Emil Viklicky Trio - Kafka On The Shore (Tribute To Haruki Murakami)

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 72:46
Size: 166,9 MB
Art: Front

(7:08)  1. Afterdark
(7:16)  2. Dolphine Dance
(3:58)  3. Eleanor Rigby
(6:16)  4. Peacocks
(6:52)  5. Solitude
(2:16)  6. Windmills Of Your Mind
(5:55)  7. 1Q84
(5:31)  8. Double Moon
(6:28)  9. The Boy Named Crow
(6:35) 10. Kafka On The Shore
(6:45) 11. Entering Stone
(2:37) 12. Miss Saeki Theme (Feat. Jana Sykorova)
(5:02) 13. Windows

Since the '70s, Emil Viklicky has been among the top acoustic jazz pianists in the Czech Republic. Viklicky isn't very well-known in the United States, but in European jazz circles, he has commanded a great deal of respect and admiration. One of the reasons why Viklicky isn't better known in the U.S. is the fact that most of his albums have not come out on American labels  like so many European jazz artists, he has recorded most of his LPs and CDs for European labels. Consequently, jazz fans in countries like Sweden, France, Belgium, and Italy have had an easier time finding his releases than jazz fans in New York, Chicago, or San Francisco. But that doesn't erase the fact that Viklicky is a fine musician/composer who is hard-swinging yet lyrical and melodic. A versatile, open-minded player, Viklicky can be contemplative and impressionistic when he feels like it  or, he can be exuberant and festive. Viklicky was born in Olomouc, Czech Republic on November 23, 1948. Back then, the Czech Republic was still called Czechoslovakia and  like the rest of Eastern Europe had a centralized, Soviet-style communist government. 

When Viklicky was growing up, Americans referred to the pianist's country as "behind the Iron Curtain." But despite communism's well-deserved reputation for being oppressive and anti-American, the country had a jazz scene and, over the years, gave us first-class players like bassist George Mraz (who Viklicky has worked with on more than one occasion). Viklicky entered college in the late '60s, and in 1971, he graduated from Palacky University with a degree in mathematics. Even though Viklicky was living in a communist country, his situation was one that so many American artists could relate to despite showing serious promise as a musician, he studied something practical and sensible (as opposed to creative) in college. But studying mathematics didn't prevent Viklicky from practicing and studying jazz piano night and day, and in 1974 (the year he turned 26), the improviser won a prize for best soloist at the Czechoslovak Amateur Jazz Festival. It was also in 1974 that he joined the late Czech jazzman Karel Velebny's SHQ Ensemble. Then, in 1977, Viklicky was awarded a scholarship by Boston's prestigious Berklee College of Music; during his temporary stay in Boston, he studied with trumpeter Herb Pomeroy at Berklee. Since then, he has built a sizable catalog. 

In the '80s, his European releases included The Window (Okno) and the Door (Dvere), which united Viklicky's group with guitarist Bill Frisell; 1981's Together, an album of duets with fellow pianist James Williams; and 1988's Homage to Joan Miro  all of those albums originally came out on the Supraphon label. Then, in the '90s, Viklicky's CDs included 1990's Beyond the Mountains on Supraphon, 1991's 'Round Midnight on Arta, 1995's Food of Love on Melantrich, 1995's Lacrimosa (which was the soundtrack of the Czech film Ma Je Pomsta) on Popron, 1996's Homage to Josip Plecnik on Lotos, 1997's UV Drive on Arta, 1998's Duets on Lotos, and 1998's Neuro on Gallup Music. In 2001, the veteran pianist was featured extensively on George Mraz's superb Milestone/Fantasy release Morava, which boasts an adventurous blend of jazz and traditional Moravian folk. During his long career, Viklicky has witnessed a lot of political changes in the Czech Republic. He has long since moved back to that country, and in a post-communist Czech Republic, he served as president of the Czech Jazz Society from 1991-1995. It was in 1994 that Viklicky started playing with Ad lib Moravia, an ensemble that, like the musicians on Mraz's Morava, blends jazz and Moravian folk. In 2002, the Arta label released Viklicky's 01, a live trio date that was recorded the previous year. https://itunes.apple.com/au/album/kafka-on-the-shore-tribute-to-haruki-murakami/595074448

Personnel:  Piano – Emil Viklický;  Bass – Josef Fetcho;  Drums – Laco Tropp;  Mezzo-soprano Vocals – Jana Sýkorová (tracks: 12);  Viola – Jitka Hosprová (tracks: 10)

