Music from Czech Republic

Mountain Call by bassist Miroslav Vitous with Michel Portal, Jack DeJohnette, Esperanza Spalding, Bob Mintzer, Gary Campbell and Gerald Cleaver, recorded in Prague between 2003 and 2010. ECM, 2026.

Finnish multi-instrumentalist Simo Hakalisto makes mosaic music of strings, bowls, bells, reeds, wind, water, and obscure electronics, threaded in subtle currents of color and texture. The title of his latest, Toinen Luonto (Finnish for “second nature”), alludes equally to Shakali’s earthen, tactile soundworld and Hakalisto’s deepening comfort with his craft. The album’s eight songs feel coaxed as much as composed, a web of resonances set in motion and allowed to simmer, build, or billow. Vibrat…

1954 LP on Columbia with Foss' cantata for tenor, narrator, chorus and orchestra plus two other orchestral works composed in the 1940/50's.

Definitive 1965 recording of the avant-garde quarter-tone opera by the Czech composer composed in 1929, released as a 2LP box set by Supraphon in 1974. With insert.

A cycle of cantatas composed in the late 1950's by the Czech composer and released as a 2LP set with spiral-bound book sleeve by Supraphon in 1968.

The six sonatinas for piano composed in 1919/20 by the early modernist Czeck composer and released as a 2LP box set by Supraphon in 1970. With insert.

Pieces for Broken Piano turns a weather‑wrecked 1916 Gebrüder Stingl grand into an accidental “prepared” instrument, as Miroslav Beinhauer navigates new works by Terry Riley, Philip Glass, Milan Knížák, Gordon Monahan, Elliott Sharp, Milan Gustar and Yoon‑Ji Lee written specifically for its fractured voice.

"Metsä henkii" (Finnish for "The Forest Breathes") is a captivating 7-inch vinyl EP by Finnish multi-instrumentalist Simo Hakalisto, aka Shakali, released in 2024 via Stoned to Death Records. Based in Brno, Czechia, Hakalisto crafts immersive electro-acoustic soundscapes blending ancient and modern elements, evoking the subtle rhythms of nature like fungal networks and whispering pines.

Originally released in 1972, bassist Miroslav Vitouš’s acclaimed album Mountain in the Clouds returns to the spotlight as a remixed, expanded edition of his influential 1970 debut, Infinite Search. Widely celebrated as a seminal document in the birth of jazz-fusion, this recording chronicles the early, creative explosion of a new musical era. With Mountain in the Clouds, Vitouš pushes the limits of jazz bass, blending lyrical improvisation and experimental technique to striking effect. The album…

Aurinkopari plays with polarities as it seeks to find something celestial in the mundane. The brightest sound of the album is captured in the darkest night of the year. Sine waves, scaled according to old wartime engineers, are performing as a magic flute. A hydrophone detects other-worldly sounds of a drowning compost and a ceremonial Javanese gendèr is recorded in a bunker… While the processes of recording the album were often playfully esoteric, I think the music itself is warmly heartfelt.

*In process of stocking.* Terrific session originally licensed on Japanese indie label Nivico in 1970. Recorded at Victor Studio, Aoyama Tokyo 11 September, the album is the essential work of four wicked minds. Saxophone player Steve Marcus has been cutting his teeth in late sixties with the Jazz Composer's Orchestra, while Miroslav Vitous was the former bass player in jazz-rock pioneers Weather Report. Sharrock is still considered one of the most original player in creative music, his guitar pl…

** Edition of 65 ** Shakali's first album 'Petojen Tavat' was recorded during 2016-2020 in Imatra (Finland) and Brno (Czech Republic). Enigmatic ambient works with a dreamy tribal essence. “These contemplative psychedelic tracks were recorded layer by layer, peacefully over the years, in the nighttime, with a focus on preserving their original energy and character. Set in circular motion with solar-powered synths, prepared flutes, tapes, percussion, electric violin, field recordings and modular …

Duo album by Miroslav Vitous (double bass) and Jan Garbarek (tenor and soprano saxophones), with seven Vitous compositions and two joint improvisations. Recorded February 1992 at Rainbow Studio, Oslo, produced by Manfred Eicher.

Third ECM album by Miroslav Vitous's quartet, with John Surman (reeds), John Taylor (piano) and Jon Christensen (drums), recorded at Talent Studio, Oslo, in July 1982, produced by Manfred Eicher and released in 1983.

Cooperative trio of Terje Rypdal (guitar, guitar synthesizer, organ), Miroslav Vitous (double bass, electric piano) and Jack DeJohnette (drums), recorded in June 1978 at Talent Studio, Oslo, produced by Manfred Eicher. First released 1979.

Miroslav Vitous revisits Weather Report repertoire with a sextet of two saxophonists (Gary Campbell, Roberto Bonisolo), two drummers (Gerald Cleaver, Nasheet Waits) and keyboards. Recorded 2010-2011 at Universal Syncopations Studios, Clavesana.

Miroslav Vitous (double bass, compositions, arrangements, production) with a shifting ensemble including Randy Brecker, Bob Mintzer, Gary Campbell and Gerald Cleaver, plus orchestral and choral samples. Recorded 2004-2005 in Clavesana, Italy. CD, ECM 2013.

Miroslav Vitous's 2003 ECM album with Jan Garbarek, Chick Corea, John McLaughlin and Jack DeJohnette, plus a brass trio on three tracks. Recorded March 2000 to March 2003 at Universal Syncopations Studios and Rainbow Studio, Oslo.

Chick Corea, Miroslav Vitous and Roy Haynes reunited in 1981: trio and duo improvisations plus seven Thelonious Monk pieces, recorded November 1981 at Mad Hatter Studios, Los Angeles, produced by Manfred Eicher. Originally a double album (ECM 1232/33, 1982), here on one CD.

Second album by the trio of Terje Rypdal (electric guitar, flute), Miroslav Vitous (bass, piano) and Jack DeJohnette (drums, voice), recorded in January 1981 at Talent Studio, Oslo, produced by Manfred Eicher and released by ECM in 1981. CD edition.