photo - Zsolt BIRTALAN

BIOGRAPHY

Kornél Fekete-Kovács is a Budapest-based composer, arranger, conductor, and trumpet player. Born in 1970, he graduated from the Jazz Department of the Ferenc Liszt Music Academy. He is in high demand as a musician and has contributed to numerous albums as a soloist and session musician. As a composer and arranger, he is a significant presence in both contemporary classical and jazz music, not only in Hungary but internationally.

He is the founder of the Budapest Jazz Orchestra, where he served as artistic director and soloist from 1998 to 2005. Since 2005, he has been the leader of the Modern Art Orchestra, and in 2006, he established the Fekete-Kovács Quintet.

Throughout his career, he has participated in renowned international projects and ensembles, including the IASJ Big Band (Copenhagen), the EBU Big Band (Amsterdam-Budapest), the Brande International Music Workshop Orchestra (Denmark), the UMO Jazz Orchestra (Finland), the East European Artsemble, the Veni Academy Ensemble, and the ALTAR Project.

Compositions

As a composer, he has written numerous works, including the Budapest Jazz Suite, released by BMC Records and performed by the Budapest Jazz Orchestra. The UMO Jazz Orchestra also performed the suite in Helsinki under his direction. His second full-length big band composition, The Wayfarer, premiered in 2002 with the EBU Jazz Orchestra and was later recorded by the Budapest Jazz Orchestra with David Liebman as the featured soloist (Human Circle - The Wayfarer, BMC CD 088). Other major works include the Timpani Concerto (co-written with Béla Zsoldos), Dedications(2005), and Christmas Log, which served as the foundation for the Modern Art Orchestra's debut album in 2006. In 2006, The Oak and the Bee premiered at the MOL Budapest Jazz Festival, featuring Wallace Roney and the Modern Art Orchestra. In 2018, he produced and co-composed an album based on Béla Bartók’s 15 Hungarian Peasant Songs. His latest full-length composition, Foundations (Yamas and Niyamas), based on yoga philosophy, was released on CD in 2020.

After years of composing for big band, he recorded his first symphony orchestra album in 2010. Since then, he has composed numerous works for symphony and chamber orchestras, including Elements – Concerto for Cimbalom and Orchestra, Double Concerto for Violin and Flugelhorn, Tiszta forrás – Symphonic Suite, and SENSA NOME – Concerto for Jazz Quintet and Orchestra.

Arranging and Conducting

As an arranger, he has collaborated with numerous composers and orchestras, including Péter Eötvös, Markus Stockhausen, Sandesh Sandilia, WDR Funkhaus Orchestra, Pannon Philharmonic Orchestra, the National Choir of Hungary, and the Múpa Palace of Arts.

As a conductor, he has worked with big bands and major symphony orchestras, including the UMO Jazz Orchestra, the Ljubljana Radio Big Band, the Budapest Jazz Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Hungarian National Opera, the Pannon Philharmonic Orchestra (Pécs, Hungary), the Danubia Symphony Orchestra (Budapest, Hungary), the Kodály Philharmonic Orchestra (Debrecen, Hungary), the Hungarian Studio Orchestra (Budapest, Hungary), and the Veni Ensemble (Košice, Slovakia). Since its inception in 2005, he has been the chief conductor of Hungary's leading jazz ensemble, the Modern Art Orchestra.

Education and Outreach

As an educator, he taught trumpet at the Jazz Department of the Ferenc Liszt Music Academy in Budapest for sixteen years. Additionally, he taught trumpet, arranging, composition, and combo classes at the contemporary music school Kőbányai Zenei Stúdió. Education is a key focus of his activities, and he is dedicated to engaging young audiences. He has composed numerous pieces for children and regularly performs educational concerts. A selection of big band compositions for children was released on the album ZeneHajó, performed by the Modern Art Orchestra and Hungarian stand-up comedian András Hajós. Since 2019 he leads a new program for children named MAO Creative Crew.

