Is our identity primarily determined by professionalism and vocation, or receptivity and openmindedness to community and art are just as important? There’s an anecdote about a famous jazz
musician who, on one of his tours, was asked if he had visited the world-famous cathedral of the town.
‘I’m not a tourist, I’m a musician!’, he replied furiously. Others might feel differently, however: András Dés, for instance, has once been called ‘the greatest tourist ever’ by one of his fellow musicians. Although jazz is not typically program music, the songs on this album might be considered as such, given that almost all of them have been composed on a specific subject, including tumultuous history, concern for the state of society, emigration, musical problems, and, of course, travel itself.

Dés’s ‘tourist-ness’ can probably be felt most clearly in the song Motherland, which was inspired by
Scum, a theatrical performance by Béla Pintér and Company. Another good example is Wise Wind,
which evokes memories of a trip to Jerusalem.
The motif of travel is also dominant throughout the album because Dés’s three partners had
to return from abroad for the Hungarian tour and recording sessions. Dániel Szabó, the pianist, flew home from Los Angeles, double bassist Mátyás
Szandai came back from Paris and guitar player Márton Fenyvesi took a break from a two-year European scholarship to join them in the summer of 2013.

This was an inspiration for poet Mátyás Varga, who was asked to provide sleeve notes for the record,
but after having listened to it, instead of the usual recommendations, he wrote the poem Tourist No.1,
which can be read on the inner sleeve. When the 2013 tour with this fantastic line-up started to take
shape, the manager of Hunnia Records, Hunka Róbert Zoltán, offered them to record the album at
SuperSize Recording Studios in Törökbálint. The final mastering was done by Márk Moldvai, one of
Dés’s long-time partners. The critic of JazzMa.hu praised the resulting album as ‘a concept that tries to embrace the world’, and highlighted the freedom of improvisation, the team spirit, and the heartfelt,
dynamic performances of the musicians as its principal merits.

Márton Fenyvesi – gitár
Dániel Szabó – piano
Mátyás Szandai – double bass
András Dés – percussion