Bergendy

Bergendy was a Hungarian rock and jazz band from Budapest. During the 1960s, the band released numerous singles and EPs on Quatilion. Between 1971 and 1976, the band issued six albums on Pepita. Subsequent decades witnessed sporadic activity under the nameplate.

Members: István Bergendy (saxophone, bandleader), Péter Bergendy (saxophone, flute, backing vocals, manager), Gábor Tánczos (trumpet, ?-1964), Miklós Kajlinger (drums, ?-1964), Károly Gáspár (bass, ?-1970), Ede Auth (piano, 1964-67), Rudolf Tomsits (trumpet, 1964-?), Béla Csáky (drums, vocals, 1964-69), György Oroszlán (guitar, 1964-present), Sándor Hajdu (keyboards, brasswinds, flute, backing vocals, 1967-80), Norbert Latzin (keyboards, guitar, bass, vocals, percussion, 1969-75), René Gubelmann (drums, 1969-70), Csaba Debreczeni (drums, 1970-77), Ferenc Demjén (lead vocals, bass guitar, 1970-77), János Rudolf Tóth (guitar, 1975-77), Péter Gábor (bass guitar, guitar, 1977-present), István Bálint (drums, backing vocals, 1977-present), Ferenc Balogh (lead vocals, 1980-92), Károly Horváth (trombone, 1983-86), Béla Valusek (trumpet, 1983-87), István Moré (trombone, 1986-99), Gábor Virágh (trumpet, 1987), Gábor Varga (trumpet, 1987)

Background

Bergendy formed in Budapest in autumn 1962 when saxophonist István Bergendy and saxophonist-flutist Péter Bergendy reorganized the Marx Károly University of Economics youth jazz ensemble with pianist Ede Auth, trumpeter Gábor Tánczos, trombonist Péter Kovács, bassist Károly Gáspár, and drummer Miklós Kajlinger.

The Bergendy brothers came from Szolnok, where both attended Verseghy Ferenc Gimnázium and studied at the local music school. István started on accordion, then took up clarinet and saxophone; Péter moved from accordion to tenor saxophone and flute. The brothers played together in the school jazz group ROKY, which held public engagements in the summer of 1957 at the Nemzeti Szálló and Cserkeszőlő resort. István entered Budapest University of Technology in 1958 and later studied clarinet under Ferenc Meizl at the Bartók Béla Conservatory; Péter entered the Marx Károly University of Economics and studied mathematical planning.

Bergendy became a resident group at the Budai Ifjúsági Park, with winter engagements at the Dália presszó. The band backed solo singers at the park and worked on radio and television sessions with performers including Mária Toldy and András Payer. Bergendy traveled to Poland for a jazz festival in 1963 with Márta Szirmay and Toldy. When military obligations removed Tánczos and Kajlinger from the lineup in 1964, trumpeter Rudolf Tomsits and drummer Béla Csáky joined for a Danish jazz tour. Guitarist György Oroszlán joined that spring as Bergendy shifted from jazz and dance music toward beat material. Qualiton issued Bergendy EPs from 1964, both under the group name and with singer Sarolta Zalatnay.

Auth encountered passport restrictions before a 1967 Polish engagement. Bergendy hired pianist Sándor Hajdu, who multi-tasked on trumpet and trombone. Hajdu studied piano, trumpet, and composition in Győr and Budapest, then completed conducting studies at the Liszt Academy. The sextet spent much of the next thirty months on engagements in Switzerland and West Germany. Danish dates occupied another portion of the touring cycle. Csáky remained into 1969 when Bergendy hired Swiss drummer René Gubelmann.

Months later, Bergendy on-boarded keyboardist Norbert Latzin, a Metro alumni and former child piano prodigy with the Liszt Academy. He left Hungary for the Netherlands in 1964 and spent the next five years on European engagements. Bergendy returned to Budapest with a repertoire that drew on beat, soul, and brass-led rock material. The group appeared at Táncdalfesztivál with the Rudolf Tomsits number “Te vagy a lexebb” and received a standalone television program that autumn.

In 1970, István Bergendy and Latzin searched Budapest clubs for a lead singer who could also play bass. They recruited Ferenc Demjén from the Kulcsár quartet at the Szabadság Szálló. Demjén had prior bassist stints with Számum, Dogs, Meteor, Sakk-Matt, and Tűzkerék. Drummer Csaba Debreczeni played with Sámson and jazz trombonist Károly Friedrich. The three new members remained in Budapest while the established lineup completed a Swiss contract. The trio developed the new program around Latzin compositions and Demjén lyrics, including “Jöjj vissza, vándor,” “Napot akarok látni,” “Fázom,” and “Mindig ugyanúgy.”

By November, the rebuilt seven-piece secured regular weekend engagements at the Műegyetem E-Klub and the Ganz-MÁVAG Művelődési Ház. Bergendy worked as a backing group on the national New Year’s Eve television broadcast on December 31 and filled an unexpected three-minute gap near midnight with “Mindig ugyanúgy.” Record-company executives subsequently heard Bergendy at Ganz-MÁVAG and returned for a private four-hour performance in December. The executives approved two LP programs, one based on international songs and another built from original Bergendy material. Bergendy entered the studio with the seven-piece lineup for the international-song program that became Beat ablak.

Discography:

• Beat ablak (1971)
  
• Bergendy (1972)
  
• Hétfő (Hét fő) (1973)
  
• Ötödik sebesség (1974)
  
• Fagypont fölött miénk a világ (1976)
  
• Jazz (1976)
  
• Én táncolnék veled… (1984 • Bergendy Szalonzenekar)
  
• Subidubi (1986 • Bergendy Koncert, Tánc és Szalon Zenekar)
  
• Bergendy buli (1987 • Bergendy Szalon Zenekar)
  

Resources and notes:

• Beatkorszak — Bergendy brothers’ Szolnok home: strongest material on the brothers’ childhood, Verseghy school years, music lessons, ROKY, the 1957 Nemzeti Szálló and Cserkeszőlő engagements, and the move to Budapest. (Beat Korszak)
• Rockinform interview with István Bergendy: particularly useful because Bergendy himself gives the 1962 formation date, original lineup, Budai Ifjúsági Park residency, Oroszlán entry, Swiss contracts, Csáky/Gubelmann change, and the 1970 recruitment of Demjén and Debreczeni. (Rockinform Magazin)
• Beatkorszak — Norbert Latzin profile: documents the Liszt Academy special-talent program, Metro period, 1964 departure for the Netherlands, European work, 1969 return, Bergendy entry, and singer search with István Bergendy. (Beatkorszak)
• Demjén official biography and earlier biographical account: confirm his technical-school background and the pre-Bergendy sequence through Számum, Dogs, Liversing, Meteor, Sakk-Matt, and Tűzkerék. (Demjén Ferenc)
• Debreczeni interview / Sámson history: confirms his route from Sámson into Bergendy and gives a first-person account of the rebuilt group and the December 31, 1970 television appearance. (Beatkorszak)
• Hungarian National Széchényi Library discography and Beatkorszak album study: confirm Beat ablak as the 1971 Pepita LP and distinguish it from the first album of original compositions, recorded in 1971 and released later. (EPA)
• Bergendy singles chronology: useful for checking the 1964–70 Qualiton output, Zalatnay collaborations, “Te vagy a lexebb,” and the pre-LP singles. (Hungaropedia)