Szilárd MEZEI - viola
Ervin MALINA - double bass
Radmila STANIŠIĆ - violoncello
Kornél PÁPISTA - tuba
Branislav AKSIN - trombone
Slobodan DRAGAŠ - trumpet (5,6/CD1; 2-4/CD2)
Lordan SKENDEROVIĆ - trumpet (1-4/CD1; 1,5/CD2)
Damir BAČIKIN - trumpet
Bogdan RANKOVIĆ - bass clarinet, clarinet, alto saxophone
Emőke ZÁKÁNY - oboe
István CSÍK - drums, percussions (CD2)

The Szilárd Mezei Ensemble consists of musicians performing various kinds of music (jazz, folk music, classical music) who are united in their commitment to improvisation as an approach. The ensemble’s musicians reside in the Voivodina region of Serbia and are active contributors to the traditional musical improvisation workshops of Novi Sad. The band, which is based in the town of Novi Sad, is multi-ethnic, as is the Voivodina region itself. It has been operating in its current form since 2002, with minor changes and shorter and longer breaks. The basis of the band is the Mezei Trio. Among the band’s members are trained solo musicians (Pápista, Dragaš, Zákány), students enrolled at music academies (Stanišić, Malina, Bačikin), a teacher at a music academy (Aksin), and a multifariously employed jazz musician (Csík), as well as a multi-instrumentalist interested in archaic folk music who has a band of his own (Ranković). The repertoire of the band consists of the compositions of Szilárd Mezei, works in which improvisation plays a decisive role.