Music

Steve here:

Ferenc sent me a message. 'We usually set up at 7:30, start at 8:00 and end at 11." I thought that sounded rather rigid for a Jam session, but when in Rome...

I brought a guitar on this trip. Traveling with a nice guitar can be well worth the risk and worry if the main focus of your trip is music, but an awful distraction if you are traveling for other reasons. I bought a very inexpensive parlour size guitar for this one. As soon as amazon delivered it i grew attached, but my worry about it's demise is not a $5k worry.

It was getting late in the afternoon, so we caught the bus and rode down the hill, back across the river and jumped off at a stop that was within a mile of our hostel. A brisk walk, a quick shower and a quick cab ride got us to the place at 7:31. Not bad. I walked in and saw a gypsy guitar with a stimer pickup resting on the piano. Good. We had the right place. A minute later a guy walked up, saw my guitar case, smiled and stuck out his hand saying "Hi - I am Ferenc. You must be Steve. Welcome to Budapest".

The restaurant was French and pretty upscale. There was a nice dining room, a bar and an outdoor terrace. 3 stools were set up in a large opening that connected the inside and outside. A violin and bass player materialized and we headed outside and across the street to a little park to talk and have a smoke. I asked if this was a gig or a jam session and they sort of said "eh - we have fun", and then told me the start and end times of the 3 sets we would be playing. So it was a gig then... Great!

We talked a bit more and I mentioned some of my favorite artists, including Tcha Limberger and Stocello Rosenberg. "Ya - we play with them when they come to town". Me: "Like on stage , performing?!?!?". Them : "yes". I realized I was with some serious players and got a little nervous.

We re entered the restaurant through the back, not the front. There was an older guy near the back door whose job, it seemed, was to grunt and push a button that opened the door.

We took our places. I was worried they would call a tune I didn't know, but it turned out that all knew the same repertoire. They were so kind and welcoming that, despite being 5000 miles from home with 3 people I had just met about to play in a nice restaurant, I felt right at home. Ferenc called the first tune, Coquette.

We started, and within four seconds I knew I was in the right place, with the right people. It immediately clicked. The rhythm was swinging. It felt good and it sounded good.

It's been said before but it bears repeating that music is a universal language. All the little nonverbal nuances that happen when I'm playing with my band back home were happening here. The little nod when passing a solo, trading fours, and my favorite: everyone looking at each other right before the end of the song trying to figure out "which ending should we choose?". This last piece usually results in one of 3 or 4 stock endings that we play back home, and the exact same thing happened in Budapest. At times I would look down and really get lost in the song, then look up and realize where I was...

Did I mention these guys were good? They were top tier players and I was lucky to keep up, but they were generous and I'd put my time in so it worked. After three, 45 minute sets, we were done.

Colton had eaten a nice duck leg confit and I'd eaten a beer and 2 cigarettes, so I was starving. We said our goodbyes, jumped in a cab and headed back to our 'hood for some Doner Kebab and sleep.

I hope Ferenc, Thomas and Martin come to visit Chicago some day.Read more