WORLD PREMIERE

Michael Mantler is one of the world's greatest living legends of avant-garde jazz. He has worked closely with the likes of Carla Bley, Cecil Taylor, Roswell Rudd, Robert Wyatt or Jack Bruce. Mantler’s piece SONGS was written specifically for our festival and will be premiered here. Mantler will perform his piece alongside a leading contemporary musician Gareth Davis and a Czech ensemble assembled specially for the occasion.

SONGS

For solo bass clarinet and trumpet, vocal and brass ensembles, and pitched percussion.

Using texts by Samuel Beckett, Ernst Meister, Giuseppe Ungaretti, and Michael Mantler

Michael Mantler – trumpet

Gareth Davis – bass clarinet

Marko Ivanovic – conductor

Martin Opršál – marimba, vibraphone

Barbora Jirásková – soprano

Jana Vondrů – soprano

Elmaz Mrkvickova – alto

Annabelle Plum – alto

Jan Mikušek – countertenor, tenor

Vojtěch Šembera – baritone

Štěpán Janoušek – bass

Ladislav Kozderka – trumpet

Jan Přibil – trumpet

Jiří Tarantík – French horn

Bohuslav Tuma – bass trombone

Jiří Genrt – tuba

CZECH PREMIERE

Jelena Kuljić – vocals

Kalle Kalima – guitar

Frank Möbus – guitar

Christian Lillinger – drums

KUU! walks a road paved with two guitars: Frank Möbus strumming delicious notes of raindrops and guitarist Kalle Kalima as if carving the air itself out of a dream. The magnificent jazz-punk cascades of drummer Christian Lillinger - arguably the greatest figure in contemporary European jazz - are complemented by vocalist Jelena Kuljić singing with a voice of steel and dark chocolate. Their music is its own theatre, a hectic modern noir drama. Music you haven't heard before and should!

kuu-music.com

facebook.com/KUU-246020555467714/

instagram.com/kuuband/

David Dorůžka – guitar

Piotr Wyleżoł – piano & synths

Jeff Ballard – drums

During the pandemic, three old friends – stars of world jazz – started a band with the intention to explore new possibilities of sound and to express rhythm and harmony in completely novel ways. Although David Dorůžka, Piotr Wyleżol, and Jeff Ballard have known each other for many years, they joined forces for the first time in the spring of 2021. They are all co-writers of the music they perform. The band's sound relies heavily on analogue electronic instruments, simple melodies, and complex grooves. Their focus is on combining old and new sounds and approaches and creating a unique fusion that characterizes today's world.

CZECH PREMIERE

Luise Volkmann – compositions, altosax, flute

Casey Moir – vocals

Laurin Oppermann – vocals

Conni Trieder – flute

Peter Ehwald – tenorsax

Rémi Fox – baritonesax

Johannes Böhmer – trumpet

Carla Köllner – trombone

Johanna Stein – cello

Athina Kontou – bass

Yannick Lestra – piano

Paul Jarret – guitar

Max Santner – drums

A wild force, passion, and complete fearlessness, like birds forming their flocks. Luise Volkmann builds on the sentiments of the so-called '68 generation and on 1970s rock music. The strange mixture of young rebellion, spontaneous activism, and existential pressure moves her to this day and has inspired her to create the music for this original large ensemble.

A little jazz, a little rock and roll, wild, mischievous, spontaneous, and virtuosic!

luisevolkmann.com/
facebook.com/etelarge
instagram.com/rock.etelarge/

CZECH PREMIERE

Ingebrigt Håker Flaten – acoustic bass

Oddrun Lilja – guitar, vocals

Joakim Rainer Petersen – piano, keys

Olaf Olsen – drums, percussion

Atle Nymo – saxophone

Mette Rasmussen – saxophone

Erik Kimestad – trumpet

The journey of Ingebrigt Håker Flaten, bassist and composer known for his collaborations with virtually every famous free-jazz musician of the world, could be described as an odyssey on a classic Viking ship called "Knarr". Håker Flaten uses his project (Exit) Knarr to tell his story. The piece visits six destinations that each pay homage to the various people, music, and places that have shaped the artist. The octet is comprised of well-known Scandinavian musicians and presents an astonishing whirlwind of energy and emotion.

CZECH PREMIERE

Signe Emmeluth – sax, compositions

Karl Bjorå – guitar

Ole Mofjell – drums

Christian Balvig – piano

This quartet reaches new heights and depths through experimentation, exploration, and risk-taking. Signe Emmeluth, a young saxophonist, is known as one of the most original fresh voices of the Nordic scene. She has won several prestigious awards in recent years and performs regularly at major jazz festivals across Europe. Her Amoeba plays provocative, breath-taking, and emotionally gripping music that will win over every heart.

facebook.com/emmeluthamoeba

WORLD PREMIERE

Luise Volkmann – saxofon

Kateřina Vacková – zpěv, kontrabas

Milan Jakeš – housle

Miloš Kunc – klavír

Jakub Švejnar – bicí

We once again present our festival’s residency project. The project invites five talented young musicians who come together in Hradec to create over the course of several days a unique piece. This year also welcomes a special guest, a renowned German saxophonist Luise Volkmann.

Tomáš Liška – acoustic bass

Efe Turumtay – violin

Kamil Slezák – drums

Nikola Zarić – accordion

This mature original music mixes elements of jazz, chamber music and world-music from the South Sea and South-Eastern regions of our continent. Instead of solo exhibitions, the band’s offers purity and clarity. It lets a rich palette of moods percolate from strong melodies around which the players gracefully glide with relaxed improvisation. That's how light the music feels. Invisible World has performed at jazz and world music festivals around Europe, Africa, and Japan. The band won the Anděl Award in the jazz category for their latest album Hope.

invisibleworldmusic.com
tomasliska.com
facebook.com/invisibleworldmusic

Anežka Matoušková – vocals

Jana Havláková – violin

Kateřina Vacková – vocals

Jan Michálek – saxophone, violin

Jan Pudlák – piano

Klára Pudláková – acoustic bass

Jakub Švejnar – drums

The seven-piece band Uthando embodies the themes of life and love. The group originated from strong friendship bonds in the fall of 2019. That’s one of the reasons why its name means Love in the language of the Zulu people. Uthanda’s music is colourful and captivating. It shows life clearly with its pathos, tragedy, humour, depth, and diversity - simply every facet that the musicians of the band of love find important.

facebook.com/UthandoJeLaska

Michael Chomiszak – trumpet

Matěj Šmíd – trombone, vocals

Jan Pospíšil – clarinet, saxophones

Vojtěch Pospíšil – clarinet, saxophones

Jiří Gilík – piano

Pavel Jurečka – acoustic bass, sousaphone

Antonín Dlapa – guitar, banjo, percussions

Tomáš Mika – banjo

The Original Prague Syncopation Orchestra is Czechia’s leading professional orchestra, dedicated to authentic interpretation of early American jazz, blues, and dance music of the 1920s. Using period instruments, original techniques, and sophisticated arrangements, this orchestra is considered one of the most stylistically faithful.

opso.cz
facebook.com/OriginalPragueSyncopatedOrchestra

Vít Hoigr – drums

František R. Václavík – guitar

Zdeněk Závodný – saxophones

The music of the band Frisk is like a neat canoe rental that’s been robbed. Someone had broken into the Sunday river place, robbed it, trashed it, smashed it. Trees on the shore broken, a lock busted with an axe, all canoes flipped over and full of holes, the mooring pillar collapsed, battens out of screws. Buried under piles of paddles, buckets, boat seats, and sponges. 

frisk.band