Diana Panton - To Brazil With Love

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 61:46
Size: 151,0 MB
Art: Front

(4:00)  1. Samba Saravah
(4:05)  2. This Happy Madness
(1:55)  3. The Telephone Song
(5:24)  4. Manha de Carnaval
(3:29)  5. So Nice
(4:21)  6. Is It Really You?
(4:01)  7. The Night Has A Thousand Eyes
(5:28)  8. Daus Mon Ile
(4:41)  9. Felicidade
(4:21) 10. Tu Sais Je Vais T'aimen
(3:41) 11. Dreamer
(4:44) 12. And I Love Him
(4:40) 13. Fuis Comme L'Oiseau
(6:52) 14. Que Reste Toil de Nos Amours?

Early on in her still relatively nascent career, Canadian vocalist Diana Panton had the great fortune, and good sense, to align herself with two outstanding jazz countrymen, multi-instrumentalist Don Thompson and guitarist Reg Schwager. It was Thompson who encouraged her to study at the Banff Centre, where her instructors included Norma Winstone, Sheila Jordan and Jay Clayton. Jordan has since likened Panton’s voice to “the sweetest bird you’ll ever hear.” Thompson and Schwager have been guiding forces on all her albums, including this, her fourth. Also onboard, alternating rudders to this sleek schooner, are Brazilian drummers and percussionists Maninho Costa and Silas Silva. Panton does, indeed, have a delightfully sweet (though never cloying) sound, a tonal purity that is arrestingly beautiful. She is also a skilled linguist her day job is teaching French making this cross-cultural exploration all the more intriguing, and pleasurable. She serves up Brazilian gems in Portuguese (a sun-dappled “Samba Saravah” and buttery “Manha De Carnaval”) and English (the frisky “Telephone Song” and ebullient “So Nice”), augmented by French interpretations of “Eu Sei Que Vou Te Amar” and “Você Abusou” and a bilingual (French/English) “A Felicidade.” Additionally, she unfurls an exquisite “And I Love Her,” soft as a moonbeam, and, with Thompson’s assistance, makes an impressive songwriting debut with the gently swaying “Is It Really You?” ~ Christopher Loudon   http://jazztimes.com/articles/29393-to-brazil-with-love-diana-panton

To Brazil With Love

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Alan Broadbent - Burlesque

Styles: Piano Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:04
Size: 137,0 MB
Art: Front

(4:32) 1. Black Silk
(4:04) 2. Teaser
(4:36) 3. Showtime
(4:09) 4. Slick
(4:13) 5. Please Me
(4:15) 6. Mr Good Time
(4:19) 7. Someday in Spain
(4:09) 8. Opening Line
(4:25) 9. Bump
(5:21) 10. Catwalk
(4:17) 11. Flame
(4:59) 12. Tango Time
(5:39) 13. The Mover

Alan Broadbent was born in Auckland, New Zealand and in 1966, at the age of 19, received a Downbeat Magazine scholarship to attend Berklee College of Music in Boston. In 1969 he was asked to join Woody Herman's band as his pianist and arranger for 3 years. In 1972 he settled in Los Angeles, beginning a musical relationship with the legendary singer Irene Kral (no relation to Diana Krall). Soon he was also invited into the studio scene as a pianist for the great Nelson Riddle, David Rose and Johnny Mandel. In the early 90s he was asked to be a part of Natalie Cole's famous “Unforgettable” cd, at which time he toured as her pianist and, a little while later, as her conductor. At this time he wrote an orchestral arrangement for her second video with her dad, “When I Fall In Love”, which won him his first Grammy for “best orchestral arrangement accompanying a vocal”.

Shortly after, he became a member of Charlie Haden's Quartet West, touring the festivals of Europe, UK and the USA. It was while with this group that he won his second Grammy, an orchestral accompaniment written for Shirley Horn of Leonard Bernstein's “Lonely Town”. As a soloist and with his jazz trio, Broadbent has been nominated for Grammys twice for best instrumental performance, in the company of such artists as Herbie Hancock, Sonny Rollins and Keith Jarrett. In 2007 he was awarded the New Zealand Order of Merit, an honor he holds in high regard.

