Twenties

Double bassist Jaromír Honzák, one of the key figures on the Czech jazz scene and the recipient of five Andel Awards for the best jazz album of the year, many of whose projects have been the pride of the Animal Music catalogue, releases a new studio album, "Twenties". The recording features regular members of Honzák's band, all eminent Czech jazzmen: David Doruzka (guitar), Vít Kristan (keyboards), Lubos Soukup (saxophone, clarinet, flute), and Martin Novák (drums and percussions). "Twenties is the third album recorded with the same line-up; with musicians who have known me for quite some time and who can understand me. The intention (perhaps I should say intuition) here has been to give vent to the various influences and impulses I've encountered on my musical journey, including the more recent ones, such as my fascination with medieval music and early polyphony, and earlier ones based on my relationship with electric jazz, fusion, and pop music. At the same time I felt the urge to somewhat lighten and quieten my music, so instead of intricate metre you get simple melodic lines, instead of carefully composed passages there is free improvisation. Yet, this is no revolution; merely another step in a life-long quest for my music. None of this would be possible without my band and colleagues who turned my often rather vague ideas into beautiful sounds. The overall sound of the album owes a lot to Vít Kristan's incredibly refined sense of the keyboards and electronic effects," says Jaromír Honzák of the new album.