Mihály Borbély Quartet Be by me Tonight

“If Bartók played not-so-straight-ahead jazz, it might sound like the Borbély Quartet, combining Serbian, Slovak, Gypsy, Jewish and German folk influences with classical music, shot through with that thing that swings. Roland Kirk would understand.” (RootsWorld)

After the 2014 release of their award-winning album Hungarian Jazz Rhapsody, the Mihály Borbély Quartet recorded their new material at the BMC studio in the autumn of 2015. Be by Me Tonight contains 11 originals, most of them composed by Mihály Borbély (three co-written with another group member), while one piece is by the outstanding young pianist of the group, Áron Tálas. The studio recording reveals the rich, mature sound of the group, the complex beauty of the compositions with roots and influences from Hungarian and Balkan folk, music of Liszt, Bartók, Kodály as well as contemporary jazz, while preserving the spontaneity and freshness, well known from their concerts.