Broadbent is Diana Krall's conductor for her occasional orchestra concerts and is the conductor on her “Live in Paris” DVD. Recently he has been the arranger on Glenn Frey's cd with strings, “After Hours”, and wrote six string arrangements for Sir Paul McCartney's “Kisses On The Bottom” with the London Symphony. He has just returned from solo piano concerts in the UK, Poland and France. It has been his lifelong goal, through his orchestral arrangements and jazz improvisations, to discover, in popular music and standard songs, deeper feelings of communication and love. https://musicians.allaboutjazz.com/alanbroadbent

Burlesque

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Michael Dease - Grace

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 68:42
Size: 157.3 MB
Styles: Trombone jazz
Year: 2010
Art: Front

[1:42] 1. Discussao
[6:31] 2. Blues On The Corner
[5:40] 3. In A Mist
[8:26] 4. I Talk To The Trees
[7:10] 5. Four
[4:09] 6. Tippin'
[5:30] 7. Setembro
[5:28] 8. 26-2
[5:56] 9. Toys
[5:56] 10. Love Dance
[6:16] 11. Grace
[5:53] 12. Salt Song

Michael Dease: trombone, valve trombone; Roger Squitero, Circle Rhythm: vocals, percussion; Mark Whitfield: guitar, acoustic guitar; Yotam: acoustic guitar, electric guitar; Sharel Cassity: alto flute, alto saxophone; Eric Alexander: tenor saxophone; Roy Hargrove: trumpet, flugelhorn; Claudio Roditi: flugelhorn; Steve Davis: trombone; Cyrus Chestnut: piano; Gene Jackson: drums.

Michael Dease is to the trombone what Harry Allen is to the tenor saxophone. Lyrical, traditional, well-studied and broad based, both artists can equally get their freak on when necessary. Dease's trombone style contains many influences, but like many conservatory-trained musicians, Dease has had the time and practice to develop is own potent voice. Emerging among a class of young musicians that include Sharel Cassity and Carol Morgan, Dease presents as a neo-traditionalist with pristine chops and a universal exposure (both bandstand and didactic) to music providing him a virtual library from which to draw. Technically, that is all well and good as a description; but what does Dease sound like? Dease's previous recordings, Dease Bones (Astrix Media, 2007) and Clarity (Blues Back Records, 2008) found Dease honing his already very capable craft. His voice and tone have become perfectly rounded with a rich and creamy timbre superbly captured on the Jobim opener, "Discussao."

Bix Beiderbecke's "In A Mist" is post-modern updated by Dease, making it both more densely impressionistic and swinging at the same time, proving that the two not need mutually exclusive. Dease allows himself ample room for exploration with a reigned-in rhythm section providing the propulsion without getting in the way. Dease approaches Miles Davis' "Four" where he doubles on trombone and tenor saxophone. More ballad than bebop, Dease's treatment is languid and moody like an opiate nod. Cyrus Chestnut holds the piece together with a concise solo before Dease does his best Scott Hamilton.

Dease does get his bebop on for Oscar Peterson's "Tippin'" playing J.J. Johnson fast, taking corners like Curtis Fuller. His fluid chops are on display on this song with a taut and effusive solo where he is able to exercise his considerable solo prowess. It is as a balladeer that Dease excels and where his true strength lies, as demonstrated on the two Ivan Lins compositions "Setembro" and "Love Dance." Dease's lone composition, the title piece, is a mid-tempo swinger that sums up well what Dease's finely crafted jazz is all about. C. Michael Bailey

Grace

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Dave Brubeck - Lullabies

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:43
Size: 99,4 MB
Art: Front

