It may sound surprising, but on his new album the doyen of Hungarian jazz musicians, Kossuth Prize-winning pianist-composer Béla Szakcsi Lakatos draws the attention to one of the most enormous challenges of our time, climate change. Although based on tradition – such as folk music, classics, or Bartók’s heritage – this large-scale, seven-movement opus of improvised music is in all its aspects an original, unique composition. Szakcsi convinced three leading representatives of the US jazz scene to contribute at the premiere of this project held in BMC’s Concert Hall in April of this year. Tim Ries, on tenor and soprano saxophones, is not only a distinguished member of his country’s jazz elite, but is also well known as part of the Rolling Stones’ brass section. The rhythm tandem of Robert Hurst and Rudy Royston proved to be an ideal choice, and Szakcsi’s long-time fellow musician, violinist Lajos Kathy Horvath also features on a piece.