Štefan Szabó – guitar, Michaela Turcerová – saxophone, Jakub Švejnar – drums

Combining musicians from the Czech Republic and Slovakia into a working band is not uncommon, but playing in a trio without a double-bass is usually far less common. The trio KIN has succeeded in both aspects, in a band born out of jazz tradition and, in a way, also denying it.

Szabó and Maceček are classmates from JAMU in Brno, while Michaela Turcerová studies at HAMU in Prague. Gradually they realised that they shared musical tastes and in 2017 they agreed to cooperate in a genre-boundless trio, lacking the traditional bass instrument. However, the bass is missing only in the line-up, not in the trio´s music. All members of the band compose exclusively for this unique instrumentation, and they also make sure that the bass register of their imaginative music is filled. A music critic or a jazz cop would look for traces of contemporary jazz, minimalism, grunge, free improvisation, avant-garde or sound magic in their unique work. The listeners, however, instead allow themselves to be carried away by the energy, originality, and sophistication. In improvisations, the band respects the character of the compositions, while in the compositions it leaves room for creativity. All members can take pride in their solid craftsmanship, and mainly the ability to create an atmosphere and convey a musical idea.

The band will launch their debut CD at the concert. Its creative producer and mentor is Luboš Soukup, a great saxophonist and composer, which makes their connection with Luboš´s band Points Septet in one evening more than obvious.

Ceny vstupenek

200 Kč
Při nákupu na místě je cena vstupenek o 100 Kč vyšší.

Luboš Soukup – tenor saxophone and clarinet, Oskar Török – trumpet, Petr Kalfus – soprano and alto saxophone, Jan Jirucha – trombone, Marcel Bárta – bass clarinet and saxophones, Jaromír Honzák – double bass, Tomáš Hobzek – drums

Points Septet speaks to their listeners through their own compositions, created by Luboš Soukup, a saxophonist living in Denmark. His compositional and improvisational style is characterized by diversity, creativity, and originality, traits equally shared by his fellow musicians.

The Points Septet band came into being as an expanded line-up of Points, an internationally successful jazz quartet, which had existed since 2007. With the precision of trained jazz musicians, Soukup and his companions embark on unexplored landscapes of music. Fragile stories alternate with massive interventions from the brass section and confident solos of individuals. The bandleader Soukup can write powerful melodies and also competently perform them with his resonant and juicy sound. Moreover, the absence of a harmonic instrument gives his arrangements wings. He has invited to the wind section strong personalities with their own sound and improvisational language, who often develop Soukup’s ideas beyond what he, as bandleader, might have expected.

Although Soukup’s work has been inspired by a number of jazz and classical giants, he has found his own distinctive expressive style after years of playing and writing music; this is backed up by the rich sound of his saxophone and the courage to touch musical extremes. His compositions sound accessible, yet they differ significantly from the jazz mainstream. Soukup’s music is synonymous with a fantasy world in which both small and large stories come to life through the musicians.

Ceny vstupenek

200 Kč
Při nákupu na místě je cena vstupenek o 100 Kč vyšší.

Michal Wróblewski– saxophones, clarinet, Jan Pisklák– guitar, effects, Vladimír Micenko – double bass, Jan Chalupa – drums

Saxophonist Michal Wróblewski characterizes this line-up as genre-open and unrestrained in improvisation. E Converso works with mood, chance, and emotion so that its formally plastic compositions can sound, and actually do sound, different every night.

Four talented musicians of the then-incoming generation joined forces in 2011 to form the E Converso band.  With their dynamic and energetic music and an original concept plus a light dose of humour, the band fights against musical conventions. “In our music, we work with improvisation in all possible ways. We connect the influences of New York’s downtown scene, rock, noise, and European experimental jazz,” Wróblewski describes.

