His full name is Bêla Szakcsi Lakatos but his artist name is simply Szakcsi (Sa-chi). Born in Budapest Hungary in 1943, Szakcsi studied classical music before leaning toward piano jazz. He plays both with equal ease. Mainly playing in Hungary, Szakcsi enrolled in a radio contest. He won a prize to perform at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1970. It launched his international career which brought him to work with artists as divers as Jack DeJohnette or Frank Zappa. In the 90's, Szakcsi signed with GRP and recorded 4 albums. One of those is "Straight Ahead" released in 1994 with Marvin "Smitty" Smith on drums, jay Leonhardt on bass and Tim Warfield on sax. The cut is "Prisms". #szakcsi #marvinsmittysmith #timwarfield #jayleonhardt #pianojazz