THAT SPECIAL SOMETHING

There are plenty of voices on the Hungarian jazz scene, a lot of them good. But there's one new voice that will grab your attention the way the others won't. It's the voice of Erika Kertész. What's different about it? Hard to say. Is it the throaty, soothing mezzo range? Or the melancholy sincerity of her interpretations? Is it the pure intonation, the expressive bending of the blue notes, or maybe the clarity of her English pronunciation? All of those things, to be sure. But it’s got that special something that you just can't put your finger on. And it’s got the magnetism that will draw you in, quietly, but surely.

Erika Kertész was born in Pécs and raised in Kaposvár, Hungary. In 1989 she moved with her family to Budapest, where she attended a music-specialist elementary school. She took up the piano at the age of 7 and began the violin at about age 9, learning classical music through high school. She also sang in the school choir, a defining experience in her love of singing. The music she grew up with at home, however, was not classical, but pop. Her interest in jazz led her to study jazz singing for several years with Tamás Berki.

She started looking for other musicians to work with, but had no luck. No one was heading in the same direction. She was beginning to have doubts about a career in music when she met English jazz guitarist Jay Myerson in March, 2006. They embarked on a musical partnership that defined her style and goals in music. After establishing a basis of jazz standards they both knew, Erika suggested they make their own jazzy arrangements of the pop songs of the 70s, 80s and 90s that she'd grown up with and loved. This became the core of her constantly expanding present repertory.

With a bass player they formed the Erika Kertész Trio and began playing clubs in Budapest, such as Isolabella Café, Tabu Lounge, Tajtékos napok, Soho Café and Vera Jazz Café. Erika and Jay also recorded some jazz standards, including "Autumn Leaves," "No More Blues" and "Days of Wine and Roses." At Christmas, 2006 they produced a three-song demo CD with their relaxed, moody arrangements of "Just the Two of Us," "Jesus to a Child," and "The Real Thing."

When Myerson moved back to England in August, 2007 Erika began a new phase in her career, working now with pianist Márton Somogyi. In addition to the aforementioned clubs, they have added new clubs to their list of venues, including the Gödör Club (where they once appeared as a full jazz band, the "Cosmic Jazz Defenders), Jam Pub, Eckermann Café, A.P.A Cuka Café, Szimpla Garden and others. The duo also has a regular weekly gig in the cigar bar at the newly renovated New York Palace Boscolo Hotel. And they even play private parties from time to time, such as a party for the Formula 1 drivers, which was organized by the Boscolo Hotel, where the drivers were staying.

Erika has taken a new direction since the personnel change in her group. Not only has she begun composing her own songs in the last few months, she has begun new projects outside her usual scope. For example, a producer contacted her through her MySpace page, and together they did an electronic song. She liked the results, posted the song on MySpace, and plans to do more electronic songs with him and others in the future.

Speaking of the future, Erika hopes to make contact with other like-minded musicians abroad. She wants to travel to other countries, for example the USA, with her music and expand her musical horizons.

Meanwhile, she plans concerts with guest artists and a full band here in Budapest. In addition to electronic projects, she wants to keep working with live instruments, developing her own song writing skills, enlarging her repertory, and doing what she does best: those laid-back jazz standards and jazz-clothed pop songs that appeal to a wide audience of listeners that discern in her voice something magnetic, something that grabs your attention. That special something.