Emil Viklický - New Album Rehearsals

It is always a time of excitement and anticipation here at PJHQ when Emil is working on a new album. His current project is Kafka On The Shore, an album for Venus Records in Japan. To give you a taste of what it will be like here's a clip of the band in rehearsal at Czech Radio's famous Studio A, where many great Czech (and Czechoslovak!) albums were recorded.

Video: Piňa co. & Lada

As part of PJ's mission to bring interesting artists to a wider audience we are happy to showcase two videos of vocal jazz outfit Piňa co. & Lada.

The band is based around a core of singer Lada Soukupová and bassist Filip Benešovský. Filip was the organiser and star of The Wall 2009, featuring Harry Waters on keyboards, in which Lada also performed. They don't do many gigs because the band has to fit around the prior commitments of its members, but  they would surely go down a storm in places like Jazz Dock. Indeed Filip and Lada joined Harry Waters on stage there in April for two songs and were very well received. Do look out for them and give them your support.

GigTips: April 2010

April marks not only the coming of warmer weather (and Easter tourists) but also the start of Prague Jazz's third year of existence. Thank you to all our readers, both regular and irregular, and of course thank you to the musicians, record companies, club owners, and everyone else who has supported us during the last two years. Now, looking to the future, here's what is going down in April...

There are some good gigs at Jazz Dock this month. Gigs at this club are prone to getting spoiled by idiots who talk too much, but with an audience that is either focused or small they are usually fine. Jazz Dock is hosting the one of the big international gigs of the month with the John Abercrombie Organ Trio playing there on 12/4. Abercrombie is one of the world's great modern jazz guitarists and this is an excellent chance to see him in an intimate setting.

Jazz Dock are starting to have two concerts in one night on some occasions, with the early gig (7 PM) being cheaper than the late gig (10 PM), and there is a discount for combined admission. The best of these coming up is on 21/4 when delightful jazz/folk singer Pavla Milcová is performing first, followed by the Robert Balzar Trio. These two acts are very different, so there will be no risk of tedium, but both are truly excellent.

The AghaRTA Prague Jazz Festival is also hosting some big international names in April, with the gigs taking place at the Lucerna Music Bar. Rudy Linka and Bobo Stenson will be playing there on 12/4 and the John Scofield Jazz Quartet will be dropping by on 27/4. If you fancy some high-energy, hard-edged instrumental music then check out Bozzio/Holdsworth/Levin/Mastelotto on 23/4: prog rockers go jazz!

At AghaRTA Jazz Centrum itself there is lots of good stuff as usual. Lots of fun too, with the resurrected Yandim Band (14, 15/4) and the Rhythm Desperados (25, 26/4). In both cases you can expect seriously good playing with a party atmosphere. It is also worth going there on 27/4 to see the Emil Viklický Trio, and while you are at it you can get a copy of their Live in Vienna album! A new video from one of their recent performances can be found here.

At USP Jazz Lounge in April there are some decent singers that are well worth catching. Miriam Bayle (15/4) and Elena Sonenshine (24/4) are both strong vocalists: there is nothing standard about the way that they sing the standards. Leona Milla (7/4) has a different approach, reworking known pop and soul songs in an emotional and effective way. Finally, if you prefer modern instrumental jazz to the vocal variety, Points (25/4) are one of the rising stars of the scene.

As ever this is just a small selection of what is on offer so do check out the club and artist links in order to get the full schedules. If you go to any of these gigs please let us know what you thought, either on here or via our Facebook page, and please do tell the artists and venues that you saw the gig mentioned on Prague Jazz. Happy listening!

News: CD Presentation by Cyrille Oswald - The Wrong Present

We have just had this press release about saxophonist Cyrille Oswald. The video is well worth watching.

On March 25,26 and 27, Cyrille Oswald will be presenting his new CD for Animal Music at the Jazz Dock in Prague, with David Doruzka on guitar, Tomas Liska on bass and Dano Soltis on drums.

Part of the show will consist of one of Cyrille's new projects, the Beautyists, a group of musicians, poets and storytellers.

On Thursday 25th, the quartet will be extended by percussionist and metalsculptor Steve Hubback, bassist Rodrigo Reijers and storyteller Tom Zahn. On Friday, poet/singer Lucien Zell will join the group, and on Saturday, both Tom Zahn and Lucien Zell will be present. Together they tell spellbinding tales from places nearby and far away, and make musical imagery of original poetry. They create a boundless experience between various artforms, prepared and improvised. There, they integrate the worlds of word and sound.

You can watch an interview with Cyrille about the CD here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMPqBTeYdB4

Video Selection

The snow and ice that cover Prague's streets at the moment make every trip outside an adventure, so here's three videos that you can enjoy at home without risking a trip to the hospital with broken bones.

