GigTips: October 2009

Another month has gone by: how quickly the year seems to be slipping away. Apologies for the infrequent updates here on Prague Jazz: real life and other projects (of which hopefully more soon) have been relentlessly eating up my time. But of course there is still time to fill you in on the highlights of the Prague jazz scene for October.

At AghaRTA Jazz Centrum this month there is something very special: two nights (12, 13 /10) of the Jurkovič-Uhlíř-Helešic Trio. Alongside bassist František Uhlíř (often seen in Emil Viklický's Trio) will be two-handed tapping expert Darko Jurkovič and drummer Jaromír Helešic. These three brilliant musicians are undertaking a small European tour, performing in Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Luxembourg and, of course, the Czech Republic. Their music is exciting and complex (but still strongly melodic) modern jazz – see them if you can.

At Jazz Dock the Infinite Quintet will be launching their new album, Speak Slowly, on 13/10. Innovative and challenging pianist Beata Hlavenková will perform there with her Trio on 15/10, and Ondřej Pivec returns from New York City for three nights with his Organic Quartet (16, 17, 18/10).

U Malého Glena has lots of good music this October, with the Robert Balzar Trio back in action on 8/9, and a collaboration between a fine pianist and a fine singer, Matej Benko and Miriam Bayle, on 23/10.

And finally, as is now traditional, if you really must go to Reduta then go and see the very wonderful Emil Viklický Trio. They will be there on 14/10, performing their usual blend of jazz standards, original compositions, and interpretations of traditional Moravian songs. We saw them last month and even by their usual standards they were superb, with lots of energy flowing through the band.

This is, of course, just a small taste of what is out there. Do follow our links to the club websites for full schedules, and remember to book ahead to be sure of getting a good table. And please don't forget to tell the venue that you saw the gig listed here.