Record Reviews

NEJTEK / HRUBY / HONZAK / SOLTIS ~ PHOENIX AMPLION 152001 (Barcode: 8594179220021) ~ CZECH REPUBLIC ~ Free Jazz / Improvised Music Recorded: 2015 Released: 2016 This is the debut album by a quartet comprising of four experienced Czech Jazz musicians: keyboardist Michal NejtekFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Pavel HrubyFind albums by this artist, bassist Jaromir HonzakFind albums by this artist and drummer Daniel SoltisFind albums by this artist. The concept, conceived by the label’s owner and producer Alexej CharvatFind albums by this artist, was to gather the musicians without any preparation and let them improvise together, creating spontaneous compositions. The album presents nine tracks with eight compositions (one repeated twice), and offers a spectacular sound quality, as usual with recordings made at the SONO Records studio under the supervision of Charvat and help from Milan CimfeFind albums by this artist. Despite the fact that the music is completely improvised and spontaneous, the result offers a remarkable melodic content, which makes listening to the music not only “easier”, but above all instantly acceptable and embraceable. Of course some of the improvisations are pretty “wild”, but the music stays at all times completely coherent and “organized” and even well behaved, which is pretty astonishing, and could be labelled as oxymoronic “Organized Freedom”. In the liner notes of the album all four musicians state their opinions concerning free improvisation, which are very enlightening and to some extent also explain the success of the music making found on this album. Obviously such music requires a lot of mutual respect and complete abandonment of the respective egos, as well as a lot of experience and open-mindedness, all of which can be found here aplenty. Personally I think that everything works so well thanks to Honzak’s incredible performances not only as a virtuoso bassist, but mostly as creator of the adhesiveness that keeps everything together, an invisible “dark matter” without each the universe would collapse. Of course all the musicians contribute absolutely wonderfully, but Honzak is for me the pivotal ingredient. Overall this is a stunning piece of music, which opens a window into the incredible Czech Jazz scene, which has truly a lot to offer and is worth following, same as the Jazz made in its southern neighbor Poland, which gains more worldwide popularity lately. The delicate and deeply European aesthetics that prevails over most of the Czech Jazz is a unique phenomenon deserving a much wider worldwide recognition that it enjoys at the moment, hopefully to be improved in the future. Fans of Improvised Music at its best incarnation should be delighted with this album, which is naturally wholeheartedly recommended.

Updated: 12/02/2021Posted: 12/02/2021

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EMIL VIKLICKY / PAVEL HRUBY ~ BETWEEN US AMPLION 202001 (Barcode: 8594179222018) ~ CZECH REPUBLIC ~ Jazz Recorded: 2020 Released: 2020 This is a wonderful album by a duo of Czech Jazz musicians: veteran pianist / composer (and a friend since many years) Emil ViklickyFind albums by this artist and saxophonist / clarinetist Pavel HrubyFind albums by this artist, who plays solely the bass clarinet this time. The album presents twelve tracks, eleven of which are original compositions (five by Viklicky, three by Hruby and three co-composed by them) and one is a standard. Although separated by a generation, Viklicky (born 1948) and Hruby (born 1970) fit together perfectly, playing a series of delicate, almost romantic and very personal pieces, with the rather unusual piano / bass clarinet ambience creating a magic effect. The mesmerizing music penetrated directly the listener’s heart demanding unconditional surrender. Although most of the music is very melodic, some of the tracks explore more improvised approach, which is much more adventurous. But the overall atmosphere remains closely related to melodic Jazz, in the best meaning of the expression. Although naturally Hruby is heard up front more often than Viklicky, the duets are perfectly balanced and Viklicky’s role as accompanist is as much important and significant as Hruby’s soloing. Personally I hear a lot of Hassidic / Jewish influences in Hruby’s playing on this album, perhaps subconsciously invoked by the clarinet sound and modulations, which are absolutely delightful. Viklicky soloes rather sparingly here, but his superb touch and feel are easily recognizable by his followers and he is a Master in total control of his instrument. Overall this album is a proud addition to the European “Art of the Duo” idiom, presenting some highly aesthetic Jazz music, which is penetrating and keeps the listener on edge for the entire duration. Both accessible and highly artistic at the same time, this is an excellent specimen of the Czech Jazz scene, which is highly recommended and worth following. Kudos are certainly due to both musicians and it is heartwarming to see Emil so active and productive these days. Combined with a superb sound quality and separation this album offers, which allows every little nuance to be audible, it is a wholeheartedly recommended gem!

Updated: 07/02/2021Posted: 07/02/2021

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