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A fresh blast of brass

A cool ride to hot music and family fun in Pardubice
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By Darrell Jónsson
For The Prague Post
June 11th, 2008 issue

COURTESY PHOTO
Horn players from Prague jazz bands get a chance to loosen up in the Bucinatores' free-form collaborations.
Pardubice Islands Festival


June 11-14
Bucinatores
When: Friday, June 13 at 4:30
Where: Tyršovy Gardens(Tyršovy sady)
Admission: 100 Kč; full festival pass, 350 Kč; children under 10 free
For more information, check www.ostrovy-islands.cz (Czech only)

If you’ve been looking for an excuse to try the Czech Republic’s high-speed Pendolino train, and pick up some cultural fun along the way, then the Pardubice Islands festival this weekend may be just the ticket. All it takes is a cool one-hour ride from Prague.
For three days, Pardubice’s urban forest, known as the Tyršovy gardens, and the city’s central square will host an array of theater performances, concerts, puppet shows and circus antics. Esoteric tastes will likely be satisfied by the experimental film and art exhibits, while a flea market, rock ’n’ roll, jazz and children’s entertainment will be in swing for general audiences. For more energetic festival-goers, there will be pétanque lawn bowling workshops and dancing in the park long past the midnight hour.
Although the fun starts Wednesday, any of the festival’s three days of cultural street action, concerts and celebration have plenty to offer. Arriving early and staying late might be the best advice, as well as checking the festival’s Web site (in Czech only, unfortunately) for last-minute updates. Friday the 13th will be the luckiest day for brass music fans, with the festival’s biggest blast being provided by Prague’s best-kept brass secret, the Bucinatores.
When drummer Roman Vícha says, “I like working with the Bucinatores because there isn’t another band in Prague like them,” he is correct in identifying not only the Bucinatores’ distinctive sound, but also its modus operandi. Rather than simply being a slice off the old brass music block, the Bucinatores are an experiment that includes some of Prague’s best horn players, who are dedicated to breaking new brass ground. Founded in 2003, the Bucinatores have pursued the evolution of Bohemian brass music with a blend of Habsburg and First Republic-era funk, New Orleans legacy, well-tempered avant-garde histrionics, all creatively spiced with splashes of classical color.
These elements come into play in the compositions of the Bucinatores’ fearless bandleader, Jan Jirucha. His experience in alternative rock and contemporary jazz produces music that is as artful as it is accessible. As Bucinatores saxophonist Petr Kalfus explains, “We are all professional jazz musicians who work in other groups, and we all grew up playing polka or what people think of as brass band music. But this is something completely different.”
That difference draws on a wide array of influences. With heroes that range from Led Zepplin’s John Bonham to jazz sophisticates like the Brecker Brothers, each of the Bucinatores’ expert players brings what Kalfus calls “their fresh and unique ideas back into the group.” The result is Prague’s finest example of brass invention.
After the Bucinatores, the fun will continue with Zuboly from Hungary, which plies its own twisted yet elegant montage of ethnic folk and jazz music. After more shows and sideshows, the day will culminate with what is billed as an “elektro-flash rave” in the park.  
Those who party all night (or who manage to get their families downtown the next morning) can start again at 1 p.m. Saturday, when the Fairy Tale Jukebox Theatre will provide renditions of favored local lore. Other events during the day promise everything from “pushing the limits of waltz” to explorations in martial arts children’s theater to the rare and exquisite performance art known as “punk pantomime.” While the festival promoters would not promise that “whatever happens in Pardubice stays in Pardubice,” the artful humor of the festival should put smiles on quite a few faces.
 

Darrell Jónsson can be reached at features@praguepost.com


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