Article: The Prague International Jazz Festival
What next for the Prague International Jazz Festival?
Can a classic form satisfy the hip-hop generation?
True to tradition, jazz marked the end of autumn in Prague, with one of the oldest European jazz festivals held this year from Nov 24 to Dec 5. The Prague International Jazz Festival (Mezinárodní jazzovýfestival Praha) is celebrating its 32nd anniversary year, and visitors enjoyed an eclectic collection of music by jazz musicians from many
countries and cultures, in four famous musical venues: Reduta Jazz
Club, Retro Music Hall, Rock Café, and the Kostel u Salvátora.
These days the festival features a mix of jazz, blues, gospel,
and gypsy influences, according to its organizers; this year started
with the Kočani Orchestra (Macedonia) with gypsy tunes from the
Balkans, and Turkish and Bulgarian rhythms “and a sprinkle of Latin
flavor.” The last evening showcased the High Praise Gospel Singers
(USA), a classic gospel choir.
But whether, and to what extent, the Prague International
Jazz Festival will excel over the “purer” jazz of previous festivals in
communist times remains to be seen. Ivan Letov, who was present
at the inception of the original festival, told us that the golden age of
jazz in the Czech capital has passed the zenith of its former glory.
Iron Curtain” jazz festivals in the 1960s required a certain amount of pomp and decorum … not to mention suits and ties.
The Iron Curtain paradox
One of Europe’s oldest jazz festivals and the oldest Czechoslovak
festival was founded by a group of jazz lovers led by musicologist
Lubomír Dorůžka, according to Mr Letov. Jazz tunes were played
at the Prague International Jazz Festival in the time of deep
communism in 1964. This era also saw the start of other famous
jazz festivals, the North Sea Festival in The Hague, and the Swiss
Montreaux. Surprisingly, the Prague festival, in its time, attained the
same quality.
Paradoxically, communist Czechoslovakia had a few advantages
compared with its western counterparts. Although jazz, like
everything else that came from the West, was disliked by the
previous regime, and all of the visiting foreign artists were carefully
vetted, the organizers managed to get several world-class artists to
play at the festival.
Letov (left) enjoys a post-Revolution concert with British government minister Tony Baldry
In the view of the communist regime, jazz, the music of Afro-
Americans, was a positive exception among musical styles. The
communists sympathized with the “oppressed black race” and
allowed such stars as Duke Ellington and Count Basie to perform.
“The performance of an American jazzman turned into a
‘manifestation’ (a kind of political demonstration). People were
thrilled. It was a light in that dark tunnel. It gave people a lot of hope,
joy, and contact with the otherwise inaccessible West,” Mr Letov, an
erstwhile organizer of Pragokoncert, the original sponsor, said.
The financial terms were also unique. In an effort to brighten
the lives of people trapped behind the Iron Curtain, the artists often
agreed to perform for incredibly low prices – by Western standards,
not necessarily by Czechoslovak ones. Pragokoncert at the time
belonged to the Ministry of Culture, and the question of finances
was not crucial.
Photos courtesy of Ivo Letov and Prague International Jazz Festival
“There was no limit to finances appropriated for the Jazz Festival.
It sounds ironic, but the artists were cheap, Pragokoncert was rich,
and whenever anyone came from the West, the public was ecstatic,” Mr Letov says, recalling Prague’s golden era.
Ray Charles and the tractor
There are many anecdotes to back up what he says. One of the
funniest supposedly occurred during Count Basie’s performance
at the Lucerna venue, when the famous, but modestly clad, artist
couldn’t get through the throngs of people standing in line for the
hopelessly sold-out concert. In the end, with great difficulties, he
was plucked from the crowd and gave one of the most beautiful
concerts in the history of the festival. Basie would give his musical
partner Oscar Peterson a melodic theme, to which he had to answer,
in the classic “call and response” style characteristic of traditional
black churches.
A performance by Tony Scott also attests to the popularity of jazz
at those times. Swept up by the passion of the audience, he would
not tear himself away from his saxophone until the wee hours, and
almost braved a conflict with the police.
There was even a small problem with Ray Charles, who
unexpectedly brought along bigger sound equipment than he had
originally announced. The organizers had no choice but to haul it all
from the airport to Lucerna in an agricultural cooperative tractor.
“The atmosphere of those communist era jazz festivals was
simply turbulent, dynamic, and compelling. Today it’s just jazz,” Mr
Letov sighs.
The hunt for sponsors
After the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1994, Pragokoncert became
a private company (Pragokoncert Bohemia) and many things
changed. The Ministry stopped subsidizing the festival and the
time of sponsor-hunting ensued. The performers’ paychecks rose
to world- standard levels but the Czech public suddenly had access
to other musical trends. In the beginning, the festival continued to
maintain its size, but there were fewer big stars attending.
The solution to the reduced finances was to concentrate on
European jazz in all of its variations. Of course, the exception proves
the rule. Last year the famous Grammy Award winner Dee Dee
Bridgewater gave a performance of a mix of jazz and world music
along with young musicians from Mali.
“The honorary consul for Sicily, Andrea Marchione, gave a solo
performance on the English horn,” Mr Letov said, adding that all of
the consuls who had been invited cheered and were very glad that
one of their ranks knew how to play the English horn.
Endorsement of individual festivals by various prominent
public figures has also gained in significance over the years. In the
years following the revolution, such prominent individuals as the
well-known jazz lover Václav Klaus, Culture Minister Pavel Dostál,
and British government minister Tony Baldry, who celebrated his
wedding anniversary there, have endorsed several festivals.
Jazz and the Young Generation
In the last few years, the festival has been pursuing other genres
in addition to jazz. The organizers are trying to attract the attention
of the young generation who don’t consider jazz to be their only
gateway into the world of music anymore.
This is partly reflected in the use of venues that don’t have much
to do with jazz – this year, in the world/punk music Retro Music
Hall, hard rock music Rock Café, and in the U Salvátora Church, in
addition to its traditional spot at the Raduta Jazz Club. But Reduta
is one of the oldest jazz clubs in Europe, and still the main venue of
the festival; it famously hosted Bill Clinton, who accompanied the
performing band on his saxophone. He even got then-president
Václav Havel up on the stage.
Tomáš Baran of Pragokoncert Bohemia confirmed that foreigners
make up the bulk of the audience now. In general, jazz is much
more popular abroad than in this country. Concerts are sold out
immediately to young and older enthusiasts. According to Mr
Letov, jazz in other countries is considered a prestigious cultural
activity, whereas in the Czech Republic it is only for a small group of
enthusiasts who like to get together to chat and drink, but certainly
don’t consider it to be a great social event.
The jazz scene still has a place in the Czech Republic, however.
The high number of jazz festivals such as the Agartha Jazz Festival,
the Karlovy Vary, and Hradec Králové festivals attests to this. Contrary
to many rock festivals, jazz festivals have a long tradition and rarely
disappear after the first year.
The Jazz Festival’s ability to improvise a broader repertoire
for younger, changing audiences will help determine whether
it will enjoy a healthy,
long life with staying power for the
next generations.
