E-mail: Benjamin.Intartaglia@wanadoo.fr, website: http://www.ragtime-france.net/

Benkó Dixieland Band (Hungary) (see picture)
The Benkó Dixieland Band celebrates its 45th anniversary this year. The band gave very successful concerts in the sixties, won several domestic festivals, toured in the neighbouring countries. They received "European Classic" prize at the Prerov Jazz Festival in 1971 and were let to tour in Westrn European countries from that year on. They received first prize in San Sebastian and at the Montreux Jazz Festival. They have played at the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee in the United States many times from 1982 on, they have toured to Mexico and the Far East. The band has made numerous TV and radio recordings. Among their 50 records many became unbelievably successful. Sándor Benkó and the band received several awards from the Hungarian Government and recording companies. There is a long list of wolrd famous jazz musicians the Benkó Dixieland Band has played with: among others, it includes Milt Jackson, Freddie Hubbard, Al Grey, Buddy Tate, Joe Newman, Buddy Wachter, Joe Murányi, Harry Sweet Edison, Albert Nicholas, Wild Bill Davison, Chris Barber, Kenny Ball, Huub Janssen, Acker Bilk and of course Eddy Davis who the group features at this Kecskemét Festival as well.

Address: Dr. BENKÓ Sándor - Budapest H-1022, Lóczy Lajos u. 13.
website: http://www.benko-dixie.hu/

Bohém Ragtime Jazzband (Kecskemét, Hungary) (see picture)
The Bohém Ragtime Jazzband, host band of the Festival has appeared at most major European jazz festivals and in the best jazz clubs during the 17 years of its existence. They had great success at their tours last year, including the famous Montreux Jazz Festival and at the Berlin Dixieland Festival. They frequently play in Hungary, too, doing concerts, festivals and, building the jazz audience of the future, even informative concert series in schools. They have toured in the USA and Canada twice but their music can often be heard on the American jazz radio programs. Their music is frequently played in British, German, Finnish and Hungarian radios as well. They have given television concerts in Hungary, Rumania and Germany. Tamás Ittzés, leader of the band has played solo piano at American festivals, he has made two solo albums there. He won the International Scott Joplin Ragtime Writing Contest with his Sedalia Rag in 2001. The orchestra's CD entitled "Éjjel az omnibusz tetején" came out in December. These are recordings of old Hungarian jazz songs from the twenties and thirties. Their eighth CD features Joe Murányi and it is published for the Festival. The Bohéms have played with many foreign musicians throughout the years, their guest at this Festival is Butch Thompson.

Members of the band: LEBANOV József - tp, MÁTRAI Zoltán - cl, ts, KORB Attila - tb, ITTZÉS Tamás - p, vl, voc, ld, LÁZÁR Miklós - vl, voc, MÁTRAI György - bj, g, TÖRÖK József - b, tu, FALUSI Alfréd - dr

Address: ITTZÉS Tamás - Kecskemét H-6001, Pf. 652., Tel.: +36(20)960-7169
E-mail: bohem@mail.datanet.hu, website: http://www.bohemragtime.com/

Butch Thompson (piano, clarinet, USA) (see picture)
Butch Thompson began to play the piano when he was three and he showed interest in ragtime, boogie-woogie and jazz already at this early age. He played the clarinet in the school band as a teenager and from then he became a professional musician playing both instruments. He founded his first band when still at school and soon moved to New Orleans where he was one of the few whites and non-local musicians who frequently played in Preservation Hall. He played a lot in Europe in the sixties and seventies and performed at major jazz festivals. He was the house pianist of one of the most popular radio shows in the U.S. which made him especially well-known. Recently Butch was the pianist in the band of the legendary, late Doc Cheatham.
Butch has performed as soloist with numerous American symphony orchestras and given concerts with the Cairo Symphony as well. He's also been productive as a composer: he first performed his "Ecuadorean Memories" in 1997 with the St. Louis Symphony. As a journalist he writes for Mississippi Rag and Down Beat.
Butch has made tons of recordings, he tours worldwide. His playing has been critically acclaimed by the biggest newspapers including the The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. Jazz Journal International called him "...the premier player in traditional jazz today". Butch Thompson performs in Hungary for the first time. At his concerts at the present Festival he plays both as soloist and as the guest of the Bohém Ragtime Jazzband.

