Biography
Since recordings first began surfacing in the closing years of the 1990s, the saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist Akosh S has risen among the foremost creative improvisers active across Eastern and Central Europe. Though spelled Ákos in Hungarian and pronounced accordingly, he remains distinct from the pop vocalist Ákos Kovacs, who performs under the single name Ákos. The choice of Akosh S as a professional identity almost certainly arose from the need to separate himself from that other artist. Born Szelevényi Akos in Debrecen, Hungary, on February 19, 1966, he moved to Paris upon turning twenty. His initial three albums appeared on the French Barclay imprint in 1998. Omeko, captured live two years earlier during a Unit performance opening for the French rock band Noir Désir, marks his first release on a major label. The quartet featured on that date—violinist Joe Doherty, double bassist Bernard Malandain, and percussionist Philippe Foch—formed the core of Akosh’s early group.
On the follow-up Imafa the Unit expanded to a quintet through the addition of Bob Coke Volcsanszky, who contributed sarod, jug, kalimba, conch, and percussion. For Elettér, tracked over three days in Paris during mid-September 1998, Akosh S gathered ten players, bringing in clarinetist Alexandre Authelain, three-string violist Péter Éri, lutist Tadeusz Paczula, second bassist Robert Benko, and the tabla and djembe specialists Pape Dieye and Bertrand Cantat. Sections of Elettér also include tambura from Paczula and Volcsanszky.
Reflecting the enduring worldwide reach of the Art Ensemble of Chicago and kindred ensembles that emerged from the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians in the 1960s and 1970s, both the leader—who is credited with more than a dozen distinct sound sources—and the Akosh S Unit maintain an emphatically multi-instrumental approach. Beyond his principal array of saxophones and clarinets, Akosh S regularly turns to the Turkish woodwind tarogato, the double-reed bombard or shawm, the percussive cello known as gardon, the end-blown flute kaval, and the African thumb piano kalimba. An eight-piece edition of the Unit recorded Kebelen live in Limoges in 2000, inaugurating a series of releases on the French label Universal Music. Nap Mint Nap appeared in 2004 with the ensemble reduced to five members: alto saxophonist Quentin Rollet, bassist Christian Brazier, drummer Gildas Etevenard, and hurdy-gurdy player Andras Vigh. That same year Akosh S issued the solo recording Aki. Since 2005 he has documented collaborations with the contrabassists Joëlle Leándre and Denis Charolles as well as the visual and performance artist eRikm. The duo album Erem with Etevenard came out in 2011. Early 2012 tour dates took Akosh S across France and Japan. He represents the most forward-looking qualities of contemporary creative improvised music as it spreads globally.
On the follow-up Imafa the Unit expanded to a quintet through the addition of Bob Coke Volcsanszky, who contributed sarod, jug, kalimba, conch, and percussion. For Elettér, tracked over three days in Paris during mid-September 1998, Akosh S gathered ten players, bringing in clarinetist Alexandre Authelain, three-string violist Péter Éri, lutist Tadeusz Paczula, second bassist Robert Benko, and the tabla and djembe specialists Pape Dieye and Bertrand Cantat. Sections of Elettér also include tambura from Paczula and Volcsanszky.
Reflecting the enduring worldwide reach of the Art Ensemble of Chicago and kindred ensembles that emerged from the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians in the 1960s and 1970s, both the leader—who is credited with more than a dozen distinct sound sources—and the Akosh S Unit maintain an emphatically multi-instrumental approach. Beyond his principal array of saxophones and clarinets, Akosh S regularly turns to the Turkish woodwind tarogato, the double-reed bombard or shawm, the percussive cello known as gardon, the end-blown flute kaval, and the African thumb piano kalimba. An eight-piece edition of the Unit recorded Kebelen live in Limoges in 2000, inaugurating a series of releases on the French label Universal Music. Nap Mint Nap appeared in 2004 with the ensemble reduced to five members: alto saxophonist Quentin Rollet, bassist Christian Brazier, drummer Gildas Etevenard, and hurdy-gurdy player Andras Vigh. That same year Akosh S issued the solo recording Aki. Since 2005 he has documented collaborations with the contrabassists Joëlle Leándre and Denis Charolles as well as the visual and performance artist eRikm. The duo album Erem with Etevenard came out in 2011. Early 2012 tour dates took Akosh S across France and Japan. He represents the most forward-looking qualities of contemporary creative improvised music as it spreads globally.
Albums