Since its formation, the ensemble has regularly performed at concerts and festivals throughout the Czech Republic and abroad. In January 2014, the band made a highly acclaimed debut album called Conspiracy Theory. In March 2018 they released the second album – Artistic Suicide/Radical Creativity, which was recorded live at concerts. E Converso is one of the most progressive jazz projects in the Czech Republic and the performances of this quartet are always an extraordinary experience.

Ceny vstupenek

150 Kč
Při nákupu na místě je cena vstupenek o 100 Kč vyšší.

Andi Tausch – guitar, Leonhard Skorupa – saxophone, clarinet, synthesizers, samples, Daniel Moser – bass clarinet, FX, Konstantin Kräutler – drums

Leonhard Skorupa is looking for a fresh, unmistakable sound with his Sketchbook Quartet, which he founded in 2014, not shrinking from various influences in his compositions. The result is eclectic postmodern jazz with rock elements.

The young Viennese band, which labels itself as post-jazz, has released two albums: Ottos Mops and When Was The Last Time Vol 1. After less than two years they are returning to Alterna, where they already performed during the finals of the Czech-Austrian talent Central European Jazz Competition. “Sketchbook Quartet is a perky, lively bunch of well-harmonized musicians full of charisma and confidence, who are not afraid to ransack any genre for ideas,” wrote Helena Bretfeld in her review for the Město hudby.cz website. In Sketchbook Quartet compositions you can hear in a short span of time elements from a variety of genres, from art-rock to bebop to funk. Four Austrian youngsters simply having fun without boundaries, while creating sophisticated catchy music.

When one of the Austrian cultural portals was inviting music fans to the launching of their latest album to the legendary club Porgy & Bess, they recommended the concert to everyone, who ”likes situations when musicians from different genres come together to prepare a magical, relaxing evening in a small intimate setting, with the listeners slightly nodding their heads and sipping their favourite drink.” The same attributes can be expected during the second Sketchbook Quartet concert, this time full-size, in Alterna.

Ceny vstupenek

150 Kč
Při nákupu na místě je cena vstupenek o 100 Kč vyšší.

Nikol Bóková – piano, Martin Kocián – double bass, Michał Wierzgoń – drums

Nikol Bóková is primarily through her training and in her focus a classically trained pianist, but by her own admission, she has become addicted to the sound of the classical jazz trio. The Czech jazz discography has been enriched, thanks to Nikola’s fascination and thanks to Animal Music, with the CD Inner Place. It has deservedly achieved high acclaim.

“My lectures take place when I go for a pint with jazzmen and listen to their conversation about music, and then I join in the debates,” she recently confessed in an interview for the Czech Radio jazz programme. The interviewer Milan Tesař added briskly: “What is interesting about Nikola’s album is the fact that she approaches her own “jazz” work from a different angle than is common with trained jazz musicians.”

Nikol Bóková regularly collaborates with leading Czech orchestral ensembles; as a nine-year-old, she first performed as a soloist with the Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra in Ostrava, with which she still collaborates. Her first self-penned album draws on jazz, classical music and minimalism, and partly also on popular music. Her compositions are simple miniatures, formally precisely polished, with clear traces of the harmonic and melodic refinement of classical piano literature, as well as a way of playing defined by classical interpretation. Perfect technique and control of dynamics are unique in the world of jazz piano. She has invited talented players of the young jazz generation: the double bass player Martin Kocián and the drummer Michał Wierzgoń, who bring a new dimension to her compositions with their experience and jazz background.

Ceny vstupenek

1. Kategorie 300 Kč
2. Kategorie 250 Kč
Při nákupu na místě je cena vstupenek o 100 Kč vyšší.

Camille Bertault – vocals, Fady Farah – piano, Pierre Demange – drums, Mathias Allamane – double bass

A singer for whom singing is as simple as breathing. An artist overflowing with imagination and creativity. A woman who, at a time when everything was available on the internet, was still able to create a sensation with her videos. Camille Bertault, however, is by no means a temporary online phenomenon. After all, see for yourself.

