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August 28th, 2008
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Women making waves

A week of new music from the country's best young jazz artists
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By Darrell Jónsson
For The Prague Post
August 6th, 2008 issue

COURTESY PHOTO
Pianist Beata Hlavenková fronts a quartet that features a pedal-steel guitar player.
Agharta Prague Jazz Week


Best Czech Keyboard Players
When: Saturday, Aug. 9, starting at 2 p.m.
Where: Old Town Square
Admission: Free

Popular Agharta Bands
When: Sunday, Aug. 10, starting at 2 p.m.
Where: Old Town Square
Admission: Free

Young Women in Jazz
When: Aug. 11-16
Where: Agharta Jazz Centrum
Admission: 200 Kč at the door

For a complete schedule, check www.agharta.cz
Zuzana Kopáčová
Pavla Milcová
Agharta’s upcoming summer festival provides a chance to experience some of the old and new in Czech jazz. Artists with reputations built over the last three or four decades, such as Luboš Andršt, Jiří Stivín and Emil Viklický, will mix their ensembles with a program that includes young artists poised to make their mark in the new millennium.  
The first part of the festival offers two nights of free music on Old Town Square. On Saturday, Aug. 9, a lineup of “the best Czech keyboard players” features Ondřej Pivec’s Organic Quartet chasing his Hammond B3 inspirations and the Viklický trio performing selections from their recent CD Ballads and More (ARTA Records). Other groups performing that night include the Slovak-born Matej Benko and his Quintet, the Vít Švec Trio and a group of Agharta club regulars led by saxophonist Štepán Markovič.
Andršt’s burning guitar riffs will launch Sunday night’s free outdoor jazz action, followed by sets from popular Agharta acts Madfinger, the Rhythm Desperados, the František Kop Quartet and Jiří Stivín.
On Monday the music moves to the Agharta jazz club on nearby Železná street with the weeklong series “Young Women in Jazz.” Appropriately opening the first night will be the fresh and promising Beata Hlavenková and her Quartet.
Hlavenková is a shining example of the young regional artists who are taking a detour from jazz standards and braving their own compositions. Immediately after completing her studies at Ostrava’s Janáčkova Konservatoř with her debut symphonic work Three Times About the Same Thing, she moved on to the University of Massachusetts’ jazz composition program at Amherst.
Speaking of the Amherst contribution to her musical path, Hlavenková says, “For the first time in my life, I had good instructors for improvisation. Over there, they have systems for working with it — that sort of thing is just starting here. The other thing was that I could meet with great jazz musicians who were giving master classes and/or lecturing as artists in residence.”
Among the artists Hlavenková compared notes with were Danilo Perez, Dave Berman, Ray Hargrove and Yusef Lateef. Although all these luminaries contributed to her musical growth, the most concrete lesson she learned at Amherst, Hlavenková says, is timing. “Timing to me is what distinguishes good musicians. They can have the same licks, but if the timing or rhythm isn’t right to the jazz feeling, then it doesn’t move me. So I practiced and focused on rhythm.”
Hlavenková returned to the Czech Republic in 2004 and co-founded the jazz project S’aight. Their eponymous CD (with Czech 2HP productions) opens with Hlavenková’s spiritually alive and masterful piano-based composition To Petra. At the Montreaux Jazz Festival in 2005, S’aight combined forces with their peers in Vertigo Quintet for a well-received performance.
Since then, Hlavenková has been involved in array of projects, including “Eternal Seekers” with Lenka Dusilová and the jazz and classical ensemble Clarinet Factory, and work with rock singer Katka Šarközi and country singer Věra Martinová. This winter she is looking forward to her debut CD [on the new Czech jazz label AnimalMusic.EU], which will include sessions with Canadian trumpeter Ingrid Jensen. And arriving full circle with her symphonic work, she’s currently planning a project with the Vertigo Quintet, Jaromír Honzák and other jazz artists collaborating with the Prague Chamber Philharmonic orchestra.
For Monday’s gig at Agharta, Hlavenková will be backed by contrabassist Rasťo Uhrik, drummer Dano Šoltis and local pedal-steel guitar player Pepa Štepánek. When asked what pedal-steel guitar has to do with her jazz and classical background, Hlavenková admits, “Well, I like country music too. Also, I’ve heard Brian Blade’s drummer’s group Fellowship, and I love the way he combines pedal steel and jazz.”
As always, the artistry of veterans can be a moving experience. But when it comes to moving music forward a few notches, Hlavenková and her fellow young players in the festival should have some very interesting ideas to offer.

Darrell Jónsson can be reached at features@praguepost.com


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