My new favourite place for music in Budapest

My taste in music is  debatable. I like jazz, blues, and moody stuff like Leonard Cohen. I like Pink Martini and the Frames. I like Johnny Cash and Glen Miller. I’m the first to admit that I haven’t a note in my head, so when I find myself bopping, in my seat, to what I’m hearing, then I know that it’s good.

Last Wednesday, the lovely DE invited me along to the Gozsdu Manó Klub. I’d been there on New Year’s Eve last year and wasn’t at all impressed – it was empty and they were charging an entrance fee! This night though, in the torturous heat, the outside seats were full with a steady stream of punters coming and going. The new programme organiser, Luca Jakab of Kimono Sound was a little harried, wondering if the music was too loud or not loud enough. This was her first gig, showcasing one of her favourite acts  Experimint with Elliot and Séf from Peg Top Djz and trumpeter MnemonicKiss who plays with bands like Ez a Divat and Dj Bootsie Quartet. (Expirmint have another band, too: The Holy Rollerz)

Their special guest on the night that I was there was a man with a dreamy voice. I could have listened to Ponza all night. This Hungarian slammer and rapper could bring people back from the dead if he spoke to them for long enough. The mix of poetry, trumpet and dj sound was simply amazing. Had I known what I was in for, I’d never have gone. But now that I was there, I had to be dragged away. Who would have thought that in just one evening I’d have been exposed to soul, nu jazz, free jazz, swing, electroswing, bossatech, loungecore, brokenfunk, deep house… and liked it! The mind boggles.

Luca has a busy July mapped out with live music almost every night featuring duos and trios from the world of jazz, bossa nova, world music. Every Wednesday is Experimint’s, and every Friday and Saturday one dj will get everyone on the floor dancing! Not to be missed on 12 July DJ Bootsie Kvartett Húzd who will feature at GM alongside  saxophone player, János Vázsonyi. Mark your diaries.

I’ve long berated Budapest clubs and bars for cutting off their food service early or not providing food at all. GM has gotten it just right. In cooperation with  M Restaurant, it’s offering filled baguettes (freshly baked in the club) with fresh salads. Just the right sort of food for summer nights. Prices are reasonable, the staff are friendly, the music is great, and the bartenders are open to me practising my Hungarian. What more could a body wish for.

GM Club:VII. Király utca 13., Budapest, Hungary, 1075