Her father is an amateur jazz pianist with whom she often sang. She began playing piano at age 8 and later gained experience at the music conservatory. She listened to singers such as Jeff Buckley, Björk or Serge Gainsbourg as well as Brazilian vocalists. At the age of twenty, she changed direction. She switched to drama and writing and playing sketches for children. “I started singing in cabaret, where I was something between a storyteller and an actor. But it was jazz that had me under its spell,” she recalls. She headed for the Paris Conservatory, which provided her with a solid grounding in harmony, composition and jazz singing.

The next phase of her musical career developed naturally. She recorded herself singing part of Coltrane’s standard Giant Steps. She put the video on YouTube which soon amassed hundreds of thousands of viewings. She then wrote and performed French lyrics to numerous other jazz standards and newer songs. She definitely has no intention of creating music in which the voice serves only as an instrument. She loves lyrics that catch your attention. Camille Bertault’s latest album, Pas de géant, testifies to her appetite for vocal cascades, silky sensitivity, leaning towards acrobatics and overt exuberance. John Coltrane wasn´t able to be around for her arrival, but he´s certainly looking down, smiling.

Ceny vstupenek

1. Kategorie 300 Kč
2. Kategorie 250 Kč
Při nákupu na místě je cena vstupenek o 100 Kč vyšší.

Radek Zapadlo – tenor and alto saxophone, Kamil Slezák – drums, Vladan Ronner – Hammond organ, Vilém Spilka – guitar

Earthy blues and soul jazz. The bandleader, saxophonist Radek Zapadlo (Vilém Spilka Quartet, Cotatcha Orchestra, Ondřej Ruml, Matej Benko, etc.) founded the quartet in 2017, inspired by the legendary recordings “Back at the Chicken Shack” and “Midnight Special” by the great “Hammond” player Jimmy Smith. Since then, the quartet has moved towards its own original music in the aesthetics of those recordings and styles. All members of the band, even the traditionalist Radek Zapadlo, a well-known jazz conservative, forced themselves to write compositions for this band. Therefore, we will have a unique opportunity to hear Zapadlo´s future hits Dog´s Blues, Fried Egg or Blues for Magda.

In the framework of this concert, the band will christen their debut eponymous CD, which was recorded at the infamous studio Jalovec in Babice nad Svitavou. Radek Zapadlo, playing tenor and alto saxophone in Four in Blue, surrounded himself with equally experienced players so that the band’s line up can pay respect to Smith’s original recordings – Petr Tureček (a rising jazz star from the Department of Jazz at the JAMU Brno) on drums, Vladan Ronner (Mulligang, Milan Kašuba Trio, etc.) on Hammond organ and Vilém Spilka (Vilém Spilka Quartet, etc.) on guitar. The band’s current repertoire is dominated by originals penned by all band members and complemented by earthy blues and seldom heard jazz standards. Four in Blue is sure to captivate the audience with blues truthfulness and a direct musical message.

Ceny vstupenek

1. Kategorie 350 Kč
2. Kategorie 300 Kč
Při nákupu na místě je cena vstupenek o 100 Kč vyšší.

Ondřej Pivec – Hammond organ, Jan Steinsdörfer – keyboard, Jan Jakubec – bass guitar, Filip Ernst – drums

Czech-American, Grammy-winner, Czech Academy Award Anděl winner, producer, composer, keyboardist, Hammond organist, Brno native. All this (and much more!) is musician Ondrej Pivec.

He usually tours together with the American singer Gregory Porter with whom he received the highest music award – the Grammy. Czech Republic knows well Ondrej’s first famed band Organic Quartet that traveled around the world and received numerous awards. This year’s Covid crisis brought Ondrej unexpectedly back to Czech Republic. And thus he came up with a new project rooted in his experiences he gathered during the 10 years of life in the USA, gospel, RNB, funk, soul, pop. He was a choir director in several of Harlem’s churches and he filled in for the amazing Cory Henry in one of Brooklyn’s churches.
Ondrej chose to join forces for this unique project together with composer, producer and musician who plays with Czech band Chinaski, Jan Steinsdörfer; the amazing bass player Jan Jakubec who appears in many great TV shows (Star Dance, Super Star) and works with many great Czech musicians; and energetic, gospel-inspired drummer from Top Dream Company Filip Ernst. This super combo gave way to an original, passion-filled project crossing jazz, funk, gospel, hip hop and soul. It’s music that builds on the foundation of American music of the 20th century, yet reflects the sound of today. Looking forward to December 10, 2020!