(3:10) 1. Brahms Lullaby
(3:30) 2. When It’s Sleepy Time Down South
(3:00) 3. Over The Rainbow
(3:14) 4. Danny Boy
(2:10) 5. Going To Sleep
(2:28) 6. There’s No Place Like Home
(2:46) 7. Lullaby For Iola
(4:21) 8. Koto Song
(3:07) 9. All Through The Night
(2:54) 10. Softly, William, Softly
(2:39) 11. A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes
(2:20) 12. Briar Bush
(2:22) 13. Sleep
(3:31) 14. Summertime
(1:03) 15. Brahms Lullaby - Reprise

Pianist and composer Dave Brubeck's centenary falls in December 2020 and two albums are being released to coincide. One is the outstanding Time OutTakes (Brubeck Editions), consisting of out-takes from the sessions which produced Time Out (Columbia, 1959). The album includes vibrant alternative readings of "Blue Rondo A La Turk," "Kathy's Waltz" and "Time Out" itself among previously unheard versions of the first five tracks from the 1959 album. Unlike so many previously unheard (for good reason) collections of out-takes, Time OutTakes is killer.

The second commemorative disc is Lullabies, a solo set which Brubeck recorded in 2010 with his grandchildren in mind. The material comprises five Brubeck originals and nine covers including Johannes Brahms' "Wiegenlied" (aka "Brahms Lullaby"), Clarence Muse's "When It's Sleepy Time Down South," Harold Arlen's "Over The Rainbow," Frederic Weatherly's "Danny Boy," Jules Shear's "All Through The Night" and George Gershwin's "Summertime." Speaking about the project, Brubeck said, "Some are original pieces that I thought would appeal to babies as well as an older generation. I hope the littlest ones will respond to this music and that parents and grandparents will enjoy it as well."

Simple and soothing in conception and performance, Lullabies, Brubeck's last known studio recording, is light years away from the blazing, double-fisted pyrotechnics of Time Out (whose greatness has been rendered near invisible by familiarity, in the same way that Miles Davis' Kind Of Blue, also released by Columbia in 1959 is often taken for granted). But Lullabies reminds us of another side of Brubeck's music, and it is good to have it around.~ Chris May https://www.allaboutjazz.com/lullabies-dave-brubeck-verve-music-group

Personnel: Dave Brubeck - Piano.

Lullabies

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Michael Dease - Coming Home

Styles: Trombone Jazz
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 69:07
Size: 158,5 MB
Art: Front

(6:59)  1. Solid Gold
(5:46)  2. Motherland
(7:46)  3. Blues Etude
(4:56)  4. In A Sentimental Mood
(7:01)  5. Good & Terrible
(7:43)  6. Lifewish
(6:42)  7. The Shade Of The Cedar Tree
(3:41)  8. Just In Time
(6:30)  9. All Heath
(5:41) 10. The Release
(6:18) 11. Take It To The Ozone

Trombonist Michael Dease's Coming Home is the evolutionary culmination of all of the small group work of which he has been a part. Dease's musical personality reveals itself fully on the disc, one he has populated with a very fine band and thoughtfully composed and selected pieces for that band. Dease's previous work as a leader on Dease Bones (Astrix Media, 2007), Clarity (Blues Back Records, 2008) and Grace (Legacy Jazz Productions, 2011), as well as with multi-reedist Sharel Cassity on Just For You (DW Records , 2009) and Relentless (Legacy Jazz Productions, 2009). Where Curtis Fuller is the patriarch, Wycliffe Gordon the earthy keeper of the flame (and Dease's teacher) and Luis Bonilla the Latin soul of the trombone, Dease is its intellectual heart. Following his fellow Augusta Georgia trombonist teacher to Juilliard, Dease established himself as part of an ambitious group of young musicians who were combining smarts, chops, bandstand and practice and translating that into recordings. Members of this group include Sharel Cassity, trumpeter Carol Morgan, and pianist Orrin Evans.

