Péter Pallai has passed away.

It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of Péter Pallai, a defining figure of the Hungarian jazz scene. He was a journalist honored with the Golden Pen Lifetime Achievement Award for his decades of work at the BBC Hungarian Service, and the founder of the Harmónia Műhely Foundation as well as the Harmónia Jazz Workshop concert series. He passed away at the age of eighty-eight.

 

For decades, Péter Pallai worked tirelessly to elevate jazz to its rightful place within Hungarian musical culture. His name is linked to the regular “exchange trade” of concerts between Hungary and the United Kingdom—bringing Hungarian musicians to perform in London and British jazz greats to Hungary. He organized hundreds of concerts over more than fifteen years through the Harmónia Jazz Workshop’s Friday concert series, and he was also the author of the monumental book “A Century of Jazz.”

 

As a passionate jazz enthusiast and mentor, he helped launch the careers of generations of young musicians. Among his many contributions was the creation of the Jazz Observatory series, in collaboration with the Budapest Jazz Club, which focused on the youngest emerging talents.

 

The founders of the Budapest Jazz Club, László Bóna and Zoltán Susszer, shared a nearly two-decade-long friendship with him, marked by successful joint projects, talent competitions, and countless memorable concerts—all in the spirit of promoting Hungarian jazz culture.

 

The Budapest Jazz Club regards Péter Pallai as one of its own.

We will cherish his memory with love and respect.

May he rest in peace.