What is the recipe for popularity with listeners? An angelic voice, charismatic presentation, earthy and soulful songs, and a great backing band. Lizz Wright offers all this in anexceptionally balanced combination, spiced up with the tradition of African-American spirituals and blues.

Born in Georgia, USA, she grew up in the family of a pastor who introduced her to gospel music. She made a spirited entrance to the jazz scene at the beginning of the millennium, when she recorded her still admired debut Salt. Since then, five other highly regarded albums have been released. With an increasing number of her own compositions, the artistic truth of Lizz Wright is increasingly revealing itself and her unique ability to blend original colours from the musical palette whilst leaving space for gospel, folk, jazz, pop and blues is increasing. Her project with the Brno Philharmonic and the Baroš-Dorůžka-Šoltis rhythm section provides an extraordinary opportunity to hear, for the first time in the Czech Republic, the resonant voice of Lizz Wright against the background of orchestral colours.

Ceny vstupenek

*VIP kategorie 1 990 Kč
1. Kategorie 990 Kč
2. Kategorie 790 Kč
3. Kategorie 590 Kč
4. Kategorie 490 Kč
5. Kategorie 290 Kč
Při nákupu na místě je cena vstupenek o 100 Kč vyšší. *VIP vstupenky zahrnují nejlepší místa v sále, welcome drink před koncertem a společenské setkání s občerstvením po skončení koncertu.

A former “young lion”, the saxophonist, composer and elemental jazz musician Joshua Redman, is now a “lion in the best years”. He is completely at home in his musical territory, and although he likes to push beyond its limits, he still remains mainly a jazz lion.

This is demonstrated by his most stable project, the Quartet, which earned him fame in the 1990s. The features that make this incredibly well-together band instantly recognizable include the unique and irresistible tone of Redman’s saxophone, the unbridled GregHutchinson´s drumming, the soulful and earthy Reuben Rogers´ double bass, and Aaron Goldberg’s piano balanced and empathic accompaniment. The quartet has released a fresh album Come What May, which loosely follows the golden era of the band on the Beyond and Passage of Time albums. Redman, approaching his sixth decade is on optimum creative form, demonstrating with his refined taste, open-hearted approach and global experience why jazz is still such a major force in music.

Prices

1. Category 590 CZK
2. Category 390 CZK
Tickets are 100 CZK higher for local purchases.

Erik Truffaz – trumpet, Benoit Corboz – keyboards, Marcello Giuliani – bass, Arthur Hnatek – drums

French trumpeter Erik Truffaz is a well-known music experimenter. Last year he commemorated 20 years since the release of the album Bending New Corners influenced by bebop and drum´n´bass, which moulded the next generation of musicians. But now, true to his reputation as a constant seeker, he is looking ahead again.

Swiss-born trumpeter Erik Truffaz living in France, nicknamed “the Miles Davis of acid jazz”, is considered by many to be Europe’s finest contemporary trumpeter. He combines jazz experiments, drum´n´bass and hip-hop with his quartet. Having recorded nearly 20 albums, he has made a name for himself all over the world: “Jazz with juice and soul, and plenty of open space,” was the comment on Truffaz’s approach to music by Rolling Stone magazine.

