Feature: The Prague Jazz Cinema Show!

Obviously the best way to sample the musicians who play this town is to get down into the clubs, sink a few cold ones, and let the night work its magic. But for those of you who do not know where to start, or don’t really appreciate what is out there, or simply live in far-away underdeveloped countries (e.g. Great Britain), there is the Prague Jazz Cinema Show! So log in, turn down the lights, and grab a drink…

First of all we have a couple of crackers from Prague’s resident Chicago bluesman, Rene Trossman. His original piece , "My Endless Blue Mood" and the classic "Caldonia". The latter is taken from an NME feature on different versions of "Caldonia", showing once again the world-class nature of the local scene.

I first saw Nika Diamant performing at an anti-communist demonstration on 1st May 2007. Here is a great version of “Spoonful” (Willie Dixon) from that concert from my own vaults:

Also, from the same event, Michal Prokop, Luboš Andršt and Jan Hrubý "unplugged":

The Emil Viklický Trio are known for their exciting and vibrant performances, with Emil’s adaptations of traditional Moravian tunes always worth hearing. Here is a clip of the trio performing "Buhaina, Buhaina" (Ray Brown).

The Robert Balzar Trio often work with Czech singer Dan Bárta, in this case performing "Looking at the world"

Time for a timeless blast from the past. Michal Prokop performing “Bitva o Karlův most” from 1985! Watch out for some excellent violin work from composer Honza Hrubý.

We’ll leave the last word to the king of cool himself, the one and only Luboš Andršt. Here he is, “Walking the Dog” (Rufus Thomas) with his Blues Band. Enjoy!