New Studio Album of ViO
Equanimity is a one-man project. Viktor Haraszti (Hungarian-born, Holland-based saxophonist) took care of the compositions, performance, and production. The album transcends the experimental approach and conveys the repertory toward the electronic and futuristic style, with deep melodies combined with sonic elements, and progressive fusion of rhythms.
''Equanimity expresses my duality (chaos/surviving) in disordered times and unfolds a personal journey (chapter by chapter), to reach the climax and finally an enigmatic conclusion.''
"..Well-crafted and imaginatively told..".."Equanimity is recommended."
(Chris May, All About Jazz)
"Equanimity" has something autobiographical and transmits peace,
so necessary in this demanding and apparently chaotic world.''
(La Habitación del Jazz)
"The electro-acoustic character of the album looks very organic...Complicated and interesting - just like in life! ''
by Leonid Auskern (Jazz Square, Russia)
MUSICIANS
Viktor Haraszti ( ViO )- Tenor Saxophone, EWI, Clarinet, Flute, Bansuri, Key's, TC-Performer, Vocal
SPECIAL GUEST'S
Dave King - drums, on Chapter Two
Marshall Curtly - finger drums, on Chapter Three & Chapter Four, electric drums & shakers, on Chapter Five
Lisa Marie Simmons - spoken word, on Chapter One,Three & Four
All compositions written and produced by Viktor Haraszti
©Lyrics written by Lisa Marie Simmons
Recorded, Mixed & Mastered @ ViOmusic by Viktor Haraszti
Cover Photo by Balazs Szucs ©
PRESS REVIEWS
By Chris May ( All About Jazz )
"..Well-crafted and imaginatively told..".."Equanimity is recommended."
''Simmons' words,.. are genuinely poetic rather than journalistic and are used sparingly; in short, her input works.''
By ERIC VAN DER WESTEN (JazzNu)
'' Equanimity is an album that shows the eclectic side of Viktor Haraszti well. It promises something for the future, because as a musician he is stubborn, also knows how to make a very good album sound and deals creatively with his influences, without copying too much. The journey of a musician's development is always fascinating. In whatever form the roots and influences emerge throughout a career and make every next artistic step interesting.''
Original (dutch) version: Here
By La Habitación del Jazz
"Equanimity" has something autobiographical and transmits peace, so necessary in this demanding and apparently chaotic world."
Original Spanish link: Here
By Georges Tonla Briquet ( Jazzhalo-be.)
''What makes this CD extra fascinating and interesting is Haraszti's role as saxophonist. The contrast between his controlled intro and outro on the one hand and the explosive outburst of 'Chapter Seven' proves this fully. Haraszti as an explorer of a planet from the Sun Ra universe, remembering the words of Wayne Shorter who once said that jazz can be described as 'I dare you'.''
Original Dutch link: Here
Written by Yoshi Maclear Wall (The WholeNote, Canada)
''Haraszti introduces elements one by one throughout this masterfully paced experience, including successful flirtations with electronics, giving the overall sonic palette a new, unexpected dimension.''
by Leonid Auskern (Jazz Square, Russia)
'' The electro-acoustic character of the album looks very organic. Acoustic woodwind solos, primarily tenor saxophone (very difficult in technical terms, especially in Chapter Two), together with the sound of electronics, create a tense, somewhat gloomy, internally unstable atmosphere. Listening to the album, it is difficult to predict how further development will go in this or that part - it seems to me that this is exactly what Haraszti was trying to achieve. ..."As for the rest, it is quite difficult to define the style of the album unequivocally. This album can be of equal interest to both prog-rock fans and new jazz lovers. In general, everything is complicated and interesting - just like in life! ''
Original Russian link: Here
Production review by From Vinyl to Plastic (UK)
''Musicianship and voice were clean and tight providing an enjoyable and entertaining performance.''
''All instruments, acoustic and electronic, sounded very natural having plenty of detail, sparkle and openness. The tenor sax sounding mellow with a clean brassy edge, a little key, wind and reed noise were noted that helped increase its presence, just managing to make an “appearance” in my room. The clarinet was warm and mellow and the flute open and airy.''
''...this Futuristic/Avantgarde Jazz style makes for an interesting listen and I found it growing on me the longer I listened to it. Even the promotional video made for a good watch, introducing Viktor’s Futuristic approach. All tracks are well recorded and musically well performed, providing solid performances by all musicians. A complicated musical style, but from new jazz fans to prog-rock followers I am sure that many will enjoy this Futuristic album.''
REPUBLIC OF JAZZ
VIKTOR HARASZTI / EQUANIMITY: A FUTURISTIC JAZZ TALE
by republic of jazz
'' In the end, Equanimity has an autobiographical touch and plays around finding out peace of mind in our chaotic and hard world. Like life, this album is unpredictable, mystery and difficult to classify or define in a music style. The best way to figure the CD out is through listening to it chapter by chapter.''
Review from Hungary
''Obviously, it is an eternal question in the world of jazz where the genre is heading, what development trajectory it will take, is expected.Among other things, Viktor Haraszti's recent CD is interesting in this respect as well.''
''Equanimity is a special plate. We can safely consider it program music, even if it reflects the specific catastrophic mood that now characterizes the world,..''
Review written by Björn Comhaire ( Luminous Dash, Muzikzine, Belgium )
''ViO is saxophonist/composer and Hungarian Dutchman Viktor Haraszti who invites musician friends to give shape to his idiosyncratic compositions. With his debut album Equanimity(meaning resignation) he goes in a more experimental direction than in his earlier work, which is closer to classical jazz and swing.''
''Haraszti does manage to keep us fascinated for half an hour, listening to his experiments with sax, rhythm and spoken word.''
Original Dutch Link: Here
by Debbie Burke
''A newly released project that delivers the jazz experience from every conceivable angle – literally – is what Viktor Haraszti calls “jazz meets virtual reality.” He has publicly launched the platform, ViO 360, with his first song “Haiku,” inspired by a work from the late 19th Century poet Masaoka Shiki.''
by all about jazz
'The first in a series of 360º videos from European saxophonist Viktor Haraszti launches this month.''
"To the third place we have ViO with the song "Haiku" that received 1723 views and 450 likes."
by Matt Fripp
''Music meets virtual reality''
by Reka Irk
Haraszti Viktor Magyarországon született, de középiskola után már Hollandiában kezdte az egyetemet, és azóta is ott él. Fúvós hangszereken játszik, mint szaxofon, klarinét, fuvola, EWI. Emellett zeneszerző és tanár. Új projektje a ViO 360°, ami igazán látványos és hamarosan megtudjunk, mit is jelent. A ViO contemporary és jazz fusiont játszik, de ami az újdonság, hogy az élő jazz zene felvételt egy 360 fokban látó kamerával veszik fel, amihez utána látványos grafikai elemeket kapcsolnak, így a videóban nem csak a zene élvezhető, hanem egy kreatív grafikus segítségével, képi hatások, mozgások is lekötik a nézőket, így több művészeti ág is összekapcsolódik, hogy együtt hassanak több érzékszervünkre.
by all about jazz
''Released this month, HAIKU is the first track from his forthcoming EP in which each song is accompanied by a 360º video: whether watching on Vimeo, Youtube or Facebook, you can ‘move’ around the studio as you wish, getting a full immersive experience of the performance.''
by Aja & Claire
“Party at One World Plaza” is a memorable, well-executed, and engineered album.''
''Finally, my hat’s off to the engineer, Viktor Haraszti, for a flawless mixing and mastering job.''