Interlude: Vampi Czech-In, part 1

It’s been a long time in the making… Almost two years, to be precise. So, in case you were already wondering what the author of this blog has been doing during the past twelve months, here it is:

On October 5, 2009, Vampisoul Records is releasing the first two compilations conceived, researched, selected, compiled, documented, designed and laid out by yours truly…

Ne! The soul of Marta Kubišová
Vampisoul VAMPI 114 (2LP) + VAMPI CD 114 (CD digipak)

Tracks: Tak dej se k nám a projdem svět, Svlíkám lásku [sample], Já tu s tváří neměnnou, Bílý stůl, Tvůj krém tvůj nůž tvůj růženec (You Came You Saw You Conquered), Kdo ti radu dá, Tajga blues ’69, Hare Krišna (Hare Krishna), Chci právo trubky mít, Legendy, Já cestu k tobě najdu si, Tys bejval mámin hodnej syn, Ne, Jakoby nic, Nepiš dál, Ten zlej páv, Modrej vřes, Zlý dlouhý půst, Ten druhý v nás, Balada o kornetovi a dívce, Na co tě mám, Vrba, Pojďte pejskové, Nejsi sám kdo doufá (Face It Girl It’s Over), Červencové ráno.
Featuring Marta Kubišová with the Golden Kids Orchestra, Mefisto, Waldemar Matuška and others. Twenty of these songs are being reissued on vinyl for the first time.
From our promo material: “Marta Kubišová was the most popular Czechoslovak female singer of the late 1960s, heading for an international career but banned by the communist regime until 1989. Compiled from the Supraphon archives, this 1966–1970 selection focuses on her roughest songs, with plenty of fuzz guitars and funky beats, punchy horns and razor-sharp organs underlying her deep and soulful voice.”

The funky way of Emil Viklický
Vampisoul VAMPI 115 (2LP) + VAMPI CD 115 (CD digipak)

Tracks: Trochu funky (The Funky Way), Týden (Week), Ještě jednou slunce (Once Again Sun), Květen (Maytime), Kam s tím blues (Chega de Saudade), 70. východní (East 70th Street), Boston, Zelený satén (Green Satin), Hromovka (Thunderhouse) [sample], Země plná lásky (A Land Full Of Love) [sample], Zase zapomněli zavřít okno (They’ve Left The Window Open Again), Siesta, Jumbo Jet, Ráno (Part 1 Kash Edit) (Morning).
Featuring Viklický/Frisell/Driscoll/Johnson, Karel Velebný’s SHQ, Eva Svobodová, Energit, Emil Viklický Studio Big Band. All tracks are being reissued on vinyl for the first time, SHQ and Eva Svobodová also for the first time on CD. Four tracks by Emil’s big band are even previously unreleased!
From our promo material: “Emil Viklický is one of the most renowned Czech jazz musicians and composers. This focused-on-funk selection was recorded between 1975 and 1987 in Czechoslovak studios. Be it with the legendary SHQ or with Energit, accompanying Eva Svobodová, conducting a tight studio big band or collaborating with fellow Berklee College students Frisell/Driscoll/Johnson, Emil knows how to funk up his keys all the way through.”

All tracks have been carefully digitally remastered from 24-bit transfers of the original analog master tapes by fellow blogger and “anti-loudness-warrior” Ian Shepherd.

The records should be available in good record stores near you. In case you should have difficulties to obtain them, be it on vinyl or CD, please let me know.

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Interlude: Emil Viklický Trio

Your feedback, dear reader, is always a great thing and it encourages me to continue with my work. And when the feedback comes from one of the actual protagonists of this blog, I couldn't be honored more: Emil Viklický has e-mailed me recently and he was very pleased about my positive review of his album Okno (Window). In the e-mail dialog which followed he has provided some more background informations about the album; I'll be adding the new facts to the original entry soon.

Since I'm in Prague again these days, Mr. Viklický has kindly invited me to his gig in the legendary Reduta Jazz Club yesterday (if you click on the Reduta link, that's actually him on their homepage!). Thus not only I had the opportunity to enjoy his stellar trio with ex-Impuls František Uhlíř on double bass and with the legendary mid-1960s SHQ drummer Laco Tropp (don't worry, he will be featured on Funky Czech-In, too), but also to talk to them about this and that after the concert. And since it became quite late, Mr. Viklický was even so kind to drive me home with his car... Unbelievable! Thank you, Emil!