To kick things off we have a rehearsal video from The Wall 2009, a concert in which Czech musicians recreated the legendary Pink Floyd rock show. So why feature it in Prague Jazz? First of all there is a pretty hot saxophone solo from Petr Kalfus, who is now more usually seen playing with the Infinite Quintet. Secondly, it features singer Lada Soukupová who is not only excellent but is also more than capable of delivering a jazz tune or two. Thirdly, on keyboards we have Harry (son of Roger) Waters, who is establishing a name for himself as a jazz musician in his own right.



Next up, following our review of her Joy For Joel album, we have pianist Beata Hlavenková and band. Here they are performing "The Riddle" on Czech television:



Finally, because he's very cool and that's reason enough, here's Luboš Andršt with his Blues Band playing a nice bit of Hendrix:

Infinite Quintet on YouTube

Given that their album was reviewed on Prague Jazz last month, and that they are playing in Prague in January (see the last GigTips for details), here are a few video clips of the very promising Infinite Quintet.

On Czech television:


At Reduta:


In Berlin:

Video: Karel Růžička x 2

During the summer the Prague club stages were wowed by the combination of Karel Růžička senior (piano) and Karel Růžička junior (sax). Sadly they don't play together very often, but thanks to the miracle of YouTube we can relive the summer fun throughout the cold winter months. Here they are playing one of Růžička junior's compositions, "Seven Hills":

Blast From The Past: Energit

Here's something very special: Energit's "Paprsek ranního slunce" (Ray of morning sunshine) from the 1970s. Energit were a jazz rock band that featured some of the best local musicians of the time. On this recording you can hear the magical guitar work of a young Mr Luboš Andršt. Enjoy, and play it loud!

Stan the Man on Video

Following our recent review of Stan the Man's Bohemian Blues Band we thought that it would be fun to feature a couple of videos of them in action. Play them loud and enjoy:

Badman:


I Can't Sleep:

Superb 1974 Laco Deczi Video

If you're wondering whether you should go and see trumpeter Laco Deczi when he passes through Prague then here's a little food for thought. Winding all the way back to 1974, in a faraway country called Czechoslovakia, here's Laco and friends at the International Jazz Festival. Enjoy!

News: Emil Viklický - Moravian Gems

Emil has been out on the road again with George Mraz, Laco Tropp and Iva Bittová, playing material from their Moravian Gems album.

An excellent set of photographs from their concert in Trutnov, taken by photographer Patrick Marek can be found here.

If you prefer moving pictures then a good video can be found here.

Many thanks to EV for the information.

Prague Jazz, Jazz Legends

The music scene in Prague features some truly world-class players who belong with the great names of jazz and blues. A big claim for sure, but you don’t need to take our word for it. Here are two videos from YouTube that prove the point: Emil Viklický and Jiří Stivín sitting in with the Dizzy Gillespie Band, and B.B. King passing judgement on Luboš Andršt. Enjoy.

Emil:


Luboš:

Robert Balzar Trio Videos

To celebrate the RBT / John Abercrombie tour here are some videos of Robert and his Trio in action, posted to YouTube by the man himself.

"Tale":


"Alone":


"Remember Hymn":


"Eronel":


"Night":

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to all our readers!

We hope that wherever you saw in 2009 you had a good time. We at Prague Jazz spent the night at the Charles Bridge Jazz Club, where the Luboš Andršt Blues Band played their last gig of 2008 and their first gig of 2009. It was a fantastic night, and we humbly thank Luboš and his band (Wimpy Tichota, Jan Holeček, Jiří Stivín jr.), and also Jiří Londin and his team at the CBJC. Your night at work was our great night out.

For all of you who couldn’t be there, here’s a taste of what you missed…

Feature: Pictures from Luboš Andršt’s 60th Birthday Concert

Lucerna Music Bar
14th October 2008

Emil Viklický sits in:

Jan Hrubý on violin, Wimpy on bass:

Happy Birthday!Peter Lipa on vocals:

AghaRTA Open Air Concerts - Day 1

AghaRTA Gang feat. Štěpán Markovič:

Vít Švec Trio:

An excellent solo from Vít Švec Trio pianist, Jiří Růžička:




Ondřej Pivec ORGANIC Quartet:

Matej Benko Quintet:

Jazz fans in Prague's Old Town Square:




Emil Viklický Trio:

"Highlands, Lowlands":

AghaRTA Open Air Concerts - Day 2

A fine opening set from the Luboš Andršt Group:

"Song for Saxophone Joe":

František Kop Quartet:

Rhythm Desperados:

A show-stealing set from Madfinger:

Woodwind master Jiří Stivín:

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!