Kafka On The Shore (Tribute To Haruki Murakami)

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Emil Viklicky Trio - What's New

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2003
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:13
Size: 145,6 MB
Art: Front

( 6:40) 1. You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To
( 5:55) 2. Enfance
( 8:50) 3. I'll Remember April
( 7:41) 4. Porthcawl
( 9:39) 5. Cherokee
(10:01) 6. What's New
( 9:01) 7. C.T.A.
( 5:22) 8. Going to Chicago

Emil Viklicky was born on the 23rd November 1948 in Olomouc, where in 1971 he graduated from the Palacky University in mathematics. Whilst a student he devoted much time to playing jazz piano. In 1974 he was awarded the prize for best soloist at the Czechoslovak Amateur Jazz Festival, and in that same year he became a member of Karel Velebny's SHQ ensemble. In 1976 he was a prizewinner at the jazz improvisation competition in Lyon and his composition Green Satin (Zeleny saten) earned him first prize in the music conservatory competition in Monaco, where in 1985 his Cacharel won second prize in the same competition. In 1977 he was awarded a year's scholarship to study composition and arrangement with Herb Pomeroy at the jazz school of the Berklee College of Music in Boston. He then continued his composition studies with Jarmo Sermila, George Crumb and Vaclav Kucera. Since his return to Prague he has been directing his own ensembles (primarily quartets and quintets), composing and arranging music and - since the death of Karel Velebny - working as director of the Summer Jazz Workshops in Frydlant. He has also lectured at a similar workshop event in Glamorgan, Wales. Between 1991 and 1995 Viklicky was President of the Czech Jazz Society, and since 1994 he has worked with the Ad lib Moravia ensemble, whose performances combine elements of Moravian folk music, modern jazz and contemporary serious music. In 1996 the ensemble undertook a highly successful concert tour of Mexico and the United States.

As pianist Viklicky often performs in international ensembles alongside musicians from the USA and other European countries - with the Lou Blackburn International Quartet and the Benny Bailey Quintet, for example, and with multi-instrumentalist Scott Robinson. He has made frequent appearances in Finland (with the Finnczech Quartet and in particular with Jarmo Sermila) and Norway (with the Czech-Norwegian Big Band and Harald Gundhus) and has performed in the USA, Japan, Mexico, Israel, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands (at the North Sea Festival) and elsewhere. The editor of Rolling Stone wrote of Viklicky that "It was a delightful surprise to see such first-class, top-of-the-line jazz in Prague. As composer Viklicky has attracted attention abroad primarily for having created a synthesis of the expressive elements of modern jazz with the melodicism and tonalities of Moravian folk song that is distinctly individual in contemporary jazz. Besides this, however, he also composes 'straight-ahead' modern jazz as well as chamber and orchestral works that utilize certain elements of the New Music, and at times his music requires a combination of classical and jazz performers. He also composes incidental and film music and has produced scores for several full-length feature films and television series. Throughout the 1990s he has devoted an increasing amount of time to the composition of contemporary classical music for a great variety of instrumental combinations ranging from small chamber ensembles and electronic instruments to symphony orchestras and choruses. Viklicky's work has gained him quite a number of prestigious awards. https://www.jazzmusicarchives.com/artist/emil-viklicky

What's New

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James Williams, Emil Viklický - Together

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1982
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:11
Size: 102,5 MB
Art: Front

(5:58)  1. For My Nephews
(4:13)  2. One For J. W.
(6:29)  3. Blue In Dark-Green
(4:23)  4. You'D Be So Nice To Come Home To
(7:52)  5. Double Play
(4:44)  6. Softly, As In A Morning Sunrise
(5:53)  7. 1977 A. D.
(4:37)  8. Rhythm-a-Ning

This is one of the more unusual records in the sizable discography of James Williams; it is a 1981 duo piano session with Czech pianist Emil Viklicky, issued by the Supraphon label in Czechoslovakia. Viklicky became familiar with Williams' work during a visit to the U.S. in 1978 and later studied at Berklee, though after Williams had already left the faculty to work as a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. By the time of their 1981 meeting in the studio in Prague, each musician brought compelling originals to the session, as well as seeking to find new ground in time-tested standards and classic jazz compositions. Williams' intriguing jazz waltz "For My Nephews" proves to be a strong opener. Viklicky's driving bop tribute "One for J.W." also works extremely well. 

