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Jiri Hlavac's Quintet has specialized in blending classical and jazz music together since 1975. Their feeling is that baroque music and jazz music, although very different, have one important element in common: that of improvisation. The repertoire includes classical music that has been jazzed up, jazz music that's played classically, and original combinations that were written to be something in between the two genres. They common selections come from such composers as Monk, Brubeck, Hunrik, Hlavac, Solc and Dorhamm.

Irena Budweiserova is a favorite on the Prague jazz scene with her vibrant alto voice and pleasant disposition. While she doesn't have formal training, she has sung and performed theater since she was a little girl. She recently starred in the summer production of the musical, Bastard, at the National Theater in Prague - but she is best known as a member of the folk and gospel group, the Spiritual Quintet. She has been singing jazz since the 1980's as a solo artist as well, and in these performances she is backed up by her own quartet.

This fabled Prague band got its start in 1971, and while it can be said that they still play regularly, they usually perform semi-anonymously as the musical accompaniment to shows at the Labyrinth Theater rather than as C. K. Vocal. As the band's name suggests, their focus is on vocal harmony rather than instrumentals, and most of their songs have a jazzy flavor. They've been playing in almost their original configuration - except for Ladislav Kantor, who, after a brief stint as Director of the Czech Philharmonic, traded in his sheet music for position statements and is currently working for the Civic Democratic Alliance.

If you spotted David Doruzka in the street, you probably would not notice anything strikingly exceptional about him. In fact, you'd probably hardly notice him at all, since from the outside he looks like a perfectly ordinary teenager. But on the inside, he's a third-generation jazz musician who's not only following in his family's footsteps, but also fast outshining his elders. He's not just a good guitar player, he is a really good jazz guitarist, despite that his guitar is almost bigger than he is. Because of his age, he can't play on school nights - so watch for him on Friday and Saturday nights at Prague's jazz clubs.

While Prague's unpredictable weather can make an evening cruise on the Vltava (Moldau) river a chancy proposition, there is hardly a nicer way to see all of Prague's sites than by night from the water. Rest your weary sightseeing feet or give in to the music and let the traditional jazz band entice you to the dance floor. You'll find the same boat at the same time and at the same place, but featuring country music instead, each Tuesday.
Wednesdays, 6.30pm, the dock at Vyton (near the "Zelezni most" (railway bridge), tickets and information at Ceske pristavy, Strakonicka ulice, Prague 5, tel. 540 103, 548 315

Hana Hegerova was one of the big female vocal stars of the 1960's, and she still dresses like it. She, like songster Waldemar Matouska and songstress Eva Pilarova, also got her start at the Semafor Theater back in the heady days of the Prague Spring. But unlike most of her colleagues from those days, Hegerova doesn't sing folk songs. Rather, she sings songs in the classic chansons style, like her recent hit "Levandulova." She's got an interesting, throaty way of half-singing and half-reciting her songs, and gives concerts only occasionally, so any opportunity to see her perform should be taken.

Kloubkova claims that she inherited her tendency to be unlucky in love from her mother, whose three children were the products of three singularly unsuccessful unions. Musical talent, she says, also runs in her family - though she is the only one to pursue a musical career. She was intensely interested in music from an early age, and she "found herself" when she discoverd jazz in her early twenties. That was back in the early 1960's when the jazz scene here was still in its infancy - and so Kloubkova got the chance to perform with and get to know most of the greatest jazz musicians of Czechoslovakia. Nowadays, she's on her own as a solo artist. Plesk! is both the name of her supporting band and her most recent CD.

Kontraband is a grouping of 16 musicians with Prague jazzmeister Milan Svoboda at their head. Created in 1988, it won the Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad) Jazz Grand Prix that year, and the Dortmund Big Band Festival's first prize the year after. It's hard to categorize them into a particular style or genre of jazz - with so many members from different generations, they are equally at their ease playing dixieland or experimenting with modern jazz that borders on rock. The band's rather original sense of humor is reflected in their repertoire, which consists mainly of original compositions written by its members.

Born in 1939, Josef Krajnik studied music from boyhood. He entered the Prague jazz scene in 1958 with Dixie 24 and was one of the people responsible for the founding of Malostranska Beseda. He founded the Metropolitan Jazz Band in 1972 after a longish break from playing, although he still plays with other ensembles - like the Volf Jazztet or the Prague Swingtet - as well. He is without a doubt one of Prague's best trumpet players.The author of a number of arrangements as well as some original compositions, Krajnik's sound is colurful and rich, full-bodied and in the middle ranges has an exceptionally mellow tonality. Krajnik's style is improvisational and non-traditional and he has an exceptional sense of rhythm.

Martin Kratochvil is an estimable jazz pianist with a keen business sense. This happy combination led him to amass a respectible sum of money from his performances here and abroad even under the communists. When the old regime was swept away at the end of the 1980's, Kratochvil succeeded in parlaying that tidy sum into an even more respectible fortune, and he is today the proud owner of an airport, several factories, and many similar trifles. He enjoys performing very much, but does so only rarely for lack of time. His collaboration with American Tony Ackerman, a jazz guitarist, goes back more than a decade. The twosome play popular jazz that most everyone can get into, and the combination of piano with guitar lends an unusual and interesting twist to old favorites.

This jazz orchestra, a perennial favorite in Prague, was started about twenty years ago by five young musicians - today the orchestra numbers some 16 musicians of all generations. They play jazz at its most classic - "hot dance" and those "wild syncopated sounds" of the roaring 1920's. They are careful to reconstruct the tunes as they were actually played back when jazz was young, and play in period dress. This makes them something of a world rarity - as perhaps the only jazz band on the globe that specializes in "historical" music.

One of Prague's most popular classic dixieland jazz bands, the Steamboat Stompers have been around since 1968. Their special blend of traditional favorites - mixed in with the occasional Czech tramp song or other Czech speciality - along with their entertaining showmanship have made them popular favorites at home and abroad since then. The band is currently made up of clarinet, trombone, piano, banjo/guitar, drums and bass - and probably their only weakness is when singer/violinist Antonin "Tony" Brych attempts to sing scat.

Jiri Stivin "is such a superb musician only because he is so juvenile - so much so, that it's almost disgraceful." This according to the jazz bandleader's own mother, actress Eva Svobodova. In his own defense, Stivin says that he is "playful" rather than childish, and that whatever he is, his mom certainly had a lot to do with it - and she agrees. In any case, it's certain that he loves what he does and that he lives life to the fullest - the same way that he plays jazz. Known the world over not only for his music, but also his amazing ability to play virtually any wind instrument, Stivin can be found leading his band at a number of Prague's favorite spots.

"Nahoru po schodiste dolu" band. Hard to believe they have been around since 1983, when they were one of the most modern czech rock bands. Their music has elements of reggae, czech folk music, and tramp songs - with an emphasis on rhythm and lots of satirical lyrics.

A jazz pianist and the President of the Czech Jazz Society, Viklicky's interpretations of mostly modern pieces combine jazz and Moravian folk elements to create a singular style and sound. Though he's played with musicians from around the world, he treats each of his concerts at home almost as a special project - and so the show is always enjoyable, but never the same thing twice.

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