CALENDAR
A FINE LINE IN BETWEEN
by Roland Heidrich & The Abstract
"Heidrich blurs the lines between jazz, prog and the music of his native Hungary, and here he lays it all down with an easy groove, courtesy of his able sidesmen CsabaPengő on bass, and drummer Zsolt SárváriKovács...
...there are gentle moments such as the guitar/sax duo of ‘This Is A Song’... and the flat-out charging bonkersness and complexity of the appropriately-titled ‘Crazy’, which closes the album, with the performers soaring off in all directions and each taking a solo in classic jazz-gig style."
Andrew Everard - HiFiCritic
LATEST RELEASES
The Grey Fox Ran Across The Prairie by Roland Heidrich & The Abstract
The Abstract @ No Milk Today (2023)
Coincidence (excerpt) - Zsolt Sárvári Kovács & Roland Heidrich
Roland Heidrich & The Abstract - Tale (part) @OpusJazzClubBudapest
THE ABSTRACT
The Abstract blends several styles and genres whilst staying flexible and constantly evolving in their own music...
The Abstract has been heard by audiences in Hungarian clubs and stages since 2018. Their experimental spirit and cross-genre music can already be heard on two records and a live concert release.
Despite the classic drum, bass and guitar line-up, this isn't a mainstream formation. In their music, from progressive or post-rock to avant-garde twists, the audience can come across a lot of colors. Sometimes song-like themes give ground for their musical exploration but the attitude and main principles of jazz can almost always be heard from their music.
They recorded their first album “Where are we going?” at the end of 2018. In 2021 their second album was released under the title "A Fine Line In Between". The latest release is a live recording under the title "Live '20".
Roland Heidrich – guitar
Csaba Pengő – double bass
Zsolt Sárvári Kovács – drums
BIO
I see myself as someone with a creative attitude. I like to experiment with stuff and try to make something out of it...
I picked up the guitar at the age of 14. A simple act, that started my ever lasting passion for music and this iconic instrument. I was mesmerized by rock music first but i have soon discovered jazz and started to develop myself in that direction. After some years of studying jazz with Attila Csikós, my interests evolved in other directions aswell, like avantgarde and experimental music including free improvisation. I played with Judit Bálványos and Zsolt Varga, who introduced me to free improvised music. Having set up my prepared milti-pickup electric guitar for experimental music purposes, I met Sándor Szabó, who showed me into a different sphere of music and sound, principally through acoustic music. I played only acoustic guitars for 10 years, explored the oppurtunities on the 8 string classical guitar, 16 string guitar and fretless 8 strings, before my return to the electric guitar and my original sound imaginations. In the last couple of years I mostly play electric guitar.
In all these years i was lucky to play and work with really great and inspiring musicians. It is hard to make a long list short, so i will keep this job for another time, but as far as releases and formations go, i played with: Sándor Szabó, István Grencsó, Balázs Major, Judit Bálványos, Zsolt Varga, Vajk Kobza, Márton Bakai, Csaba Gyulai, Róbert Benkő, Csaba Pengő, Alf Wilhelm Lundberg, Ralf Gauck, Zoltán Lantos, János Ávéd, Gergő Kováts, Thomas Gundermann, Zsolt Sárvári Kovács, Christopher Robin Cox, Attil Gyárfás, Zoltán Kováts, Nikolai Ivanov, Bálint Bolcsó, Mark Wingfield, Kevin Kastning.
I always loved to compose and I do so today, but I think of music mostly as the creation of that very moment. In 2017 we started to work in trio with double bass player Csaba Pengő and drummer Zsolt Sárvári Kovács. We soon continued as ‘The Abstract’. A long awaited artistic and sonic opportunity has come to life for me. I really enjoy playing with Zsolt and Csaba, they deliver a solid ground for my concepts and compositions. My goal now is to keep the dinamic range as wide as possible and play really different feels and tastes besides each other. I was not afraid to write some bitter-sweet melodies, switch to free jazz in the next bar and continue with some heavy riffs in the next tune. Anyways we are on our experimental journey. We have recorded two studio albums. The first one “Where are we going?” was released in 2019. The second one in 2021 under the title "A Fine Line In Between". Both at Hunnia Records. Our third live album "The Abstract Live '20" came out in 2022.
In terms of other releases, the Grencsó Poetry Collective has released the album “From Door To Gate” (spring 2019) at Hunnia-/Adyton Records. Though this might be more interesting for the hungarian audience (becouse of the hungarian poems written by István Grencsó) the improvised music surrounds the lyrics in a very colorfull manner and is enjoyable as such. “River Music” was another collaboration with István Grencsó, Sándor Szabó and Róbert Benkő, where we play free improvised music, following various sonic and music creating concepts. I am a constant collaborator in the formations of Vajk Kobza, where we primarily create within the realm of oriental music philosophy. Lately, we have started our psychedelic free jazz exploration with Christopher Robin Cox, Attila Gyárfás, and Zoli Kováts in the group named Cosmic Cluster.