing with bassist
Miroslav Vitous and drummer
Ian Froman. He has worked with such artists as
Dave Holland,
Randy Brecker, and
Dave Liebman, and as a member of the progressive bluegrass outfit
Wayfaring Strangers. On his own, he has issued a number of highly regarded solo and trio albums, including 1995's
Changing Standards, 2008's
Dig Deep with bassist
John Lockwood and drummer
Yoron Israel, and 2019's
La Marseillaise.
Born in 1956 in Hungary,
Gardony started playing piano at a young age and was a mere five years old when he began improvising songs by ear. Classically trained throughout his adolescence, he was delving into blues, jazz, and progressive rock by his teens. After high school, he studied at both the Béla Bartók Conservatory and the Science University of Budapest. Following his graduation in 1979, he embarked on his professional career, touring and recording throughout Europe and playing festivals with such luminaries as
Art Blakey,
Abdullah Ibrahim, and others. In 1983 he emigrated to the U.S. where he enrolled at Boston's Berklee College of Music on full-scholarship. During this period, he performed with the group Forward Motion, who recorded two albums for Hep. Graduating from Berklee,
Gardony joined the school's faculty as a private instructor. He also found work playing with
John Abercrombie,
Randy Brecker,
Eddie Gomez, and more. In 1986, he released his debut trio album, The Secret, which he had recorded in Europe with bassist
Miroslav Vitous and drummer
Ian Froman. Two years later, he paired with bassist
Dave Holland and drummer Bill Moses for his sophomore trio date, Legend of Tsumi.
During the '90s,
Gardony moved deftly between solo piano dates like 1990's
Changing Standards and larger ensemble dates like 1994's Breakout. He also recorded several swinging, nicely textured albums with guitarist
Garrison Fewell. In 2001, he joined the Sunnyside label for
Behind Open Doors, playing in a trio setting with drummer
Jamey Haddad and bassist
John Lockwood. That same year he also joined violinist
Matt Glaser and banjo player
Tony Trischka on the debut of their progressive bluegrass ensemble
Wayfaring Strangers, soloing on
Ralph Stanley's classic "Man of Constant Sorrow." By the time they issued
This Train two years later,
Gardony had signed on as a full-fledged member of the group.
The pianist's longstanding trio with
John Lockwood and drummer
Yoron Israel debuted with 2003's
Ever Before Ever After. Together, they have issued four critically well-regarded albums including 2008's
Dig Deep and 2011's
Signature Time (that also featured saxophonist/vocalist
Stan Strickland on several cuts). In 2013,
Gardony issued the solo piano set
Clarity, which became a critical favorite. He played with his trio-to-sextet setting for the 2015 live date
Life in Real Time, adding
Strickland,
Bill Pierce, and
Don Braden. Two years later, he returned with the solo piano album
Serious Play, combining spontaneously recorded studio compositions with a few soulful reimaginings of standards. For 2019's solo piano date
La Marseillaise,
Gardony offered his own originals alongside
Errol Garner's "Misty,"
Denny Zeitlin's "Quiet Now," and the classic Neapolitan song "'O Sole Mio." ~ Matt Collar