Address: Butch THOMPSON - 657 Lincoln Ave., St. Paul, Minnesota 55105, USA
E-mail: butcht@sihope.com, website: http://www.butchthompson.com/

Eddy Davis (banjo, USA)
Eddy Davis graduated in Chicago having composition as his major. He is a great bass player and drummer but best known as virtuoso banjo player. He has made numerous recordings suting his career. He has toured through the United States, Europe, Japan and Australia, played in the biggest and most famous concert halls, including Carnegie Hall. He has played with many jazz greats such as Turk Murphy, a Dukes of Dixieland, George Brunis, Wild Bill Davison, Buddy Tate, Jabbo Smith and Freddie Hubbard. He also conducts, orchestrates and is musical director of musical theatres. He has a few ensembles in New York and he is musical director of Woody Allen's band. Eddy Davis has already played in Hungary, even in Kecskemét as guest star of the Benkó Dixieland Band.

Győr Percussion Ensemble (Hungary)
The Győr Percussion Ensemble was founded in 1974 by artistic director László Váray. When Váray quit playing, his one-time students have continued working. They frequently perform both in Hungary and abroad. The ensemble's wide repertoire contains many different styles such as African and Latin American traditional music and folk music, transcription of Renaissance and Baroque pieces, of course, contemporary compositions and sometimes even self-composed tunes. They show their skills at the Festival by playing ragtime and early jazz pieces.

Members of the ensemble: PAPP Balázs, GERENCSÉR Tamás, KULCSÁR Bence, FALUSI János

Jazz Steps (Hungary)
The band has been formed for performing stylish swing, dixieland and Latin music. It works in the classic saxophone, trumpet, trombone, piano, string bass, drums format. There is a female vocalist besides the instruments. The members are accomplished jazz musicians who graduated either from the Music Academy or from the Jazz Faculty of the Franz Liszt Music College. They all had been members of internationally touring jazz ensembles before they founded Jazz Steps. The band proved viable due to many successful concerts since its foundation. The group has a great variety of styles and interesting arrangements that fit the original era. The orchestra can regularly be heard in the Chicago Rib Shake restaurant in Budapest on every second Thursday, between 8 and 11 pm.

Address: FINOK Zoltán - Páty H-2071, Telki út 6/A, Tel.: +36(20)333-7412
E-mail: mail@jazzsteps.hu

Kecskemét Jazz Orchestra (Hungary) (see picture)
The Kecskemét Jazz Orchestra is the only representative of the big band style in the region. They regularly perform in Hungary, they have performed at the Salgótarján and Nagykanizsa jazz festivals, in the Valley of Arts and have made radio recordings. They give a big concert at the end of each year. They often feature soloists such as Adrienn Szekeres (vocal), István Elek (saxophone) but they have already performed with István Bergendy (clarinet, sax) and have been conducted by American conductor Ray Eubanks. They mostly play swing tunes from their repertoire at the Festival in order to serve as accompanying ensemble to the swing dance instructions.

Address : TÖRÖK József artistic director - Tel.: +36(20)936-7553

Little Jazz Band (Kecskemét, Hungary) (see picture)
The Little Jazz Band was founded in 1995 by elementary school students in Kecskemét. In spite of their young age they mainly interpret the music of the roaring twenties and early thirties that is, we can say, one of the oldest jazz styles. One of the characteristics of the band is the feature of two reeds which makes them stylistically flexible by switching between clarinets and saxes. Besides playing the simple but enjoyable arrangements, they vocalize as well.
The band has performed at the International Bohém Ragtime & Jazz Festival since its foundation and they have also been featured at other Hungarian jazz festivals and abroad. The group has played in Germany and Romania. The Little Jazz Band received Special Prize at the First Hungarian Youth Jazz Competition in Budapest in 2000. As far the youngest group, the Little Jazz Band won second prize at the International Louis Armstrong Memorial Jazz Competition in Sainte Adresse, France in 2001. Their first CD entitled "Too Busy" came out in 2001.

Members of the band: BACSA Zoltán - tp, NAGY Zoltán - cl, as, MÁTRAI Zoltán - cl, ts, KORB Attila - tb, p, voc, ld, SZABÓ Antal - tu, b, MÁTRAI György - g, bj, FALUSI Alfréd - dr

Address: KORB Attila - Kecskemét H-6000, Munkácsy u. 23., Tel.: +36(20)329-0338
E-mail: littlejazzband@yahoo.com

If you have any questions, please, contact Tamás Ittzés at bohemragtime@hotmail.com or by phone at +36(20)960-7169 or by fax at +36(76)472-438 (not after 10 p.m. GMT, please).