Born in 1960, Truffaz was already singing rock and roll with his first band at the age of 13, while discovering Miles Davis and his timeless album Kind of Blue. In 1994 he released his first album under his own name. At the turn of the millennium, he established himself on the American scene, where his recordings are released by the legendary jazz brand Blue Note. The core of Erik Truffaz´s Brno playlist will be songs from the latest released album Lune Rouge, in which he again set out in a new direction. On one hand, he used analogue synthesizers in the studio to a much greater extent than before, and on the other, he entrusted the production of the album to a young drummer Arthur Hnátek, whose distinctive style left a clear mark on the recording. “Intelligent, uncompromising contemporary music, played by virtuoso players with rich imagination and courage,” says the review of the quartet in the Jazz Times magazine.

Ceny vstupenek

1. Kategorie 350 Kč
Stání 300 Kč
Při nákupu na místě je cena vstupenek o 100 Kč vyšší.

Most fans associate the guitarist and composer Pat Metheny with the popular Pat Metheny Group. However, the musical presence of the twentyfold Grammy winner is reflectedmost of all in the Side-Eye project, which introduces the bandleader’s great musicians of the next generation.

Pat Metheny does not need any lengthy introduction- his significance for jazz is undeniable. He began performing publicly as a teenager, and when he came to the Berklee College, where he wanted to study, he immediately found work as a teacher and a contract with the Gary Burton band – all down to his talent. In the Side-Eye band, Metheny provides space for keyboard player James Francies, and the drummer Joe Dyson. Metheny’s support for younger colleagues is legendary, as he returns the favour he received from his elders in his youth.  He is also well aware that the new blood will help his music: “I am inspired by the way they cope with the musical challenges of some of my older songs. At the same time, I was intrigued by the options where the music could go if I wrote new compositions just for them, ” Metheny confirms.

Prices

*VIP category 2590 CZK
1. Category 1390 CZK
2. Category 1190 CZK
3. Category 990 CZK
4. Category 490 CZK
Tickets are 100 CZK higher when purchased locally. * VIP tickets include the best seats in the hall, welcome drink and social gatherings after the concert.

Line-up – TBD

Nubya Garcia, a saxophonist and composer, is a distinctive new face of jazz. Her original sound and compelling work earned her a number of awards already at the beginning of her career. The young London woman excels in her ability to reach a wider audience without any musical calculations.

Nubya Garcia has increased the number of distinctive female jazz saxophonists, who include outstanding players such as Melissa Aldana, Tia Fuller, Grace Kelly, and Lakecia Benjamin. “The backbone of what I listen to is dance music and the sound system culture. The point is that people forget that jazz has always been dance music,” she says in an interview with The Red Bulletin. Her debut EP, Nubya’s 5ive, was released in 2017 and was honoured as “outstanding” by The Vinyl Factory. The title track of the following album When We Are (2018) was even labelled one of the “best songs of 2018” by public service broadcaster NPR. In the same year, Garcia also performed in most of the songs on a compilation project We Out Here, which presents and elevates the contemporary progressive and exciting London jazz scene. In 2018, she won an award from Jazz FM and Sky Arts for “Breakthrough of the Year”. Last year she received the “Jazz Band of the Year” award from FM UK. “We begin to blend in every possible way the different kinds of music that we listen to and love. Our power is in the distinctive sound, the type of places where we play, and even in the mix of listeners we get at our concerts. It’s a natural evolution and I like it,” says Garcia.

Ceny vstupenek

1. Kategorie 350 Kč
2. Kategorie 300 Kč
Při nákupu na místě je cena vstupenek o 100 Kč vyšší.

Delvon Lamarr – B-3 organ, Jimmy James – guitar, Michael Duffy – drums

A perfect blend of soul, jazz, rhythm & blues and rock & roll directed by the organist Delvon Lamarro.

The Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio was founded in the Spring of 2015 by Amy Novo, the wife and today also the manager of the organist Delvon Lamarr. Doesn’t it sound like a fairy tale? She told her husband that she would take responsibility for his musical career so that all he needed to do in the future was to find teammates, write and play music. Many aspiring musicians, especially jazz musicians, dream of such a story.

