Artist database

6 December 1944, Budapest

Excellent jazz drummer, music teacher, former president of the Hungarian Jazz Federation. One of the most active members of the Hungarian jazz scene. His style has been mainly influenced by bebop and free jazz

In 1963 he visited the Béla Bartók Secondary School for Music as student of Oszkár Schwarcz, and then he became pupil of Lajos Bányai in the studio of the National Center for Entertaining Music. From 1966 to 1970 he lived in Western Europe, where he performed with a number of famous jazz artists. After coming home in 1970 he has played with Aladár Pege and in the formations of János Gonda, György Szabados and Gusztáv Csík, as well as in duo with Béla Szakcsi Lakatos. He founded the legendary band „Rákfogó” with Gyula Babos, Mihály Ráduly, Béla Szakcsi Lakatos and Miklós Orszáczky.

In 1975 he founded his own band „Kőszegi Rhythm and Brass” as an unusual formation of two woodwind instruments, a drummer and a percussionist. In 1980 he established an international formation with Jack Gregg (US-American bass player), Zbigniev Namysłowski (Polish saxophone player) and László Gárdonyi (Hungarian pianist). The band toured all over Europe with a huge success. From 1980 he has performed with György Vukán and Balázs Berkes as Super Trio, but he gave concerts with the Creative Art Ensemble, too. Since 1992 he’s been teaching at the Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music as percussion teacher. From 2002 to 2008 he was president of the Hungarian Jazz Federation. In 1995 he founded the ensemble Take 4 with Rudolf Tomsits, Gyula Babos and Aladár Pege. They released three CDs.

Throughout his career he has played with almost every significant Hungarian jazz musician so far, but he has performed with such renowned foreign artists as Frank Zappa, Larry Coryell, Trilok Gurtu, Teddy Wilson, Steve Grossman, Biréli Lagrene, Albert Mangelsdorff, Fritz Power and Harry Sokol. He gave concerts with Attila Zoller and Gábor Szabó, the world-wide known guitar players living in the USA. He contributed to the making of more than 150 pop music and jazz albums.

He was awarded with the Niveau Prize (1982), the eMeRTon Prize (1985), the Gábor Szabó Award (1995), the Lyra Award (1999) the Officer’s Cross of Merit of Order of the Hungarian Republic (2003) and the Liszt Prize (2011). In May 2025, he was awarded the Babos Jazz Performer Award at the Bartók Radio Music Awards ceremony.