Emil Viklický – V Holomóci Městě…

One of the most important jazz album in Czechoslovakia. Emil Viklický becomes very important pianist of modern era of jazz in Central Europe. His list of colaborations with many jazz musiacians from all over world is impressive. The folk inspired, concept jazz albums from Eastern Bloc are rare. Viklický took inspirations from Moravian folk songs. You can listen them from "unplugged" almost jazz-rock fusion Kašny or solo piece Jestřáb with "sweet" sound of piano or Školní výlet with colourful picture of instruments. The band nicely uses tempo changing, intensity of sound and of course malodies. They solos are outstanding, they listen they each other. They sounds perfect also in dialogs. Message of this album is based on folk melodies beautifuly incorporated to songs like Střechy with atmosphere from late 60´s or sensibile Epilog with title melody which gave the name of the album. The sound of album determines the recording set up during couple of days in Domovina studio. Sometimes the instruments sounds flat (Domovina was high roof/theatre shaped studio excellent for chamber orchestra), but very natural nuanced especially piano and violin. Pressing from that era has high quality also with sexy tape bliss. Must have record.

Supraphon Release Information

Three major albums of Emil Viklický are to be released on two independent compact discs. The solo debut, V Holomóci městě (In the City of Olomouc), recorded in 1977, is supplemented with a bonus, Suite No. 2 for Piano. The CD Okno a Dveře (Window and Door) encompasses all the recordings made by Emil Viklický in June 1979 with his American team made up of Bill Frisell, Kermit Driscoll and Vinton Johnson, which originally formed the 1980 independent album Okno (Window) and the first half of the 1985 disc Dveře (Door).

Emil Viklický began playing jazz in the mid-1960s while attending the Olomouc Grammar School. He drew attention to himself in 1974, when he joined Karel Velebný’s SHQ and afterwards became a member of the jazzrock band Energit. He soon gained recognition abroad, too (following his victory in the 1976 jazz pianists competition in Lyon). A milestone in his work was the album V Holomóci městě, reflecting Moravian folk melodies. In addition to renowned jazzmen (the guitarist Luboš Andršt, the double-bassist František Uhlíř, the percussionist Milan Vitoch), also featured on the album is the violinist Jan Beránek, a member of the State Brno Philharmonic Orchestra. Affinity to folk music would seem to usher in Viklický’s later successful collaboration with Zuzana Lapčíková and Jiří Pavlica.

In the autumn of 1977, Emil Viklický left to study at the Berklee College of Music in Boston for a year, where he established many useful contacts whose fruit was a 70-minute recording made with three American friends of his: fresh electric funk-influenced jazz, replete with ideas and instrumental brilliance. At the time, the guitarist Bill Frisell was far from being the jazz superstar he is today, but he gave a superlative performance nevertheless. All the recordings are carefully digitally remastered from the original tapes, with the pieces from the album V Holomóci městě being released on CD for the very first time.