Collaborations

He has performed and collaborated on numerous recordings and at festivals in Hungary and abroad, among others with Johnny Griffin, Benny Golson, Dave Liebman, Tom Harrell, Bob Mintzer, Peter Erskine, Gary Willis, Rick Margitza, Wallace Roney, Herbie Mann, Kurt Elling, Mike Garson, Bob Magnusson, Joe LaBarbera, Marilyn Mazur, Ray Anderson, Butch Lacy, Mario Gonzi, Rhoda Scott, Tony Lakatos, Lionel Loueke, Jonathan Blake, Gregory Hutchinson, Brian Charette, Daniele Camarda, Gerard Presencer, Dan Bárta, the New York Voices, the Harlem Gospel Choir, and Tony Grey. Péter Eötvös, Gergely Vajda, and recently with György Kurtág.

Selected Works

2000 Budapest Jazz Suite
2002 The Wayfarer
2005 Timpani Concerto (co-written with Béla Zsoldos)
2005 Dedications (12-movement suite)
2005 Christmas Log (4-movement suite)
2006 The Oak and the Bee (concerto in 3 movements)
2007 Paris-Dakar (co-composed with Péter Eötvös)
2012 Elements – Concerto for Cimbalom and Orchestra
2012 Double Concerto for Violin and Flugelhorn
2013 ZeneHajó - Music for Children
2014 Double Concerto for Violin and Viola
2017 Bartók: 15 Hungarian Peasant Songs (adaptation)
2018 A nyári felhő (co-composed with Péter Eötvös)
2019 Foundations (Yamas and Niyamas)
2020 SENSA NOME – Concerto for Jazz Quintet and Orchestra
2022 Tiszta Forrás – Symphonic Suite
2022 The Peacock Suite - A Tribute to Zoltán Kodály (big band suite)
2022 Via Crucis (adaptation of Franz Liszt's piece)
2023 Tribute to György Ligeti - (adaptations)
2023 Hunkish Overture - Symphonic Suite
2023 Turkarian Conclusion - Symphonic Suite
2024 Gloria In Europa - Symphonic Suite
2024 In Varietate Concordia - Symphonic Suite
2024 Four Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm - Symphonic Suite
2024 Le Balcon Suite - big band (co-composed with Péter Eötvös)
2024 Hommage à Gőz László 70 (co-composed with György Kurtág)
2024 MAO Gigue (co-composed with György Kurtág·

Awards

1993 Jazz Juniors Competition, Krakow - Best Group, Best Solo
2000, 2002, 2018, 2022 Artisjus Musical Foundation Award
2002 eMeRTon Prize - Best Composer of the Year (National Hungarian Radio)
2009 Ferenc Liszt Prize (Hungarian Culture Department)
2010 Orszáczky Prize (Society of Hungarian Composers)
2011 FONOGRAM Prize - Best Hungarian Jazz Album (INTEGRO/GRANDEUR)
2019 FONOGRAM Prize - Best Jazz Album (Modern Art Orchestra plays Béla Bartók’s 15 Peasant Songs)
2021 MÜPA Composition Award - Best Piece for Large Ensemble
2023 Petőfi Award
2024 Bartók Music Award

Selected Discography

1999 Blacksmith Workshop – Childhood ‘Round 2000
2002 Budapest Jazz Orchestra – Budapest Jazz Suite
2003 Budapest Jazz Orchestra/David Liebman – The Wayfarer
2005 Budapest Jazz Orchestra/Bob Mintzer – Concert of Joy
2006 Modern Art Orchestra – Karácsonyi Napló
2010 Fekete-Kovács Quintet/Pannon Philharmonic Orchestra – Integro/Grandeur
2017 EFFECTED – Beyond The Mountain
2018 Fekete-Kovács Kornél/Kuba Stankiewicz - Bridges
2018 Modern Art Orchestra – Plays Béla Bartók: 15 Hungarian Peasant Songs
2018 Fekete-Kovács Quintet – The Fairy Queen
2019 Modern Art Orchestra – Contemporary Music
2020 Modern Art Orchestra – Foundations (Yamas and Niyamas)
2020 Modern Art Orchestra – Dedications (feat. Dave Liebman, Bob Mintzer, Benny Golson, Tony Lakatos, Sherry Williams)
2023 Different Aspects of Silence - Kornél Fekete-Kovács, Veronika Harcsa, Dan Bárta, Robert Balzar Trio
2024 The Peacock - Tribute to Zoltán Kodály