The trio originally started with another guitarist and drummer. During the first year of their existence, the band was joined by the renowned and unique Jimmy James. The chemistry among the members of the trio was instantaneous and undeniable. With Delvona´s soulful organ sound, Jimmy´s raw guitar sound and a great drum groove, they mixed the perfect blend of soul, jazz, rhythm & blues and rock & roll. They started their career with a weekly “gig” in Seattle, then released their first album and set out on a tour of the United States and finally on a European tour.
The current drummer is an excellent groover Michael Duffy, so the Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio is even further shifting its original sound. The traditional organ trio takes on a new dimension.

Ceny vstupenek

1. Kategorie 350 Kč
2. Kategorie 300 Kč
Při nákupu na místě je cena vstupenek o 100 Kč vyšší.

Cenk Erdoğan – fretless guitar, Efe Turumtay – violin, Tomáš Liška – double bass, Andás Dés – percussions

This international all-star quartet brings together musicians with diverse cultural backgrounds into a single, inimitable project. Imaginative compositions draw on individual music worlds, broaden musical horizons and find a unique collective identity.

The Czech-Turkish connection has been an integral part of Tomáš Liška’s life for almost a decade, as his Invisible World project is based on a strong musical connection with the Turkish violinist Efe Turumtay. The current Liška band also relies strongly on international cooperation, with a majority presence from the Turkish enclave. Alongside Turumtay, the guitar phenomenon gets into the spotlight, specifically, its fretless variant, represented by Cenk Erdogan.

Bassist Tomáš Liška is a multi-faceted artist, for whom alternating genres is motivating and inspiring, and at the same time, it is the means of seeking himself. “I enjoy a lot of music and I find myself in a lot of it,” says Liška. “I guess I’m still seeking, though some things are already clear. I also feel it would be a shame to stay trapped in one world and not to look beyond the borders at worlds that can enrich your own. Maybe also test, raise doubts, stimulate, wondering whether where you are is really you.”

Ceny vstupenek

1. Kategorie 300 Kč
2. Kategorie 250 Kč
Při nákupu na místě je cena vstupenek o 100 Kč vyšší.

Mathias Eick – trubka, Audun Erlien – baskytara, Håkon Aase – housle, Eyolf Dále – klavír, Paal Hausken – bicí

Trumpetista Mathias Eick je spíše atypickým zástupcem severského jazzu. Z tamní scény se vymyká především svými atmosférickými melodiemi, v nichž se melancholii spíše vyhýbá. Jeho poslední deska Ravensburg završuje jeho cestu od talentovaného mladíka ke zralému umělci s jedinečným hudebním výrazem.

Norský hudebník se na své poslední desce nechává inspirovat, jak už to většinou bývá, vlastním životem. Zatímco jeho dřívější desky evokovaly životní styl plný cestování, objevování a hledání nových cílů, leitmotivem Ravensburgu je rodina. „Moje inspirace byla moje rodina, má milovaná, mé malé děti, které mě nikdy nepřestaly ohromovat, a všechny emocionální situace, které zažíváme na pódiu s mojí druhou rodinou – kapelou,“ vysvětluje Eick. Trumpetista, skladatel a kapelník si na nové desce střihl také novou roli, když do svého portfolia přidal zpěv. Jedná se sice o zpěv bezeslovný, ale o to procítěnější. „Už sedm let zpívám doma svým dětem. A říkal jsem si, že by bylo možná pěkné zkusit využít i lidský hlas. Sice jsem vždy tvrdil, že mým hlasem je trubka, ale – zvlášť ve spojení s houslemi, na které v naší kapele hraje Håkon Aase – zpěv funguje dokonale. Håkonova hra s mým hlasem krásně ladí,“ řekl Eick v rozhovoru pro UNI magazín a jeho slova potvrzují i početné pozitivní recenze na jeho již čtvrtou desku u prestižního labelu ECM.