Dease's compositional and performance approaches are ruled by passionate precision. His playing is exact and well practiced. His tone is expansive and uniform through all registers. These characteristics are demonstrated immediately on the opening tune, "Solid Gold" where Dease shows great velocity in both head and solo playing. He adds mass to this velocity, creating an infectious momentum when playing with a mute as on Duke Ellington's "In a Sentimental Mood." Tony Lustig drops in with his tenor saxophone for the piece giving it a throaty presence. Lustig adds foundation to "Good and Terrible" with his crack baritone playing. His solo is at once gentle and virile on this angular, post-bop piece. Alto saxophonist Steve Wilson turns the gas on high, navigating Dease's complex circuitry. Dease rolls up his sleeves and gets his hands dirty on a searing performance of Oscar Peterson's "Blues Etude." While playing with his typical precision in the head, Dease begins to properly slur and wail in his solo, throwing off notes like pale blue sparks. He shares his solo space with bassist Christian McBride who amply demonstrates why he is Christian McBride and no one else. The instructive presence of pianist Renee Rosnes is heard throughout this fine disc as its timekeeper and drummer Ulysses Owens, Jr. Dease could not have put together a better band for this recording. He has come fully into his own as a leader. ~ C.Michael Bailey  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/coming-home-michael-dease-d-clef-records-review-by-c-michael-bailey.php

Personnel: Michael Dease: trombone; Steve Wilson: alto saxophone; Renee Rosnes: piano; Christian McBride: bass; Ulysses Owens, Jr.: drums; Eric Alexander: tenor saxophone: tenor saxophone (11); Tony Lustig: tenor saxophone (4), baritone saxophone (5); Andrew Swift: percussion (10).

Coming Home

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Rebecca Luker - Anything Goes: The Songs of Cole Porter

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1996
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:14
Size: 117,7 MB
Art: Front

(3:46) 1. Anything Goes
(2:42) 2. After You, Who?
(4:37) 3. Night And Day
(3:15) 4. Ridin' High
(3:36) 5. True Love
(3:46) 6. Leader Of The Big Time Band
(3:11) 7. You Do Something To Me
(3:54) 8. Dream Dancing
(3:29) 9. I Am Loved
(4:09) 10. Ah, Fong Lo!
(3:31) 11. Don't Fence Me In
(2:57) 12. In The Still Of The Night
(4:39) 13. I Like Pretty Things / Where Oh Where? (from the film Mississippi Belle)
(3:36) 14. Every Time We Say Goodbye (from Seven Lively Arts)

Actress/singer Rebecca Luker, whose Broadway credits include The Secret Garden and the 1994 revival of Show Boat, in which she played the female lead, Magnolia, makes her debut solo album with a collection of Cole Porter songs. In her acknowledgments, she thanks her musical director, Patrick Brady, also credited for arrangements and five of the orchestrations (the rest are by Larry Moore), saying his "name should grace the front of this CD." It may be that both Brady and Moore deserve that credit, since their musical treatments of the vintage songs are so stirring. They start with Moore's setting for "Anything Goes," which begins with a simple piano before involving a swing band in a sort of supercharged recollection of 1920s jazz.

On the tracks that follow, the music is vibrant and inventive, redefining the familiar Porter melodies. Luker, a sweet-voiced soprano, holds her own over the maelstrom, after signaling the feisty approach to the material in a cover photograph that finds her, decked out in black dress and elbow-length gloves, wielding a cigar and appearing to be in the middle of a triumphant laugh. It's the right image for the approach she and her orchestrators have taken to reinvigorating one of Broadway's great songwriters.~ William Ruhlmann https://www.allmusic.com/album/anything-goes-rebecca-luker-sings-cole-porter-mw0000572219

Anything Goes: The Songs of Cole Porter

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Sam 'The Man' Taylor - Blue Mist

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 33:13
Size: 76,2 MB
Art: Front

(2:39)  1. Blue Mist
(2:51)  2. Don't Take Your Love From Me
(2:55)  3. Tara's Theme
(2:47)  4. Bluer Than Blue
(2:43)  5. To A Wild Rose
(2:48)  6. Indian Summer
(2:55)  7. Harlem Nocturne
(2:40)  8. As Time Goes By
(2:37)  9. Lonely Love Affair
(2:56) 10. September Song
(2:42) 11. The Very Thought Of You
(2:34) 12. Someone To Watch Over Me

