JAZZFESTBRNO2003
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JazzFest Brno 2003
Hudobny zivot - Roland Kanik
  
 
Festival was opened by the Czech double bass player Jaromir Honzak with his international Quintet. The program was comprised of compositions from the current album Present Past, which also was christened during the concert. In his group concept Honzak emphasises harmony and playing with the athmosphere. His music lacks a strict jazz timing, rhytmical contours are very foggy. In this respect he sympathises with the drummer Lukasz Zyta and the pianist Michal Tokaj, whose performance resembles a painter quietly putting on layers of tones to the complete a sound picture. For that matter, they are Polish and the polish jazz is world famous just for that kind of sound. Quiet waves of the sound spaces were interfered only by Polish post-bop saxophonist Piotr Baron and guitarist Christian Rover, who won't deny some inspiration in John Scofield's style of playing. Sophisticated harmonies, long intensifying spaces, decomposing emotions, profound empathy - these are the moments, which characterize a high quality performance of the Honzak Quintet. And, not to remain in debt to jazz, as the encore they chose On Green Dolphin Street, where they swung with a pleasure.

Thursday night was reserved for the Slovak bass guitar unit of Juraj Griglak and his project the Bass Friends. The present personell includes the guitarist Matus Jakabcic (who also contributed to the album of the identical name), the violinist Stano Paluch and the drummer Peter Solarik. Griglak skillfully rearanged the compositions from the CD the way that they did not lose anything from their integrity, even though he had to omitt the brass section and rich keyboard spaces. They were replaced by the Jakabcic guitar synth. Stano Paluch perfectly simulated the guitar funk grooves, using the wah-wah pedal. While talking about Paluch I cannot help not to add that he is a talent, which the Slovak jazz scene has long been awaiting for - a violinist technically flawless, improvisationally inventive, style-wise universal (from bop to fusion). A positive surprise for me was the drummer Peter Solatik, whom I have known as a swinging memeber of the group Nothing But Swing, but this time he proved that funk is also no problem for him. And, Griglak's grooves are still incredibly fast, amazingly catchy and very energetic. Bass Friends with their jazz-funk show with a high quality musical credit literally brought the Fleda club down.

The Friday's program started already in the afternoon, and this fact influenced the attendance of the concert. Those who did not make the performance, missed one of the best shows of the festival - Milos Suchomel Quartet, the combo composed of the most outstanding musicians of the young (Czecho)Slovak young jazz generation. The leader of the formation, saxophonist Milos Suchomel is definitely not an introverted player. His solos are literally eruptions of tones, full of energy and emotions, which he serves with his typical casualness. The resemblance with Sonny Rollins can hardly be left out. Another group member, Ondrej Krajniak, is a prototype of a mainstream pianist. He bases his style on the synthesis of the pillars of the jazz piano art, from Oskar Peterson to McCoy Tyner. His playing is full of exciting tension. The Czech bass player Robert Balzar, whose name is a guaranty of an extraordinary experience, took care of the bass line. The drummer Marian Sevcik, who nowadays is also a sideman highly sought after, provided a stable drive and necessary intensification. A copybook modern mainstream with riveting post bop rides would definitely stand out more in front of the full house, which was later confirmed to me by Suchomel himself, but even though the performance had an export quality label.

The evening program belonged to Miriam Bayle, a Slovak singer, who is a part of the Prague jazz scene. Miriam performed during the first year of the JazzFest, and maybe therefore she was given another opportunity to perform this year. As opposed to the last year she changed her group and she enriched its sound by inviting the tenor saxphonist. That also was the only significant change. Everything else stayed the same - jazz standards in a conservative straight-ahead interpretation, playful collaboration in the framework of the group, positive emotions and joy, which was passed onto the audience (this time already to the full auditorium). Arguably the best piece of the night was the Parker's Donna Lee, which Miriam scatted in a breakneck tempo that even the saxophonist Radek Zapadlo could hardly emulate.

