Söndörgő just released their live album “In Residence at Müpa” and it’s an incredible collection demonstrating their supersonic speed, skalpel-sharp precision and mega level of musicality. The Hungarian band shows that shredding is not exclusive to jam bands as this group would give any band on the planet a run for thier money. The album was recorded live as part of Söndörgő’s 2025–2026 residency as the Ensemble of the Season at Müpa Budapest.
I first became aware of Söndörgő when they opened the GroundUP Music Festival Alberobello 2025 (see live full set on YouTube here). It’s totally in character of the GUMF events to highlight incredible, relatively obscure artists and Söndörgő fit that mold perfectly. Söndörgő’s signature instrument, the Hungaro-Serbian tambura, is similar to a mandolin. The band is made up of three brothers, Áron, Benjamin and Salamon Eredics, plus cousin Dávid Eredics and Ábel Dénes, the only non-family member, on bass. They blend traditional Balkan tamburica music with improvisational jazz and classical sophistication. There’s some similarity to traditional klezmer music and in fact, the band collaborated with Amsterdam Klezmer Band on another live album.
In Residence at Müpa is tantalizing and enchanting bringing old world charm and new age lightning together to make a potent elixir. It’s not a typical jazz, funk, fusion album that you’d find on this site, but it’s a compilation that any lover of emotive, dynamic music can appreciate. Take a journey through this extraordinary set track-by-track and get wowed!
In Residence at MÜPA captures a special chapter in Söndörgő’s artistic journey, following their 2025–2026 residency at Müpa Budapest, where they curated three concerts spanning folk, classical, and jazz. The album brings together the band with an extraordinary lineup of guest artists, including Michael League, Jay Jennings, and Chris Bullock of Snarky Puppy, Márta Sebestyén, and the Balanescu Quartet.
Featuring new arrangements, unique collaborations, and spontaneous moments created specifically for the live performances, these recordings preserve the energy and spirit of a musical residency that could only have happened in that time and place. The collaboration with Snarky Puppy continued beyond the residency, with Söndörgő joining the GRAMMY-winning collective for dates on their recent European tour.
Track-By-Track
Rezidensko Kolo features two additional musician sitins—Fercho Mustafov on saxophone and Branko “Bako” Jovanović on alt tambura—and it’s just amazing. Bako dresses the part and seems totally at ease matching the band’s frenetic pace. He’s at home trading licks with David on sax or Benjamin on tambura. His “solo” midway is eye-popping and would give Cory Wong a run for his money. Salamon then whips out the wooden frula (flute), and the pace seemingly impossibly picks up. Fercho then takes his turn in the lightning round on sax, and he and Bako sync up to the photo finish.
“‘Rezidensko kolo’ captures the heart of our musical world: deep, powerful roots brought into the present through the way we play today. It reflects how we think about tradition. Not as something fixed, but as something alive and constantly evolving.
On this recording from the first concert of our residency at Müpa, we were joined by two incredible guests: Fercho Mustafov on saxophone and Branko “Bako” Jovanović on alt tambura, whose contributions lifted the piece into something even more distinctive than we had imagined.” – Söndörgő
Romaniada sounds like a duel between the saxes (Fercho Mustafov is on this tune as well) and the accordian. They take turns playing the main theme and then sync up. The sustained 26-second sax note around 1.5 minutes in gets an appreciative roar from the crowd. The interplay between the saxes and accordion carries the tune, and yet there’s the additional highlight of the percussion propelling it along.
Rekoh Ti is the “vocalist” track, with Márta Sebestyén and Branka Básits sharing the honors. While it’s sung in Hungarian (presumably), the tune conveys the feeling across linguistic boundaries. If my research is correct, it loosely translates to “I Told You So” and is a warning to a paramour to keep walking past because the singer is “burning with passion.” Sounds interesting for sure. There’s an incredible “Lingus”-like (for Snarky Puppy fans) sequence first on frula, then sax, then accordion. Indeed, this is a “hot” tune.
