Jazz Articles about Miroslav Vitous

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Miroslav Vitous Group

by John Kelman
February 25, 2014

With the ongoing demand for historic titles to see first-time CD issue, ECM has raised the ante even further with Re:solutions: seven classic recordings, released on CD (four available for the first time and one previously only available for a limited time in Japan), vinyl and high resolution digital formats. They're all important, but 1981's Miroslav Vitous Group stands out as one of the most significant, completing, as it does—and more than three decades after the fact—the Czech bassist's early ...

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Miroslav Vitous Group /w Michel Portal: Remembering Weather Report

by John Kelman
July 1, 2009

On the surface, Remembering Weather Report possesses little in common with the fusion supergroup that Czech bassist Miroslav Vitous co-founded in the early '70s with keyboardist Joe Zawinul and saxophonist Wayne Shorter, before being summarily removed on the cusp of greater commercial success. Weather Report was a decidedly electric group; Vitous' is unapologetically acoustic, and doesn't really resemble, musically, early albums including WR's remarkable self-titled, 1971 debut and '72 follow-up, I Sing the Body Electric, both on Columbia. But scratch ...

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Miroslav Vitous: It Comes Down to Taste

by Paul Olson
January 7, 2008

You can't ask for a more interesting interview subject than Miroslav Vitous, but anyone in search of self-deprecation or false modesty would be best advised to seek elsewhere. Simply put, Miroslav Vitous believes in Miroslav Vitous; he believes--no, knows--that his work is important, and he will not waste a moment pretending otherwise.That's not terribly surprising, since the 60-year-old, Czech-born bassist and composer's resume places him dead-center in some very important musical settings and movements. Vitous was playing violin ...

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Miroslav Vitous: Universal Syncopations II

by Michael P. Gladstone
September 28, 2007

Bassist/composer Miroslav Vitous will likely be regarded in history as one of the founding members of Weather Report, staying with them until 1973. Emigrating to the United States from Czechoslovakia in 1966, Vitous worked with a wide variety of musicians and has continued to do so since returning to Europe. He has recorded fourteen albums as a leader, updating Universal Syncopations (ECM, 2003) with a second volume.

Universal Syncopations II does not bear a lot of similarity to ...

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Miroslav Vitous: Universal Innovator

by Jason Crane
August 24, 2007

On the new episode of The Jazz Session, Jason Crane interviews bassist Miroslav Vitous. Vitous came to the U.S. in 1966, and quickly became part of the New York jazz scene. He was a founding member of Weather Report along with Wayne Shorter and Joe Zawinul. Vitous played on the landmark trio session Now He Sings, Now He Sobs (Blue Note, 1968) with Chick Corea and Roy Haynes. Vitous's new album is Universal Syncopations II (ECM, 2007), the ...

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Miroslav Vitous: Universal Syncopations II

by Budd Kopman
July 28, 2007

At least one underlying context of the ECM label has been to present jazz where the line between improvisation and composition/arrangement is blurred. When the improvisations are not “jazzy" as the term is commonly understood, it begins to be difficult to discern where the composition ends and the improvisation begins. This is not to say that the music demands that the listener be able to figure this out, but rather that the composer, instead of presenting a ...

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Miroslav Vitous: Universal Syncopations II

by Jerry D'Souza
July 27, 2007

Miroslav Vitous is the centrifugal force of Universal Syncopations II. He composed, arranged, directed, produced, engineered and archived the music, which was recorded between November 2004 and April 2005.

Vitous uses different combinations to play his music. He moves from a trio to a quintet and, where necessary, has overdubbed orchestral parts or has multi-tracked vocals to give effect to his vision.

Orchestration courses through “Opera, on which the main proponents are Bob Mintzer (tenor saxophone), Gary Campbell (soprano saxophone), ...