The festival continued with a Saturday's afternoon performance of the Polish girl's quartet The Sound Office with a piano and bass accompaniment. The initiator of the project is a pianist and an arranger Aleksander Mazur, who comprised the ensemble from the students of the Wroclaw music school. Their renditions of musical melodies by Jerome Kern or Cole Porter, but also more challenging compositions (e.g. Coltrane's Giant Steps) were on one hand old-fashioned, but on the other in a way charming and, considering the age of the singers, also surprisingly convincing. The impression from the performance was a bit ruined by compositions of a vaudevillian nature (e.g. a trial of a prank by singing period hits in Russian) and Mazur's jovial moderating "enriched" by cracking jokes.		  


Prime time of the festival was obviously reserved for the official headliner - american singer Nnenna Freelon. A numerous nominations to the Grammy awards or a collaboration with Ray Charles, Dianne Reeves or Al Jarreau and other stars can attract the listeners while reading her bio. In Brno she performed in the framework of the tour to the current record Tales of Wonder - her renditions of Wonder's classics. Dominating voice together with an afro-american group (excluding the white and excentrical female percussionist) created one organism, which emitted a strong bluesy aura. Nnenna Freelon played with intonation nuances with an equal lightness as with the emotions of the audience. She altered swing standards with latin pieces and the Wonder's hits wrapped up in sexy swivel-hipped grooves. She was able to create a dramatic tension and a pleasant relief as well. Even though her performance was not a pure jazz concert, Nnenna Freelon and her ensemble brought into each of the compositions a dose of a real black spice, thus exactly the element which makes jazz what it is.

The last day of the festival was opened by the JazzFest Supeband. It was a project created exclusively for this festival, which was consisting of mostly Brno musicians under the arranging leadership of the trombone player Petr Blaha. The setting with four brass instruments and a rhythm section is a space, where the arranger can put a much more significant stamp on the music. The repertoir contained mostly jazz standards and some originals of Peter Blaha. A few arrangements were inspired by the early work of Gil Evans, some other sort of resembled the Jazz Messengers. Although a main goal of this project was to stir up a local music scene, the performance had its qualities - arranging and interpretive as well.

The period after the festival was truly stellar- Arthur Blythe and his Quartet. This renowned American saxophonist entered the jazz scene at the time of a fission of the mainstream jazz and the free jazz. He has never came under the genre conventions and has floated among the streams. Also his current group indicated that the conventions and standards would this time be omitted again. The sound of Blythe's saxophone (by the way, very delicious, so to say American) was complemented with Gust Tsilis on marimba, Bob Stewart on tuba and Cecil Brooks on the drums. Withal the marimba and the tuba did not just mechanically supply the traditional instruments (the piano and the bass), but their concept was fully using all their attributes (e.g. the rhytmical possibilities of the marimba or understanding the tuba as a second brass instrument in the group). The music had with a traditionally understood jazz very little in common. As long as we consider jazz as long hypnotic rhytmical structures, a collective improvisation, an empathy, exposed climaxes and a subtle microtension and we add to this an instrumental virtuosity, than the concert of the Arthur Blythe Quartet was jazz par excellence.

The second year of the JazzFest Brno has passed. It was characterized by an increased number of performers and the genre variety (which was a weakness of the first year). Even though the core of the event was based on the American two top acts and the rest was topped up with the members of the Czech and Slovak scene, I did not notice a significant difference in the artistic quality, which is a pleasant discovery. I consider as a disadvantage the extension of the festival to five days. I can understand the economical reasons which lead the organizers to this concept, but in the end the listener, especially the outside Brno one is handicapped. I believe it is a consequence of the looking for the optimal concept of the festival. The positive factors still include a rich social life, pleasant athmosphere, nigh jamsessions, workshop for jazz students and this year also concentration of the whole event to awesome spaces of the Fleda club. I do not wish to be a prophet, but I think a strong and succesful tradition is being born in Brno.