A certified honking sax legend, Sam "The Man" Taylor's non-stop drive and power worked perfectly in swing, blues, and R&B sessions. He had a huge tone, perfect timing, and sense of drama, as well as relentless energy and spirit. Taylor began working with Scat Man Crothers and the Sunset Royal Orchestra in the late '30s. He played with Cootie Williams and Lucky Millinder in the early '40s, then worked six years with Cab Calloway. Taylor toured South America and the Caribbean during his tenure with Calloway. Then, Taylor became the saxophonist of choice for many R&B dates through the '50s, recording with Ray Charles, Buddy Johnson, Louis Jordan, and Big Joe Turner, among others. He also did sessions with Ella Fitzgerald and Sy Oliver. During the '60s, Taylor led his own bands and recorded in a quintet called the Blues Chasers. He currently has one session available on CD, recorded in the late '50s with Charlie Shavers and Urbie Green. 

Bio ~ https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/sam-the-man-taylor/id31830685#fullText

Blue Mist

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Enrico Pieranunzi, Rosario Giuliani - Duke's Dream

Styles: Piano And Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2017
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:17
Size: 118,1 MB
Art: Front

(4:33) 1. Isfahan
(4:39) 2. Satin Doll
(4:16) 3. Take the Coltrane
(7:20) 4. I Got It Bad
(9:43) 5. Duke's Dream
(4:56) 6. Reflections in D
(4:19) 7. Sonnet for Caesar
(3:44) 8. Duke's Atmosphere
(2:39) 9. Trains
(5:03) 10. Come Sunday

After two decades of wonderful collaboration in different contexts Enrico Pieranunzi and Rosario Giuliani finally entered a recording studio for a project of their own. Published by the prestigious German label Intuition, Duke's dream pays tribute to Duke Ellington, true giant of twentieth century music whose brilliant compositions among them the very well known Satin Doll, Come Sunday, I Got it bad are presented here in a very refined, original way.In Duke's dream you find Pieranunzi and Giuliani at their best. They express here their common vision of music, which has long made them two stars of the international jazz scene. https://www.enricopieranunzi.it/discografia/2017/1/22/dukes-dream

Personnel: Enrico Pieranunzi piano, electric piano; Rosario Giuliani alto sax, soprano sax

Duke's Dream

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Zoe Scott - Woman on Top

Styles: Vocal And Guitar
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:33
Size: 109,5 MB
Art: Front

(3:18) 1. Eight Lovers (And a One Night Stand)
(3:25) 2. Get It Somewhere Else
(4:02) 3. Hard Habit
(4:19) 4. Woman On Top
(4:45) 5. Black Roses
(3:25) 6. (You Don’t Want A) Girl Like Me
(5:02) 7. Forget About Us
(3:27) 8. Chelsea Girl
(4:26) 9. The Canyon
(3:30) 10. Nita
(4:00) 11. Orphans
(3:49) 12. Dreamer

With her new CD, Woman on Top, singer/songwriter Zoe Scott projects a vibrant spectrum of dazzling energy. Lacerating riffs, thunderous drumming, anthemic choruses and razor sharp hooks. Zoe knew exactly what these songs needed to come alive. A storied.. https://ourstage.com/epk/zoescott.

Personnel: Zoe Scott - lead vocals, guitar; Jim McGorman - lead guitar; Steve Fekete - guitar; Jenn Oberle - bass; Jake Hayden - drums; Ijeoma Njaka - vocals; Erica Driscoll - vocals

Woman on Top

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Olaf Polziehn Trio Feat. Scott Hamilton - Live at Jazztone Lörrach

Styles: Saxophone And Piano Jazz
Year: 2006
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 64:58
Size: 149,4 MB
Art: Front

