Saturday, January 31, 2009

GigTips: February 2009

The last of the winter months is here, and unlike the last couple of years we have had a real winter in Prague. There has been a decent amount of snow and ice, and for a fortnight the temperature never threatened to rise above freezing. In a few weeks the warmer days of spring should be with us, but until then remember to wrap up well before you go out!

Our Tips for February begin at AghaRTA Jazz Centrum, home of the fun and funky Rhythm Desperados (24, 25/2). Playing original material and standards (their version of “Birdland” is a cracker) they combine excellent playing with showmanship and humour, producing a joyous evening of entertainment. Emil Viklický will be dropping through (13/2) to compensate for any misfortune that this unlucky Friday delivers, and woodwind master Jiří Stivín will be putting on two shows with auspicious numbering (2, 22/2).

The Robert Balzar Trio are also calling in twice at the USP Jazz Lounge (12, 28/2) as they prepare for their tour with guitarist John Abercrombie. The RBT have changed their set around a lot for 2009 and have a slightly harder edge thanks to such pieces as “Vinohradská Street 32” and “C.T.A”. Other notables at USP this month are the young guitarists Libor Šmoldas with his Quartet (7/2) and Adam Tvrdý with his Trio (25/2).

If you are in the mood for some blues then there’s always the Charles Bridge Jazz Club, where the Luboš Andršt Blues Band (7, 14, 15, 21, 22, 28/2) and the Alice Springs Blues Band (6, 13, 20, 27/2) come highly recommended.

Our final recommendation for February is the trio of Richard Bona, Steve Gadd, and Sylvain Luc. They will be at the Lucerna Music Bar (4/2) as the first act of the spring AghaRTA Prague Jazz Festival. World class musicians in a world class jazz city.

Please remember that all listings are subject to change so confirm with the venue to avoid disappointment. And please remember to tell them that you saw the gig listed on Prague Jazz!

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