Kalemegdan Disk - ROCK FROM EASTERN EUROPE

Studio Budíkov Release Information

One Christmas, sometime in the early 1990s, I wanted to take a break from listening to jazz and jazz rock, so I put an album called “Vánoční písně a koledy” (Christmas Songs and Carols) into my CD player.

The arranger of this superbly recorded big band project of traditional Christmas carols was Milan Svoboda, already a renowned musician and composer at the time, who had his own band of outstanding jazz musicians. Not a Christmas goes by without me playing this musical treat again. I always look forward to it more than to “Rybovka” (Bohemian Christmas Mass by Jakub Jan Ryba).

Many years have passed since then, I have recorded many albums and films; I even started arranging my own pieces for the Czechoslovakian Radio Jazz Orchestra, for which I received a scholarship at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. A few years later, Milan Svoboda also arrived there. Although we had the same teachers at Berklee, Milan achieved true mastery in arranging and instrumentation, which he proved in his subsequent work with his own big bands, school bands, and other ensembles. I didn’t sit idle with Jazz Q either, as evidenced by a series of albums including Znovu, Talisman, Amulet, Siločáry, Rituál, and others.

It is therefore almost logical that my musical journey had to succumb to the lure of the beauty of big band sound and the poetry of broader harmonies.

I originally called Milan with the idea of doing the same thing with my compositions as he had done with the Christmas carols; to reharmonize them and, with a creative approach, orchestrate them into “modern” music. Milan tried it, but after a while he said that it would be better to build on the soloist tradition of Jazz Q and adapt the language of the new arrangements to that. That’s what happened in the end, and Svoboda’s selection of ten songs from about fifty semi-finalists saw the light of day.

Recording an album with a big band can be financial suicide. If you want to avoid it, there is only one recipe: choose the best musicians from the best, who will play their parts almost perfectly the first time, with the precision and jazz feeling that the originals require. It is not possible to spend months in the studio and ruin the budget. Milan recommended recording the project in sections to a pre-recorded rhythm track. This might take away some of the spontaneity of the “tutti playing”, but it adds significantly to the precision. It also means that large sections of the compositions do not have to be repeated over and over again because of a small mistake.

Svoboda’s presence had a beneficial effect on the musicians he had selected, and the work went quite well. Segment by segment and note by note, the magnificent sound of acoustic instruments and the power of a large orchestra began to take shape. Once the basic outlines of all the compositions had been recorded, it was time for the Jazz Q musicians to take their solos. Even at this point, there were pitfalls lurking: the excess of possible colors, especially of the keyboard instruments, could have unnecessarily diluted the classic sound of a jazz big band. However, over the years, the band had become accustomed to the electric Fender piano and the basic sound of the minimoog, so they stuck with this limited combination, enriched only slightly by the Nord Stage synthesizer. Zdeněk, however, pulled out a whole battery of electric guitar sounds, among which the distorted 'Mahavishnu' sound was dominant. “We won’t let rock ’n’ roll take away our jazz-rock sound,” the Jazz Q musicians thundered in unison.

With short intervals, the whole project began to take shape during the mixing process. Even then, opinions on the final form of the individual songs were not unanimous. However, the author of the arrangements, Svoboda, arrived to prevent arguments between the musicians and the recording engineer Matěj. He wisely declared: “Either way, anything is possible.” There is no single recipe for a big band mix. Different paths can lead to a good result.

And so, over the course of almost six months, new forms of old compositions were born.

“Darmošlap” (The Idler), the opening track of the album “Talisman” (Talisman), also opens “Oxymoron” (Oxymoron). This ancient Greek word, often translated as “contradiction”, perfectly captures the mood and contrast of the entire album. Harmonically, “Darmošlap” is somewhat reminiscent of a twelve-bar blues, but the solos are generally more open. The Fender rolls over the big band accompaniment, and the guitar is more jazzy in the solos.

“Stínohra” (Shadowplay) from the LP and CD “Znovu” (Again) is another very jazzy composition in lyrical form, beautifully underscored by a big band score. The guitar and minimoog play poetic solos, while Přemysl Faukner’s bass guitar softly complements the melody.

“Zlý sen” (Bad Dream) was once sung by Jana Koubková with Jazz Q. The simple African-American harmony is the ideal backdrop for improvisation on the Fender electric piano and guitar. The song can also be heard with just Tony Ackerman and Imran Musa Zangi on the LP and CD “Letopis” (Chronicle).

“Závrať” (Vertigo), an acoustic ballad from the album “Znovu” (Again), played only as a duet by Ackerman and Kratochvíl, underwent a fundamental change in the big band arrangement. The guitar figure is orchestrated for trombones, with the melody played by a minimoog and guitar. In the middle, the harmony thickens with a progression of diminished chords in the spirit of John McLaughlin.

“Ortel” (The Verdict), also originally from the album “Talisman” (Talisman), is a harmonically rich jazz ballad with a theme played on the flugelhorn, further enriched by Milan’s arrangement. The aggressive middle section with its dysfunctional harmony contrasts with the dreamy minimoog solo and expressive guitar. The band’s special arrangement is also rich, with precisely articulated percussion by Filip Jeníček.

“Divoženka” (Wild Woman) was recorded acoustically on the album “Letopis” (Chronicle). It is based on a simple piano riff and clear pseudo-blues harmonies. Milan’s contribution as an arranger is the complex band special.

“Madona” (Madonna) from the LP “Hodokvas” (Feast). If anyone asked me which of my compositions I value the most, I would probably say “Madona”. There is a humorous anecdote from a recent Jazz Q concert in Slovakia. In Banská Bystrica, I was approached by one of the connoisseurs of our discography and a lover of the song “Madona”. He announced that he was founding a society in Slovakia of enemies of any instrumentation of “Madona” other than the original from “Hodokvas” with František Francl and Láďa Padrůňek. The song was written while I was still studying in Boston and was dedicated to my teacher Gary Burton. Perhaps our strict fan from Bystrica will listen to this version, too :-).

“Zloprcek” (The Imp) – a dynamic piece opening the LP and CD “Siločáry” (Power Lines). The rhythmic flow is brilliantly interrupted by a big band special played in unison.

“Kabrňák” (Hotshot) is a pseudo-twelve-bar boogie with an added beat in the second bar of each four-bar segment. It constantly throws you off rhythm if you try to dance to it, and its irregular form makes it difficult to improvise. A bit cheeky and reckless music!

“Šerosvit” (Chiaroscuro) from the LP “Hodokvas” (Feast) is a majestic composition inspired by Mahler’s Ninth Symphony. The middle section is rhythmically very different from the introduction and is improvised consecutively by Zdeněk Fišer and me. The composition is introduced by a Fend figure in F sharp major and makes good use of the supposed openness of this tonality.

I wish all listeners a pleasant time with our music!

Martin Kratochvíl

Tracklist

1. Darmošlap / The Idler 5:47
2. Stínohra / Shadowplay 7:07
3. Zlý sen / Bad Dream 6:28
4. Závrať / Vertigo 6:05
5. Ortel / The Verdict 6:05
6. Divoženka / Wild Woman 5:34
7. Madona / Madonna 7:52
8. Zloprcek / The Imp 4:16
9. Kabrňák / Hotshot 5:45
10. Šerosvit / Chiaroscuro 7:26