Cole Porter's "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To" is tackled at a brisk tempo with a bossa nova undercurrent. The pianists devour Thelonious Monk's "Rhythm-A-Ning" with a playful interpretation. Whether or not this excellent record is still available in the Czech Republic, it is unlikely to be easy to find elsewhere.~ Ken Dryden https://www.allmusic.com/album/together-mw0000992579

Personnel:  Piano – Emil Viklicky, James Williams

Together

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Marcus Printup, Emil Viklicky - Jazz Na Hrade (Live)

Styles: Trumpet And Piano Jazz
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 58:52
Size: 135,5 MB
Art: Front

( 0:36)  1. Introduction by the President of the Republic, Vaclav Klaus
(12:01)  2. Highlands, Lowlands
(11:05)  3. In Holomoc Town
( 8:56)  4. Mystery of Man Blues
( 9:08)  5. Dolphin Dance
( 7:36)  6. Lasko, Boze, Iasko
( 9:25)  7. Body and Soul

A talented trumpeter with a lot of potential, Marcus Printup was discovered by Marcus Roberts at the University of North Florida in 1991. Printup started on trumpet in the fifth grade, played funk as a teenager, and in college was part of a ten-piece band called Soul Reason for the Blues. Since that time, he has toured and recorded with Roberts, played with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, recorded with Carl Allen, performed with Betty Carter, and cut a number of excellent albums as a leader for Blue Note. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/artist/marcus-printup-mn0000673081/biography

Personnel:  Marcus Printup - trumpet; Emil Viklicky - piano; František Uhlír - bass; Laco Tropp - drums

Jazz Na Hrade

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Scott Robinson & Emil Viklicky Trio - Summertime

Styles: Piano And Saxophone Jazz

Year: 2005

File: MP3@320K/s

Time: 65:25

Size: 149,9 MB

Art: Front

(7:07)  1. Summertime

(5:41)  2. Not Yet

(7:00)  3. Blues Refraction

(3:58)  4. Pod Nasima Okny

(6:32)  5. Out of Nowhere

(6:01)  6. East of the Sun

(5:44)  7. Just for Us

(3:59)  8. In a Sentimental Mood

(5:03)  9. Scott's Blues

(5:58) 10. Never Been in Love

(4:08) 11. Dark Composition

(4:06) 12. Under Our Windows

Scott Robinson has been affected a bit by the Roland Kirk syndrome. His interest in and ability to play just about every saxophone ever invented and some that haven't has obscured his talent to listeners more comfortable with musicians that can be identified by a single instrument, in spite of being very active recently both as a leader and member of Joe Lovano's Nonet. Pianist Emil Viklicky is the best known jazz musician working in the Czech Republic today but virtually unknown outside Central Europe, despite having developed a delightfully original style by combining elements of modern jazz with the melodies of Moravian folk songs and having been commissioned to compose a piece for "Let Freedom Swing," part of the festival that marked the opening of the new building that houses Jazz at Lincoln Center. Fortunately Summertime , recorded for Radio Prague, is available to shed light on these two unjustly under-recognized artists.

The title track leads off with Robinson blowing softly and intimately on cornet before switching to tenor to play the familiar melody. He alternates so seamlessly between the two horns that even though the trumpet and saxophone are never heard together it's hard to believe there aren't two musicians at work. Bassist Frantisek Uhlir takes the lead on "East of the Sun," plinking out the lyrics pizzicato-style before Robinson comes in on the bossa nova beat. On "Just for Us," Uhlir's sharp solo offsets Robinson's trad soprano. "In a Sentimental Mood" pops out of the speakers when Robinson's full-force tenor takes over from his wispy preamble and Viklicky's opening light-touch accompaniment. "Never Been in Love" is taken from the dependable Tadd Dameron songbook, and Robinson can't resist manipulating a wind machine he found in the studio on his own "Dark Composition." By the time Robinson and Viklicky pair up for the reflective coda, "Under Our Window," tastefulness and professionalism have been stamped on every cut. ~ Jeff Stockton http://www.allaboutjazz.com/summertime-scott-robinson-review-by-jeff-stockton.php

Personnel: Scott Robinson: saxophones, cornet; Emil Viklicky: piano, celeste; Frantisek Uhlir: bass; Laco Tropp: drums.

 

Summertime

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