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Jazz Articles about Emil Viklicky
Emil Viklicky / Imogen Ryall: Songs
by Neil Duggan
In addition to being highly regarded as a classical composer, Czech pianist and composer Emil Viklický has been a significant presence on the international jazz scene for over 50 years. His jazz compositions, often influenced by Moravian folk songs, have seen him perform and record in the company of such significant artists as Bobby Wellins, Bill Frisell, Wynton Marsalis, Billy Hart, Herbie Hancock and fellow countryman Miroslav Vitouš. He composed all the music on Songs, with the exception of one ...
Continue ReadingEmil Viklický & Pavel Hrubý: Between Us
by Ian Patterson
After four decades of small ensemble recordings, veteran Czech jazz pianist Emil Viklický is developing a taste for duo albums. Following the fine duo outings Together Again (ACT Music, 2014) with George Mraz, and Moravian Romance: Live at Jazzfest Brno 2018 (Venus, 2018) with Miroslav Vitous, Viklický partners with reed player Pavel Hrubý, here on bass clarinet, to deliver a dozen intimate dialogues which draw as much from blues, classical and Eastern European folk traditions as they do from jazz. ...
Continue ReadingEmil Viklicky & George Mraz: Mraz & Viklicky: Together Again
by Ian Patterson
In European jazz the assimilation of folkloric influences has become commonplace as the American vernacular--or more specifically the Great American Songbook--exerts less of a hold. Czech musicians pianist Emil Viklický and bassist George Mraz's collaborations on Morava (Fantasy/Milestone 2001)--with drummer Billy Hart and singer Zuzana Lapcikova--and Moravian Gems (Cube-Métier 2007) with singer/violinist Iva Bittova and drummer Laco Tropp--explored the beauty of Moravian folk music in a jazz context. ACT Music's Siggi Loch was so captivated that he has made it ...
Continue ReadingEmil Viklicky: Emil Viklicky 60
by Victor Verney
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 ...
Continue ReadingEmil Viklicky Trio: Ballads And More
by Victor Verney
Emil Viklicky Trio Ballads And More Arta 2008
Pianist Kenny Barron, on several occasions, has said that in his view the ballad is what separates the wheat from the chaff with musicians. “As far as I'm concerned," he maintains, “if you can't play a ballad, forget about it!" Numerous jazz luminaries, as if in recognition of this fact, devoted an entire album to the form, including saxophonists Dexter Gordon, John Coltrane, Stanley ...
Continue ReadingEmil Viklicky: Patriarch of Czech Jazz Piano
by Victor Verney
When most American jazz buffs think of the Czech Republic, they probably think of bassists George Mraz and Miroslav Vitous or keyboardist Jan Hammer. However, Europeans knowledgeable about the same topic probably think of Emil Vicklický, the acknowledged “Patriarch of Czech Jazz Piano." Known for combining the melodism and tonalities of Moravian folk music with modern jazz harmonies and classical orchestration in a distinctly individual style, Vicklický grew up in the former Czechoslovakia, where his father was a university art ...
Continue ReadingEmil Viklicky: Cookin' In Bonn
by Victor Verney
Mention the Czech Republic to American jazz fans and most would likely think of George Mraz, Miroslav Vitous or Jan Hammer. However, these three musicians would almost certainly agree that pianist Emil Vicklický is the “Patriarch of Czech jazz," a title bestowed on him by general consensus.
Without question, there remain lingering pockets of Americans who doubt, privately if not aloud, whether Europeans can really play jazz; in fairness, there are also many Europeans who believe Americans can't really play ...
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