Results for "Miroslav Vitous"

Miroslav Vitous

Miroslav Vitous played music with his brother Alan and Jan Hammer while attending the Prague Conservatory, and played in a Dixieland band with trumpeter/singer Jiri Jerinek. Winning first prize in an international music competition in Vienna gave Miroslav the opportunity to study in the U.S., at Berklee College of Music. It was during this time that he was asked to play in Cannonball Adderley's group, but turned it down in order to complete his studies at Berklee. In the summer of 1967, Miroslav moved to New York to get involved in the vibrant music scene of the mid-sixties. What many people may not know is that Miroslav was ranked as a top Olympic contender in free style swimming

Chick Corea

By MARK SABBATINI

In memory of NEA Jazz Master Chick Corea: 1941-2021. This article was first published at All About Jazz in 2004. Pianist Chick Corea is one of the major pioneers of fusion, with his influence since the 1960s also extending to post-bop, Latin, free-form and avant-garde jazz. He is a rarity in his proficiency and ...

Benjamin Koppel: Curiosity Won't Kill This Cat

By R.J. DELUKE

Benjamin Koppel is an extraordinary Danish musician from an illustrious music family. He is all about music—of just about any kind. He's always absorbing it, discovering what there is to derive from it. A kind of restless desire to explore envelops him. He simplifies it in his own words: he's curious. It comes naturally to him. ...

The Genius of Kenny Kirkland - Part 2

By LUDOVICO GRANVASSU

A classical musical upbringing; a deep knowledge of contemporary classical masters; a career that rapidly saw him develop affinities and life-long collaborations with mainstream and forward-looking jazz musicians, both from the US and from abroad; equally at home with fusion, pop and rock. In sum, Kenny Kirkland epitomized that kind of musician that defies categorization which ...

DOCTONE: An oral history of legendary pianist Kenny Kirkland (1955-1998)

By NOAH HAIDU

In chapter 2 of my book Doctone, I interviewed drummer Billy Hart and we discussed his interaction with Kenny Kirkland as he emerged in the 1970's fusion scene, his unique personality, the “Kirklandese" language and Kenny's legacy as one of the great pianists and composers in this music Noah Haidu: What were your first ...

4th Zbigniew Seifert International Jazz Violin Competition

By IAN PATTERSON

4th Zbigniew Seifert International Jazz Violin Competition Cricoteka Museum, Kraków, Poland/Various international locations on-line July 8-10, 2020 When the fanfare and drum roll had died down the big moment arrived. After three days of on-line competition, the six finalists waited anxiously in front of their screens, in Israel, The USA, Austria, ...

Atlantic Records: More Giant Steps: An Alternative Top 20 Albums

By CHRIS MAY

Ahmet and Nesuhi Ertegun's Atlantic Records differs in one key respect from Prestige, Riverside, Impulse!, Strata-East and Flying Dutchman, the most prominent labels covered so far in this Building A Jazz Library series. Those labels' discographies consist almost exclusively of jazz. Atlantic had parallel interests in soul and rhythm-and-blues and, later, rock. This had consequences, as ...

Attila László: Concerto for Jazz Guitar & Chamber Orchestra

By FRIEDRICH KUNZMANN

A household name in Hungary's jazz topographic for about 40 years, Hungarian guitarist Attila Laszlo has made a lasting impact on the fusion guitar world with a number of critically acclaimed collaborations, and by performing alongside international heavy weights of the genre, such as Randy Brecker, Peter Erskine and Weather Report bassist Miroslav Vitous. More recently ...

Jon Hassell: Words with the Shaman

By CHRIS MAY

Jon Hassell is best known as the creator of Fourth World music, an acoustic-electronic blend of jazz, minimalism, drone, ambient, traditional African and Asian instruments and harmolodic signatures. Hassell has defined Fourth World as “serious music with transcultural appeal and a smile." He unveiled the concept on his debut album, Vernal Equinox (Lovely Records), in 1977. ...

Jimmy Haslip: Amperes Beyond the BASSics, Part 2

By JIM WORSLEY

In case you missed it, Part One of my conversation with Jimmy Haslip covered a lot of ground and had a few good laughs along the way. Although we talked about the Yellowjackets, we delved more deeply into why and how he parted ways with the band some eight years ago. Haslip has been producing records ...