 
 
American altsaxophonist closed up Jazzfest 2003
Petra Pospechova
  
 
The second year of the international jazz festival Jazzfest Brno ended up with a performance of Arthur Blythe Quartet. The stage in the Fleda club hosted eight ensembles from United States, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Festival was kicked off by the international quintet of Jaromir Honzak. Tursday night belonged to a phenomenal Slovak bass guitarist Juraj Griglak and his Bass Friends. Friday's concerts featured Milos Suchomel Quartet and later one of the most interesting female personages of the Czech jazz scene Miriam Bayle. The weekend was started by the Polish vocal ensemble the Sound Office, which was on stage later replaced by Nnenna Freelon with her renditions of Stevie Wonder's Hits. On Sunday Fleda stage was occupied by JazzFest Superband and after it by the Quartet of the american altsaxophonist Arthur Blythe.

Arthur Blythe brought to Brno in the framework of his current European tour three other outstanding musicians - tubist Bob Stewart, drummer Cecil Brooks III and Gust Tsilis on marimba. Blythe started the concert with a gradual composition inspired by blues, in which the marimba was featured as well. Gust Tsilis as though scattered shattering cascades of tones to the auditorium, which gradually disapperared in their own echo. But in the meantime, the bear-like sound of the tuba had come in and with a discreet accompaniment of the drums ended the piece. Blythe's music was from the very begining pleasant, cool, sometimes even dulcet. This kemp setting was several times without warning replaced by impressive cacophony and before hidden temperament. Blythe draws inspiration from the blues, but also from funky and in some compositions strong oriental motifs, surprisingly brought not by the marimba, but the saxophone, can be heard. Blythe stands straddled over the audience and with his instrument calls everyone like a muezzin the worshippers to the prayer. Cecil Brooks, who initially held himself quite back, also gradually earned a passionate response from the audience. With the midnight approaching he danced his drumsticks with dizzying speed and with an incredible lightness he performed a few stiring solos.		  


The Sunday´s concert was a stunning period after the five-day jazz marathon. Not only the audience, but the performers and the organizers were satisfied with the course of the festival. According to one of the organizers, Vilem Spilka, the audience can look forward to the next year of the festival - the dramaturgy will be similar as this year. The promoters also expect that the level of the participating musicians will be even better than this year.

  
 
Fleda applauded to Slovak fusion
Petra Pospechova
  
 
The international festival JazzFest Brno 2003 continued with another concert on Thursday. This time it featured an ensemble of the Slovak bass guitarist Juraj Griglak, named Bass Friends.

Griglak ranks among the most interesting personages of the Slovak jazz scene. During his music career he performed not only with Radim Hladik, Marian Varga, Emil Viklicky and Peter Lipa, but with a whole lot of foreign musicians as well - names like George Cables, Larry Smith, Jigg Wigham, John Betch, Cennet Jonsson, Eta Cameron or Piotr Baron appear in his discography. Almost legendary is the jam session at the Bratislava Jazz Days, where he met Stanley Clarke.

After almost two dozens albums to which he contributed, Griglak cut his own CD Bass Friends, and most of the compositions which were played on Thursday night come from that album. This time Griglak brought the guitarist Matus Jakabcic, the violinist Stano Paluch and the drummer Peter Solarik. Whilst the Brno audience already knows Jakabcic, Paluch and Solarik performed the first time in the capital of southern Moravia. The listeners favored Paluch from the very first few tones, when he entered to the calm voice of the guitar with his lively solo. The electrified violin sort of replaces the saxophone in the context of the band. Wild Paluch's symbiosis with the guitar and the rhythm section sometimes resembles another Slovak group, the Ash Band. Unlike Seban's trio, the Bass Friends are more fusion oriented.		  


The dense sound of the band poured during the night from quiet compositions like Silence to frenetic fusion pieces. The most dominant instrument on the stage was unequivocally the violin, but the audience applauded with the same intensity to the remaining members of the group. During the night, one of the Jakabcic's composition was featured, much more pensive than the leader's pieces. Another theme penned by him was presented during the course of encores, which the audience demanded.

  
  © 2002 JAZZFESTBRNO