Jazz heard round the world

Jazz comes to Žižkov on two consecutive nights next week in various shades of exotica. On Sunday, Avishai Cohen (from New York and Israel) comes to town with his group of Israeli players, Eastern Unit. And, Monday, Tony Lakatos (from Hungary) performs with a group of mainly Brazilians.

Most of Cohen's quartet were with him in Prague last April, including pianist Shai Maestro, percussionist Itamar Doari and the charming vocalist Keren Malka. A new addition is Amos Hoffman on oud (a Middle Eastern predecessor to the lute).

Last year, Cohen brought his Vocal Project - a nine-member Israeli jazz ensemble playing ritualistic Middle Eastern jazz chants combined with ethno-pop rhythms and harmonies. The petite Malka, singing liturgical-sounding vocals in both Hebrew and English, practically stole the show before a sold-out audience.

Cohen has been a rising star for the past few years, and his recent signing to Blue Note Records (EMI, France) solidifies his new stature in the jazz world. His first release on this esteemed label was recorded in December last year, with an expected release this spring.

Saxophonist Lakatos, among the best-known players on the contemporary Hungarian jazz scene, is currently leading a tribute to Antonio Carlos Jobim (1927-94), the eminent Brazilian composer and one of originators of the bossa nova sound.

Lakatos comes from a line of old Hungarian-Gypsy families that have centuries of a respected musical tradition to carry on. But, as a jazzman first and foremost, modern jazz improvisation is his guiding light, while allowing him to sneak in his much-loved Gypsy music influences. In the liner notes for his album Gypsy Colors (2005), Lakatos suggests that these two worlds of music aren't that far apart from one another.

It is hard to disagree with Lakatos, with songs like "Bebop Csardas" combining fast-paced Hungarian Gypsy dance music with bebop scat vocals and Lakatos' blazing saxophone. On "Gypsy Colors," Lakatos plays solely with younger Gypsy musicians, including some family members.

However, for this show in Prague, Lakatos will be with Brazilians Juliana Da Silva (vocalist), Zelia Fonseca (guitar) and Angela Frontera (percussion), with Italian David Petrocca on acoustic bass - and they will be playing only the inimitable music of Jobim, which is to say, the universal soundtrack for young or most first-time lovers around the world.

Jobim is best-known for his soothing and melodic bossa nova classics, including "The Girl from Ipanema" sung by Astrud Gilberto. However, since Stan Getz played tenor saxophone on the original recordings of Jobim's songs, they are often wrongly credited only to Getz and Joao Gilberto (a vocalist, guitarist and husband of Astrud). And so, in paying full respects to both Jobim and Getz, Lakatos has a tall order.

His Brazilians players are thus imperative for this project. After all, bossa nova was not only influenced by the softer, more delicate harmonies of Getz, but also the faster and often furious Afro-Brazilian sambas and languid ballads in Portuguese folk music. Guitarist Fonseca and percussionist Frontera both integrate all of these styles wholeheartedly.

As interpreted by Lakatos, with his own Gypsy music influences, Jobim's songs are a bit faster - more up-to-date, and, perhaps intentionally, even danceable.  According to Petrocca, "The Jobim project started as an idea of Juliana Da Silva and Lakatos, but we all have known each other for over 10 years, and have been playing together for at least five years with this project, but also in many other projects. At the least, we love the music of Jobim very much!"

Take your pick of Lakatos's hot-blooded tropical sound or Cohen's cool, cerebral jazz. Both shows should be sublime.

Tony Ozuna can be reached at
features@praguepost.com