BALOGH Kalman
Kalman Balogh & the Gypsy Cimbalon Band

MWCD 4009


Music & Words
Ungheria

 

Kálmán Balogh was born in 1959 in Miskolc, North-Eastern Hungary. He started to play the cimbalom at the age of 11, by advice of his uncle, Elemér Balogh. He gave Kálmán his first lessons as well. Later Kálmán studied classical music in Budapest from Beatrix Szöllös and Ferenc Gerencsér.
Kálmán mainly plays folk music, but has also gained big successes by playing other music. In 1980, he graduated as cimbalom-pedagogue at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in Budapest. He has worked with the best Hungarian folk bands like Jánosi, Ökrös, Méta, Téka, Muzsikás, Vízönto", Zsarátnok and Vasmalom.

Orchestras abroad have also had pleasure of playing with him, for instance the Orientexpressen from Stockholm, Sweden.

Kálmán Balogh won the second prize in the "Rácz Aladár" cimbalom-competition in 1987. During the last years, he has also played with the " Budapest Ragtime Band", " Szakcsi Lakatos Béla Jazz Band", the symphonic "Festival Orchestra", and the "100 Member Gipsy Orchestra" in Budapest. They had a successful appearance in Andre Heller's gipsy show in 1993.

Kálmán Balogh is an expert in all sorts of cimbalom, including folk music of different nations, classical music, light jazz.

The album Roma Vándor was recorded live in Amsterdam. Kálmán leads his own ensemble The Gypsy Cimbalom Band along jazzy paths and alleys, although the music is traditional gypsy.