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Ondrej Pivec
Ondrej Pivec was born in 1984 in Brno (south Moravia). His first musical studies were in classical piano, at the basic music school. He attended the school for seven years before moving to Prague in 1999. At that time, friend recommended that he should take part in the summer jazz workshop, which is organized by the Czech Jazz Society. It was here that he was introduced to jazz music and in that context, many great Czech and Polish musicians were his mentors. He was so amazed by this musical discovery, that he took part in two more jazz workshops and formed his first jazz quintet. It was called "Mantis" and they performed occasionally in Prague and around the Czech republic. The first real engagement came in 2002. By that time Ondrej had joined the jazz trio of the prominent Czech jazz guitarist Roman Pokorný. He had also switched from piano to the Hammond organ and learned to play the bass with the left hand. Through working with this trio he slowly gained the experience of being a professional sideman. In 2003, after his graduation he also joined Roman's blues project - Blues Box Heroes and gradually became a more experienced professional player. Ondrej then started performing with a Polish-Cuban singer, Yvonne Sanchez, in her project called "Brazilian Groove". In 2004 he played over 130 gigs with these three bands, performing not only in Prague and across the Czech Republic but also internationally. Engagements included Semper Oper, Bluenote - Dresden, a Romanian tour with Yvonne, a tour in Turkey with a band supporting Billy Cobham's Culture Mix, FIAP Jean Monnet Paris, Jazz Club St. Germain Paris, Kunstfabrik Schlott, Berlin and many more. At this time Ondrej met an Italian organ virtuoso Alberto Marsico and whilst in London he also had the chance to meet legendary British organist Mike Carr. Both these distinguished players offered him some coaching. In 2005, Ondrej left Roman Pokorny’s two bands and he set off in his own direction. He started his own band called "ORGANIC quartet", and most of the members are fellow students from the Jazz College, where he has studied since 2004. Ondrej was awarded first place in the "soloist of the year" category, in the talent competition held within the 2005 Philips International Jazz Festival. The ORGANIC quartet was also elected "band of the year" at the same festival. Ondrej Pivec nowadays occasionally works with the renowned German guitar player - Christian Rover.
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Ondrej Pivec: Overseason
by John Barron
When Czechoslovakian organist Ondrej Pivec ventured to New York City with fellow countryman drummer Tomas Hobzek, a recording session was arranged with Brooklyn-based, Canadian guitarist Jake Langley and tenor saxophonist Joel Frahm. The resulting disc, Overseason, is a groove-oriented collection of soulful sounds, steeped in the organ combo tradition and brimming with hard-hitting, progressive solos.
Pivec's compositions, which make up the bulk of the disc's material, are full of melodic hooks and funky grooves. The opening track, “Song for Sam," ...
read moreTake Five With Ondrej Pivec
by AAJ Staff
Meet Ondrej Pivec: Ondrej Pivec started his career as a classical pianist, but soon turned to jazz--he started to play the Hammond organ before he was 20 years old. He was inspired by such important organists such as Sam Yahel, Larry Goldings, Jimmy Smith, Larry Young and others. He has also taken lessons from the legendary English Hammond player Mike Carr and Italian organ virtuoso Alberto Marsico, and recently Yahel himself during Ondrej's stay in New York.
read moreOndrej Pivec / Organic Quartet: Don't Get Ideas
by Budd Kopman
Ondrej Pivec and his Organic Quartet burn white hot on Don't Get Ideas, from the very first notes of the opening “Mr. Littleroot's Green Room," by Jakob Dolezal, the group's tenorist. Living deeply within the R&B organ trio vibe, yet updating it with their personalities, these youngsters clearly live to play. The question of originality and derivativeness does not really apply here. Much like Scott Hamilton, who plays inside his chosen style with total honesty, these musicians--organist ...
read moreOndrej Pivec / Organic Quartet: Don't Get Ideas
by Nic Jones
The musicians who make up this “classic" organ-led small combo have technique and ideas in abundance. The music they make is a considerable distance from the grits 'n' gravy circuit with which such groups might once have been associated, and Ondrej Pivec's harmonic and melodic senses, in particular, are more akin to Larry Young than, say, Baby Face Willette. To hear Pivec on McCoy Tyner's “Inception," for example, is to witness a musician quite unselfconsciously mining a rich musical seam ...
read moreOndrej Pivec's New Hammond Organ Album from New York with Jake Langley and Joel Frahm
Source:
All About Jazz
Young jazz Hammond organist Ondej Pivec (b. 1984) is releasing his new album Overseason. Pivec is leader of the Prague-based Organic Quartet, an ensemble which has already recorded two albums during its brief existence (Don't Get Ideas, winner of the Czech Academy of Popular Music's 2006 Best Jazz Album award, and Never Enough). The album was recorded in New York, where Pivec and his colleague from Organic Quartet, drummer Tom Hobzek were visiting in the summer of 2007 on a ...
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Ondrej Pivec's Organic Quartet Releases "Don't Get Ideas" on Cube-Metier
Source:
All About Jazz
Cube-Metier introduces a bright new jazz talent: the debut album from Ondrej Pivec's Organic Quartet
Don't Get Ideas
Ondrej Pivec hammond organ Libor Smoldas guitar Jakub Dolezal sax Toms Hobzek drums
In less than a year, this talented group of young Prague musicians-- Ondrej Pivec is just twenty-one--the Organic Quartet have not only bowled over both local and national critics but have been hailed as the Best Talent of the Year and Pivec himself ...
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"....this music refers to one of the historical jazz models - organ soul jazz, but impresses with its spontaneity, quite rarely heard on our local recordings, in perfect professional achievement"
Dr. Lubomir Doruzka, 2008, MF Dnes
"Predominantly own pieces are truly well-played with a flavour of freshly found understanding, with the joy of sharing the music. The playing certainty of this adventitious line-up testifies a lot especially about the genius of Czech half of the band (as for its American part - this could have been already guessed)."
Ondrej Bezr, 2008, www.idnes.cz
"The Organic Quartet plays music inspired by the roots of jazz and hard bop, mixed with modern forms and sounds
Primary Instrument
Organ, Hammond B3
Willing to teach
Intermediate to advanced
Credentials/Background
Continual lessons at The Elementary Music School of Jan Hanus, Prague 6, Czech Republic (jazz dpt.) Lessons at Prague Summer Jazz Workshops 2008 (www.czechjazz.org)
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Ondrej Pivec
Instrument: Organ, Hammond B3
Born: March 4, 1984