Emil Viklický Trio live in Reduta Jazz Club, Prague, yesterday evening: Emil Viklický, František Uhlíř, Laco Tropp (photo: © 2007 Lukas Machata / Lou Kash)

I've also learned that Emil Viklický has a large archive of master tapes, which have never been released on records yet. In the 1980s he has composed and arranged lots of big band stuff which he recorded in the Czechoslovak Radio studios either with JOČR (Jazz Orchestra of the Czechoslovak Radio Prague) or with ORO (Ostrava Radio Orchestra which basically consisted of members of Flamingo). I've heard some samples - fantastic big band jazz-funk, if you ask me! Mr. Viklický was quite surprised to hear that there still exists a market for this kind of music. So: If you have an idea how to bring these recordings to the public, don't hesitate to contact me! There shouldn't be any legal hurdles since Mr. Viklický owns all publishing rights to this material.

~

Another feedback I've received some time ago came from former Crystal leader Jaroslav Nevrkla. He then e-mailed me the whole Crystal story, thus I will be able to update my post with first hand informations. Many thanks, Jaro!

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Half Czech-in, part 1

Emil Viklický - Trochu funky (The Funky Way) [sample]
from album "Okno", 1980, Supraphon 11152754
composed & arranged by Emil Viklický, produced by Antonín Matzner


original LP sleeve (front/back)

Welcome to the Half Czech-In, an irregular "sub-series" of Funky Czech-In posts, devoted to international funky outings with some sort of Czech or Slovak participation - or vice versa. There are quite a lot of records to choose from, so besides of less known or even absolutely obscure names (Gyulli Chokheli, anyone?) you can also expect to meet renown artists like Jan Hammer jr. or Miroslav Vitouš as well as a couple of their even more famous international colleagues.

This first example comes from the second solo album by jazz pianist Emil Viklický. You might have already seen that name on this blog, he was the keyboard player on Energit's first record. He played with Karel Velebný's SHQ and was a member of the legendary Klávesová konkláva (The Keyboard Conclave); both groups will be covered in future posts. For more details check out Viklický's English biography. Besides of that, he was also one of those few lucky guys who were allowed to study in the U.S. in the seventies, where he spent a year at the Berklee College of Music. Back in Prague, in the summer of 1979 some of his new friends from the States dropped by to say hello: guitarist Bill Frisell, bass player Kermit Driscoll and the ex-Stark Reality drummer Vinton Johnson. The result of that short visit was the album Okno (The Window).

"Trochu funky" actually means "A little bit funky". But I'd say that the track is funky a lot, thus the English title The Funky Way seems more appropriate. One highlight is certainly Johnson's extensive drumming. Watch out for two long breaks which should please all samplaficionados out there. On the other hand, Viklický's melodies borrow a lot from Moravian ethnic music and that joyous nature fits quite well with the disco beat. And although I don't find the tune arrangement and structure as exciting as it could have possibly been, this kind of fusion makes it still quite distinguishable from similar international disco-jazz productions of that era. The rest of album continues in a similar funky fusion vein, except for one ballad.

The record doesn't fall behind if you compare it with its more famous western competition, although at some points it sounds slightly "underproduced" to me. You should check out this Bill Frisell discography page, it tells Viklický's background story why the recording sessions had to be finished in less than two days; it may sound quite absurd to you, but those things that he's talking about were typical for the era of normalized socialism... Anyway, some more clever arrangements or perhaps a horn section here and there wouldn't have hurt. Because in fact, Trochu funky has been re-recorded by Kamil Hála with the Czechoslovak Radio Jazz Orchestra (JOČR) in 1982, entitled Quasi opus pro big band č. 17, released by Panton on the obscure compilation series Matiné populární hudby (a.k.a. Týden nové tvorby). The big band arrangement definitely works, although in that tune the JOČR rhythm section sounds really tired in direct comparison to the original raw drive of the Johnson/Driscoll funk machine.

Okno is without doubt one of the funkiest original albums that ever came out on a Czechoslovak record label. The recordings have been reissued on CD in 1997, but as you might have guessed: deleted from the catalogues, not available for order, out of print. Sometimes it's still available on eBay though. I've also seen second hand vinyl quite cheap from Slovakia.