Jazz Articles

Frantisek Uhlir: 60

by Jerry D'Souza
October 1, 2011

Prague Castle is the premier performance venue in the capital of the Czech Republic. It has held a monthly Jazz at the Castle concert since 2004, with the largest number of performances coming from bassist František Uhlíř. He has performed eight times at the venue, including September 8, 2010, to celebrate his 60th birthday. The cast of nine international musicians he assembled for the occasion establish their credentials right from the time they set “Expectation" up, following the customary introduction ...

Frantisek Uhlir: Bass Devotion / BassSaga

by Jerry D'Souza
October 1, 2010

Frantisek Uhlir TeamBass Devotion / BassSaga Multisonic2010 In 2010, bassist František Uhlíř is celebrating his 60th birthday with a double-disc CD release. Being an inventive person, he has combined a live quartet recording from earlier in the year, Bass Devotion, with a studio recording from 1984, BassSaga. Together, the discs illuminate a sonic spectrum that crafts subtlety as richly as it does sizzling energy.Uhlíř embraces the quartet as the František ...

Lew Tabackin: Jazz na Hrade

by Ken Dryden
June 6, 2010

Lew Tabackin began to make his mark in the '60s, touring or recording with Maynard Ferguson, the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, Duke Pearson, Joe Henderson, Elvin Jones, Donald Byrd and The Tonight Show Band. From 1968-69, he was a main soloist with the Danish Radio Orchestra. He helped his wife, Toshiko Akiyoshi, to form her long-running jazz orchestra not long after they moved to California, taking part as its star soloist during its three decades of existence, though the veteran ...

Frantisek Uhlir: Double Bass Session

by Jerry D'Souza
August 29, 2009

Jazz at Prague Castle was initiated in February 2004 by the President of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Klaus. The series of performances has featured some big names from that country including bassist Frantisek Uhlir, who had previously released the live Jazz at Prague Castle 2006 (Multisonic, 2006), featuring a trio and a guest appearance by trumpeter/flugelhornist Dusko Goykovich. On Double Bass Session, Uhlir comes up with the interesting concept of having five bassists in the band for a unique structure. ...

Emil Viklicky: Emil Viklicky 60

by Victor Verney
June 12, 2009

Emil Viklicky Emil Viklicky 60 Multisonic 2009

Imagine Barack Obama introducing, say, keyboard player Herbie Hancock for a live concert at the White House on the occasion of Hancock's 60th birthday (a milestone, incidentally, that Hancock reached on April 12, 2000). Pianist Emil Viklicky's latest CD was created under somewhat analogous circumstances. The analogy is admittedly a bit strained, and not just because Czech president Vaclav Klaus doesn't wield the sheer power ...