Ač se Eickova tvorba pod vlivem životních zkušeností proměňuje, jedna věc se od jeho začátků nemění – Mathias Eick je hudebník, který každou další skladbou potvrzuje, že jazz je žánr dokořán otevřený všem živým podnětům.

Ceny vstupenek

1. Kategorie 300 Kč
2. Kategorie 250 Kč
Při nákupu na místě je cena vstupenek o 100 Kč vyšší.

Fire and water, many may say after seeing the names Chris Potter and Bill Frisell in one band. Their connection, however, promises an optimum counterbalance of the yin and yang forces, especially when supported by a backing duo in the form of pianist Craig Taborn and drummer Eric Harland.

Potter is considered to be one of the world’s technically unrivalled naturals of the saxophone.  At his Brno concert in 2017, however, he confirmed that he can wear a variety of musical masks, and in the presence of the calm power of the guitar grandmaster, he will certainly be revealing another one. Unlike Potter, Frisell is referred to as a sound seeker, a precise minimalist who loves detail. In Brno, Bill Frisell will finally make a proper premiere, following the unfortunate infamous improvisation with a siren on the outdoor stage. Alongside Pat Metheny and John Scofield, he is one of the most influential guitarists of the sixties and is synonymous with the term “style innovator”. His view of jazz is unique, so the encounter of four original personalities promises an unusual experience. They do not actually meet in this line-up every day!

Prices

1. Category 590 CZK
2. Category 390 CZK
Tickets are 100 CZK higher for local purchases.

Libor Šmoldas – guitar, Adam Nussbaum– drums, Jay Anderson – double bass

The touchstone of every jazz guitarist is playing in a trio with a double bass and drums. It is in this format that Libor Šmoldas, a perennial star of the Czech jazz scene, will perform at this year’s JazzFest Brno. The companions he has invited to his New York trio belong to the absolute summit of world jazz.

Judge for yourself: from the previous generation, Adam Nussbaum, American drummer and bassist, and Jay Anderson both accompanied Michael Brecker, Maria Schneider, Stan Getz, Mike Stern, Sonny Rollins and many other stars of world jazz. Furthermore, they do not refuse offers from musicians of other genres, as evidenced by their collaboration with Frank Zappa and Tom Waits.

The Šmoldas´ NYC Trio is not just another case of a one-off collaboration between a European musician and American stars; the band has been performing for over six years and is releasing their third album, which they are about to launch at the Brno concert. The first one from 2015 called Dreamtime was recorded in New York, and in addition to intimate versions of jazz standards, it also includes The Beatles, James Taylor, and music from the film Godfather. The next album, called On the Move (2016), is captivating thanks to its more raw and blues-like sound, full of the energy by means of which the three musicians interpret Libor´s own compositions.

The current album, entitled Dusk, brings more gentle compositions that guide the audience through the successive phases of the day from dawn to midnight. At the concert, you can look forward to a cross-section of the repertoire of both older records spiced with some material from the new one.

Ceny vstupenek

1. Kategorie 250 Kč
2. Kategorie 200 Kč
Při nákupu na místě je cena vstupenek o 100 Kč vyšší.

Karel Růžička – saxophone, Piotr Wyleżoł – piano, Tomáš Baroš – double bass, Clarence Penn – drums

Saxophonist Karel Růžička has lived in New York for over 20 years. He has not renounced his homeland, though, and regularly returns to the Czech Republic. His concerts excel at first impression with untamed energy, but Růžička always holds the reins of the evening firmly in his hands.

Karel Růžička has achieved what only a handful of his countrymen managed before him. He has firmly established himself on the New York jazz scene. Still, nothing happens overnight. Karel’s young talent shone in the 1990s on the Czech jazz scene. He came to attention through his debut album You Know What I Mean, and also achieved success with the album Flight, which he recorded with his father, the legendary pianist of the same name. Then he decided to try his luck in New York and did not get lost there. On the contrary, he established there a musical career as a sought-after player and teacher. He has performed with many legendary musicians such as George Benson, Dean Brown, Mike Stern, Ravi Coltrane, Hiram Bullock, and many others.

