PRAGUE JAZZ WEEKend 2014 – OLD TOWN SQUARE
free entrance

You are cordially invited to Prague Jazz Week, which is part of the 2014 AghaRTA Prague Jazz Festival. As in previous years, a whole range of local jazz groups, some of them the most popular in the twenty-three-year history of the AghaRTA club, will be presented this year in two open-air concerts on Old Town Square and at evening concerts in the AghaRTA jazz club. Looking forward to seeing you at the PJW.

Saturday, August 2, 2014

16.00 – 17.10  NOČNÍ OPTIKA  

Štěpán Zbytovský: flute; Miroslav Nosek: guitar; Jakub Dvořáček: piano; Jan Keller: bassguitar, cello; Jan Linhart: drums

Noční Optika (Night Vision) is made up of musicians whose starting point is jazz and classical music. The originality of this band is testified to by their special sound. ‘The result is a kind of outskirts or suburbs of jazz mainstream, which flashes with the feverish pulse of the metropolis and blows with breezes over the darkening surfaces of forest ponds. The meditations of the neurotic and the frenzied flight of the stoic blend together here in a herbarium of forgotten creatures’. You can find out for yourself by listening to their three albums, Herbarium, Strojek z půdy (Machine from the Attic), and Astigma - all on the Arta label.
 

17.30 – 18.40  ADAM TVRDÝ & AghaRTA Band

Adam Tvrdý: guitar; Ondřej Kabrna: piano; Vít Švec: double bass; Michal Hejna: drums

Adam Tvrdý is a guitarist and songwriter with an expressive multi-genre expression. In his interpretations and improvisations focuses mainly on his creative ideas while respecting the traditions and vocabulary of musical style. Adam's music could be described as contemporary or modern jazz, taking in her hear elements of style that is most affected (blues, classic rock, modern and classic jazz, latin music, classical music). The first  album "Doublewell" is proof of that, as well as "Suspicious Activities" recorded along with Brian Charette.
 

19.00 – 20.10  EMIL VIKLICKÝ TRIO

Emil Viklický: piano; Petr Dvorský: double bass; Josef Vejvoda: drums

The pianist Emil Viklický is a musician whose projects and albums include a wide range of musicians and genres. In regulary club perforomnces he will present the most intimate part of his current work. Accompanied by his long-term collaborators Viklický will play compositions from his latest album Ballads and More (ARTA Records).
 

20.30 – 21.40  PETR KROUTIL ORCHESTRA

Petr Kroutil: saxophone, vocal, guitar; Ondřej Kabrna: keyboards; Vít Švec: double bass; Michal Hejna: drums; Imran Musa Zangi: percussions

The group was founded around charismatic frontman, actor, sax player and singer Petr Kroutil. The success of TV series he perform in allowed him to go to USA, where he studied at Berklee College of Music. Later he soaked up musical impulses in Nepal. Since 2011 Kroutil regularly plays in Agharta with great reactions. His concert programme is sparkling combination of swing, smooth jazz, rock, pop and reggae. The show offering not only good music but also inteligent and spontaneous humor is absolutely unique in Bohemia. You can be sure of that by listening to the new album “Just The Way I Am“.
 

Sunday, August 3, 2014

16.00 – 17.10  AghaRTA GANG feat. ŠTĚPÁN MARKOVIČ

Štěpán Markovič – saxophone, Boris Urbánek – keyboards, Vít Švec  – double bass, Michal Hejna – drums

Random musical reunion of old friends in 2007 gave reason to the formation of a band that regularly performs predominantly in the AghaRTA jazz club. From Ostrava travels keyboardist Boris Urbanek, a distinctive personality of Moravian jazz, the initiator of the band, drummer Michael flocks played for the first time already in 1982 in his Jazz Laboratory. In the same year, Michal Hejna met with Štěpán Markovič in the very famous group, ESP, and in big band, Transjazz, with a fellow conservatory student Vítek Švec. In 2009, a recording called “There Is Hope” (ARTA Records) was done. There are songs from the days of Jazz Laboratory, Urbánek´s tune “The Golden Sunday” among others.
 

17.30 – 18.40  MATEJ BENKO QUINTET

Matej Benko: piano; Miroslav Hloucal: trumpet; Radek Zapadlo: saxophone; Rasťo Uhrík: double bass; Pavel Zbořil: drums

A pianist and outstanding composer, Matej Benko has for several years now been amongst the most distinctive jazz musicians of the young generation. Following on from the success of his trio’s debut album Universality is the disc Time Against Us, now with performances by a quintet. Its CD album "Time Against Us" is available at ARTA Records.
 

19.00 – 20.10  RHYTHM DESPERADOS

Boris Urbánek: keyboards; Michal Žáček: saxophone; Zdeněk Tichota: bass guitar; Michal Hejna: drums; Imran Musa Zangi: percussions

The club programme would not be complete without an appearance by the Rhythm Desperados, who play a combination of jazz, Latin jazz, and funk. The energetic appearances of this Ostrava- and Prague-based group at the AghaRTA Jazz Centrum always makes for an extraordinary experience, not only for the club-goers but also for the musicians themselves. In addition to the considerable interest in their album Volcano, the band can boast a successful tour this year in Mexico and New York.
 

20.30 – 21.40  MARKÉTA FOUKALOVÁ & MADFINGER

Markéta Foukalová: vocal; Viktor Jerman: guitar; David Walter: keyboards; Radim Genčev: bass guitar; Ondřej Pomajsl: drums; Radek Kašpar: saxophone

Na závěr přehlídky se na pódiu po delší době sejde popjazzová kapela Madfinger v původní sestavě se zpěvačkou Markétou Foukalovou. Jejich úspěšná alba Easy a Secret Massage už jsou několik let minulostí, stejně jako jejich pravidelná vystoupení v jazz klubu AghaRTA  v prvních letech provozu na nové adrese, tedy v Železné 16. To první bylo právě při otevření před deseti lety 29.9.2004. Markéta Foukalová se dnes věnuje především svým dvěma dětem a skupině Lanugo, Kapela Madfinger má za sebou odbobí se zpěvákem Martinem Svátkem. Pro AghaRTU je tento mimořádný koncert také velým „svátkem“ a věříme, že si jej nenecháte ujít, stajně jako ostatní koncerty.