Young blood of the Czechoslovak jazz

New musical visions, great talents, original compositions, unity in musical thought, supreme craftsmanship and sophisticated inventiveness – the Jaromír Honzak Quartet offers all that, and a lot more: an elite musical unit in the Central European region, speaking the language of jazz, but open to all musical influences and full of creative energy. The Quartet features some of the most promising talents of the younger European generation – the Polish tandem of Lukasz Zyta and Michal Tokaj and Czech guitar wunderkind David Dorůžka. Their brilliant, enigmatic and convincing music steps out of jazz territory and approaches a wide range of open-minded music fans. Their artistic genuineness and honesty will certainly not leave you untouched.

A leading figure of contemporary American jazz, Dave Douglas, brings one of his most intriguing projects to the Czech Republic for the first time. The music of the Keystone Sextet is not only a coherent musical statement, but also an ideal platform for the fruitful creativity of all its participating musicians. Dave Douglas is a capable trumpeter, outstanding improviser and inventive composer. Naturally, he likes to surround himself with musicians of a similar caliber. He has been lucky to keep great names in his band - names, which guarantee the best possible execution of his conceptional musical ideas. The music tailored to accompany the silent movies of Roscoe Arbuckle, played by the Keystone Sextet, lives a luxury life of its own.

During his solo concerts, French guitar virtuoso Sylvain Luc ventures out solo to explore gentle moods and sensuous sounds, creating warm and beautiful landscapes rich with lyrical guitar lines and ethereal chord textures. He adds bass lines and percussive sounds and uses multiple guitars: nylon, steel, and the rarely heard fretless guitar. Sylvain Luc comes from Bayonne. Surrounded by the inspiring atmosphere of his eagerly music practising brothers, he chose the guitar as his instrument at the age of 5. Since then he has been exploring this unlimited instrument in many possible or almost inconceivable directions. The nature of his projects falls into jazz categories, his playing, though, incredibly exceeds them. A truly new voice of contemporary music.

Most of European musicians, who enjoy jazz, tend to emulate the Afro-American music heritage and gradually combine it with their own and differently rooted music perception, however, some nations just absorb the influences somehow easier. The Slovaks with their passion and soul definitely rank among them. The fresh and original project Deep´nSpace features not only soul and R´n´B traces, but great musicianship and plenty of improvisation as well. Secured by a steady groove provided by the rhythm section with the outstanding bassist Juraj Griglák and colorful cushion created by keyboard wizard 6th Sense, the two frontmen, saxophone master Rado Tariška, guitarist Michal Bugala and vibist Štefan Bugala, embark upon a soulful ride to the new realms of “Upperground”.

“We love to play music and we also love, when people like it”, says Pavel Hruby, the saxophonist of a thousand faces. Most of these faces bear a subtle grin. In his ensemble Limbo, he is well supported by his cohorts in their peculiar interpretation of music, which on one hand might be remote from the jazz genre itself, but on the other hand it may well represent one of the crucial elements of jazz – the freedom of expression. The musicians of Limbo certainly dare to express themselves freely and have true fun playing almost whatever comes to their minds. The restless and crafty drummer Milos Dvoracek will bring a smile to your faces, trumpeter Frantisek Kucera will captivate you with his lyrical and warm tone. The whole band then will take you on a musical journey through all continents…

The creative output of the experimental “mini big band” NUO is ideal for all open-eared listeners, able to comprehend and appreciate the mixing of genres. Jakub Zitko, the leader of NUO, is a seeker with a free minded approach. He finds heaps of inspiration in music composed by greats ranging from Bela Bartok to Led Zeppelin. Zitko describes his band with significantly wry humor: “NUO plays music produced by nine young, but seasoned musicians, and exceeds the jazz genre frontiers by quite boorish outside trips. They play tango, disco or perhaps a funeral march with such ease and bravura while the audience brays with enthusiasm and shakes their collective bones around the auditorium”.

There is no doubt that teaming up a legendary drummer Lenny White and top-notch bassist Victor Bailey in one touring band is a great opportunity, completed by some young blood to deliver some serious fusion jazz, genuinely rooted in the genre soil. Lenny White´s drumming was an integral element in the creation of Miles Davis´ initial cross-genre vision record “Bitches Brew” in the late 60ties as well as the sound of Chick Corea´s band, Return to Forever of the 70’s. Victor Bailey is no stranger to genuine fusion as well. His stint with Weather Report was definitely a dream gig come true for him as it would be for any serious bassist. Their instrument voice is in case of both Lenny and Victor outstandingly unique and together they form a unit of unmatched artistic quality.

The musical path of Dan Bárta, the singer, has been quite a curved one. The path went through rock beginnings, musicals along the way, residing now in between funk, pop and jazz. Dan Bárta is one of the few musicians, who possess the unique gift of being convincing in all genres he ever touches upon. Under the positive influence of the great players of the Robert Balzar Trio he emerged from pop waters and submerged into the profound jazz lake, whose exploration he undoubtedly enjoys and where he evidently feels cozy and comfortable. No wonder – he is backed up with the finest domestic piano trio, with three brilliant individual voices, which make a tight band with a rapport, which only few in Europe can emulate.

“In Cuba, there was a development and crystallization of rhythmical patterns that have excited people for years,” says Eddie Palmieri. “Cuban music provides the fundamental from which I never move. Whatever has to be built must be built from there. It's that cross-cultural effect that makes magnificent music”. A great deal of magnificent music is certain to be heard tonight. The nine-time Grammy winner will feature both his all star ensemble and his unmatched percussive way of playing the piano. No wonder he plays the instrument as a drummer - Palmieri joined his uncle's orchestra at age 13, where he played the timbales. “By 15, it was good-bye timbales' and back to the piano until this day”, explains Palmieri. “I'm a frustrated percussionist, so I take it out on the piano”.