Two years ago, Růžička released a self-penned album after fourteen long years. Clearly, he can offer quality both as a sideman and also as a composer and bandleader. Indeed, double bassist John Patitucci, pianist Jon Cowherd, and drummer Nate Smith formed a truly “all-stars” team for Růžička. The drummer Clarence Penn will come to Brno with Karel Růžička from behind the Great Puddle. The quartet will be completed by Polish pianist Piotr Wyleżoła and double bassist Tomáš Baroš.

Ceny vstupenek

1. Kategorie 250 Kč
2. Kategorie 200 Kč
Při nákupu na místě je cena vstupenek o 100 Kč vyšší.

TRIO MUH: Roberto Magris – piano, František Uhlíř – double bass, Jaromír Helešic – drums
František Uhlíř – Story From My Life – Music For Septet: František Tomšíček – trumpet, Přemek Tomšícek – trombone, Andy Schofield – alto saxophone, Suzanne Higgins – tenor saxophone, Standa Macha – piano, František Uhliř – double bass, Marek Urbánek – drums

Double bassist František Uhlíř is celebrating his jubilee this year – how else than with music and on stage, where his Czech and foreign colleagues will congratulate him. The evening will start in a more intimate atmosphere with the MUH Trio, while the second and larger group of well-wishers will tell the life story of the birthday boy through his compositions.

František Uhlíř belongs to a generation of players known in the world as the “Czech bass school”. He was born into a musical family as the grandson of a bandleader and the son of a musician, music teacher, composer and bandleader of a jazz big band. He studied the piano and, as a 13-year-old, played the organ in Vladimír Volf’s beat band. While studying at the State Conservatory in Brno, he played in the Janáček Opera Orchestra, in the Brno Philharmonic, and in his father’s jazz quartet.

During his military service at the AUS Symphony Orchestra, he was one of the founders of the jazz quartet (E. Viklický, F. Uhlíř, J. Dušek, J. Růžička), which received the “European Extra-Class” award at the International Jazz Festival in Přerov, where two years later, Uhlíř himself got the Best Solo Performance Award. A year later he became a member of Karel Velebný’s new SHQ, where he mostly played in the chamber trio without drums. At that time he quickly matured, began composing and became a sought-after double bass player. His career is flanked by collaborations with prominent Czechoslovak jazz bands and musicians such as the Emil Viklický Quartet, Laco Deczi Cellula International, Jiří Stivín Quartet, Karel Růžička, Jana Koubková, Zuzana Lapčíková or Peter Lipa.

Ceny vstupenek

200 Kč
Při nákupu na místě je cena vstupenek o 100 Kč vyšší.

The Department of Jazz Interpretation of the Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts that has been around for a decade, can boast of outstanding teaching staff, and mainly of talented students.

Jazz interpretation at ​​JAMU Faculty of Music represents the first department of its kind that has opened at Czech universities. Jazz education does not have a long tradition in Europe, but it is undergoing the most dramatic changes in approach. The Department of Jazz Interpretation at JAMU in Brno is actually the pioneer of jazz education in the Czech Republic. It offers the widest range of disciplines, namely piano, double bass, percussion, guitar, saxophone, trumpet, and trombone. Leading figures from the Czech and Slovak jazz scene, including David Dorůžka, Matúš Jakabčic, Lubomír Šrámek, Rostislav Fraš, Jiří Slavík, Jiří Levíček, Marián Ševčík, Jan Jirucha or Juraj Bartoš, pass on their experience to students.

This will be already the eighth concert under the auspices of the festival to feature several ensembles. An uninformed listener might imagine some anonymous student amateur bands, but looking closely at who performs in each band, you find that these are advanced jazz ensembles often presenting music created by their members.

Ceny vstupenek

Vstup 50 Kč