Kind of Bela, I assume it is for Bela Bartok, one of the great Hungarian composers. It’s a slow bolero processional that’s played on a wind instrument at first. About one-third in, the strings are plucked in wavelike unison to provide the floating backdrop for the lead sax voice.
Hulusination is actually a tune that Söndörgő played in Alberobello, so I got to see that live! It also happens to be the longest song on the album at a whopping 14+ minutes. Hulusination begins with an extended tapan drum solo followed by a sort of chanting chorus and then a happy frula melody, perhaps suitable for a celebration or party. The melody is replayed on one of the bass instruments, possibly by Michael League of Snarky Puppy, who’s listed as playing four instruments on this track. The pattern repeats with David playing the melody on sax.
There’s a dramatic slowdown where I believe it’s just Michael League on oud and the tapan accompaniment. This time I think it’s David on the kaval joining in a very soothing, pleading lead. Soon the full band comes back together with a processional march that builds once again to a fury before another quick drop to just the sax lead with percussion as the main partner. And again, the build is fantastic, with the group picking up pace and volume along the way. The sax hits the upper register and at the apex drops all the way back down the wall to the opening theme right to the finish which closes with one stringed instrument and the tapan.
From Hungary opens with a piano-bass-percussion lead in a moderate tempo relative to the other tunes. One of the small tamburas picks up the second lead in a traditional-sounding melody. Michael League then plays a massive double bass lead with what sounds a piano keeping time and then accompanying, although there’s no piano among the instrumentation. The tune is quite beautiful and different from the other tunes based on volume and tempo.
Wrap opens with a stoic accordian and a pleading trumpet solo from Snarky Puppy’s Jay Jennings. I believe David then answers with a kaval response, and he and Jay then join to take the lead with an almost waltzing tempo. Salamon then begins on frula and volleys with Jay on trumpet. It’s really cool to hear the integration of some of my favorite modern musicians with this traditional music.
As with Hulusination, Wrap winds down midway to a false ending and then picks up with a rapid pace and cheerful dancing music. You essentially have a full horn section playing in sync and then soloing in a way that modern funk bands might do. It’s full-on dance music with great percussion, propelling the group along. I’d love to ultimately see the live videos from this album and will be following to see if they pop up on YouTube. Jay’s solo with Michael on double bass should be intriguing for Snarky Puppy fans for sure. Although hard to choose, this one may be my favorite on the album.
Reba is a great closer and includes Jay Jennings, Michael League, and Chris Bullock (sax) from Snarky Puppy. It’s a horn-led melody with Jay and Chris, but the tamburas and Michael on bass keep pace for sure. It’s great to see the two tamburas play together with Michael as a mystical experience. Reba is fun to watch with the speed changes and the band’s ability to drop way down to a rolling stop and then accelerate. Chris picks up the flute and then is mostly accompanied by Michael on electric bass and then Benjamin on trumpet! Jay delivers another massive solo that would easily be a showstopper at a Snarky Puppy show. I love seeing the Eredics play with such high energy and all smiles. Dávid steps up on sax and answers Jay big time. This one has a bit of a Spanish flair and the ending with full horn section, two basses and percussion is a finish with a flourish!
Söndörgő are:
Söndörgő
- Áron Eredics – first tambura, cello tambura, derbuka, tapan
- Benjamin Eredics – kontra tambura, trumpet
- Dávid Eredics – alto tambura, clarinet, saxophone, kaval
- Salamon Eredics – alto tambura, accordion, frula
- Ábel Dénes – double bass
Special guests:
- Márta Sebestyén – vocal (track 3)
- Branka Básits – vocal (track 3)
- Branko “Bako” Jovanović – alto tambura (tracks 1, 3)
- Fercho Mustafov – saxophone (tracks 1, 2, 3)
- Chris Bullock – tenor saxophone, flute (track 8)
- Jay Jennings – trumpet (tracks 7, 8)
- Michael League – oud, derbuka, double bass, bass guitar (tracks 5, 6, 8)
Buy on Bandcamp
