„I thank God that I chose this profession, it’s the best job in the world"
The Ensemble’s has been the house band at Anantara New York Palace from the very beginning. The 4-member band continues to dazzle New York Café guests day after day.
Their set includes familiar hits as well as classical works, but they can take the most extreme request without missing a beat.
We caught József inbetween shows for a talk.
- “As you were starting back there, people gathered round to listen in a matter of minutes. The shift from the usual café hush was unbelievably rapid. Is it always like this?”
- “Waiters have a hard time too, trying to get through the crowd, while everyone’s taking photos and videos. It all takes some getting used to.
Ever since we were kids, this was the kind of place we wanted for gigs, a world-class coffee house. So this is really a dream come true.”
- “I heard an Italian lady ask for a song, and you obliged right away. You’ll play literally anything.”
- “Our main profile is Gypsy-style café music, which is based on Hungarian folk music. We also like to play our own songs. That’s what we like best of all. Hungarian magyarnóta, csárdás, operettas, vintage tunes, that’s our core repertoire. But there’s a lot more up our sleeve, and we improvise a great deal. It’s that kind of game.
Most countries you go to, musicians will play their own national music, while our band can play familiar tunes for people from Brazil, Italy, France or Asia. Another thing we’re versed in is classical music, and not many ensembles can pull all of that off.
Sure a symphonic orchestra can do it all, but they need a huge set of instruments. We need to manage it with just the four of us.
- “Did you ever get a request you couldn’t tackle?”
- “Well, we’ve never tried rapping, yet.
We had a guest come up and offer us a very generous tip, asking for something from Flo Rida. I had no idea what he was talking about, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer. So I picked up my phone, played the first track I found, listen two or three times… And we managed it somehow in the end, because the got the tip.”
- “But you didn’t take up Flo Rida for your set?”
- “No. It wasn’t close to my heart.
Anyway, most people ask for classics, and appreciate the sound of Hungarian music.
- “What does a typical workday look like? Do you play music all day long?”
“It varies, but basically yes. We usually play morning till late. That means we play 15 minutes, then take 45 minutes off.”
- “Could you give a rough estimate to the size of your repertoire?”
“No. Really, I couldn’t say. Sometimes there’s songs we haven’t played in 2 years or 3, that we’ll still perform on request.”
- “Do you compare notes during breaktimes, about what to play in the next 15 minute session?”
“No. Never. And we play everything from memory.
I’ll look at the crowd and make up my mind right there. Like if I see many Asian guests, I’ll know how to reach out to them. It takes years of experience to do this.
- “Would you talk a bit about your travels? Where did you visit last?”
- “Last month we did a stint in India, with a theater group.
They started auditioning some bands. Then they heard us play, and asked for a pop song, which is where all the other folk and classical performers failed. We were the only ones who could play it. That’s what I meant when I told you versatility is so vital to what we do, so we can back up basically anything.”
- “Where else did you travel as a band?”
- “Might as well try to list the places we haven’t been yet! We’ve toured every European country, and been further to places like Indonesia. We might be playing Dubai next.”
- “Where do you get all these gigs?”
- “It’s changed a lot. Back in the Rajkó Ensemblé days, we got gigs as a band, and we all travelled as band members.
Now most times they’ll contact me specifically. I have a boat gig, and got invited to various other places from there.
- “The internet’s full of pictures and videos of the band, and that must really bring in the fans.”
- “If I had a Forint for every video up there, I’d be a very rich man.”
- “You’ve played for multitudes, and that must include quite a few celebrities…”
- “Through the Rom’ Art Association we were booked to play at Will Smith’s visit in Budapest, for his 50th birthday party.
We’ve met some people we could never have seen in any other setting. With the band, we get in to places totally unaccessible for most ordinary folks.
Introducing József Hankó and his band: on cimbalom – Béla Virág, viola – Krisztián Oláh, first violin – József Hankó, and double bass – József Ökrös.
Photo and text: Adrienn Vass English translation: Dani Dányi