(10:53) 1. Have You Met Miss Jones?
( 9:19) 2. I May Be Wrong
( 8:36) 3. Woody 'n' You
( 6:56) 4. If I Only Had a Brain
( 7:27) 5. As Long as I Live
( 7:01) 6. Skylark
( 3:11) 7. Pitter Panther Patter
(11:33) 8. Blues

Researching key signatures in performances of “Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams,” I made a discovery. Everyone else out there may have known about Olaf Polziehn, but he was new to me. After I heard him play the piece (in E-flat), further research turned up these facts: Polziehn is 40 years old. He was born in Ludwigsburg, Germany. He is professor of jazz piano at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz, Austria. That is where the expatriate American composer, arranger and trombonist Ed Partyka is chairman of the jazz department, Dena DeRose is a professor of voice and Ed Neumeister a professor of composition, arranging and trombone. Clearly, things are happening in Graz.

Polziehn has played with, among others, Bob Mintzer, John Riley, Harry Allen, Scott Hamilton, Patti Austin and Warren Vaché. In the video of his unaccompanied version of “Wrap Your Troubles…,” we see the only a three-quarters view of the back of his head. So here, on the right, is what he looks like. Now, press play and you’ll hear what he sounded like at the Stride + Swing Piano Summit in Switzerland in 2008. If you’re curious, the original key of Billy Moll’s, Harry Barris’ and Ted Koehler’s “Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams” (1931) was C. If you’d like to hear a splendid version in B-Flat, click here for Hampton Hawes with Harold Land, Scott LaFaro and Frank Butler from Hawes’ album For Real.~ Doug Ramsey https://www.artsjournal.com/rifftides/2011/04/meet-olaf-polziehn.html

Personnel: Scott Hamilton (ts); Olaf Polziehn (p); Ingmar Heller (b); Alan Jones (dr)

Live at Jazztone Lörrach

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Banu Gibson - Let's Face The Music And Dance

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 58:02
Size: 133,9 MB
Art: Front

(0:09)  1. Swing out Fanfare
(2:26)  2. Top Hat, White Tie and Tails
(4:15)  3. Music Makes Me
(3:24)  4. Let's Begin
(4:11)  5. I'll Be Hard To Handle
(3:54)  6. A Needle in a Haystack
(3:01)  7. No Strings
(3:46)  8. Isn't This a Lovely Day?
(3:36)  9. Let Yourself Go
(3:08) 10. I'm Putting All My Eggs In One Basket
(3:29) 11. They Can't Take That Away From Me
(2:54) 12. (I've Got) Beginner's Luck
(3:45) 13. Bojangles of Harlem
(3:43) 14. Pick Yourself Up
(2:54) 15. Let's Face The Music And Dance
(4:39) 16. Change Partners
(4:25) 17. A Fine Romance
(0:13) 18. Swing Out Swinging Fanfare

Banu Gibson, with the New Orleans Hot Jazz, is a dynamic performer with a big voice, and stage presence to spare she's the consummate entertainer specializing in early classic jazz, and her band is absolutely superb. An evening with Banu and her band features songs by Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Fats Waller, and George Gershwin. Leonard Maltin, film correspondent for Entertainment Tonight, said "Banu Gibson and her band blend musicianship and showmanship in an irresistible brand of entertainment. I'm crazy about them." http://centerstageartists.com/artists/BanuGibson/index.html

Personnel: Harry Shearer (vocals); Hank Mackie, Howard Alden (guitar); Matt Rhody, Ann Taylor (violin); Karen Ray (cello); Tom Fischer, Brian Ogilvie (clarinet, saxophone, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone); Jon-Erik Kellso (trumpet, cornet); Charlie Fardella, Connie Jones, Duke Heitger, Randy Reinhart (trumpet); Bob Havens, Dan Barrett , David Sager, Mark Mullins (trombone); David Boeddinghaus, Dick Hyman, John Sheridan (piano); Chris Tyle, Jeff Hamilton , James Alsanders (drums).

Let's Face The Music And Dance

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Buddy DeFranco - Cooking The Blues & Sweet & Lovely

Album: Cooking The Blues & Sweet & Lovely Disc 1

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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