FACE OF THE BASS

Sts. Simon and Jude Church

January 6

Jazzbos Honzák, Nejtek, Bárta and Vícha.

Skates were the way to go in Old Town last night, as freezing rain glazed the cobblestone streets and sidewalks with treacherous black ice. The atmosphere was much more welcoming at Sts. Simon and Jude, where bassist Jaromír Honzák played a tasty set with his quartet, Face of the Bass.

Honzák is the latest in a long line of stellar bass players from the Czech Republic, a group that includes international stars George Mraz and Miroslav Vitous, and current homeland favorites Pavel J. Ryba and Robert Balzar. An alum of Berklee College of Music in Boston, Honzák runs the jazz department at the Jaroslav Ježek Conservatory in Prague while composing and fronting several groups. Face of the Bass is the most experimental, with fellow composer and modern music aficionado Michal Nejtek on keyboards, and versatile sidemen Marcel Bárta on horns and Roman Vícha on drums.

The group has great range, segueing smoothly from free-floating, asymmetrical rhythm and melody lines to jazz standards with straight-ahead verses and solos, often within the framework of a single song. They played mostly compositions by Honzák and Nejtek Thursday night, with contrasting detours into Eric Dolphy and, of all things, ABBA. Structurally, their own pieces were simple, largely repeating phrases with a lot of breathing room that gave the players a chance to show what they can do.

Honzák is an artist on his instrument, using a variety of fingering techniques and wielding his bow like a paintbrush, creating vivid aural colors. Watching him play is like going to a master class, though it’s much more satisfying to sit back, close your eyes and let the rainbow of sounds take you places. Were it not for the tone, you could be listening to a violinist playing intricate and imaginative improv.

The opening piece, “Majesty Time” by Honzák, set the basic template: long, atmospheric melody lines laid down by Bárta on bass clarinet or soprano sax, with the other players providing smart fills and lush accents that grew into individual solos and, occasionally, all four musicians jamming together. That was rare. The group favors a sophisticated form of improvisation bordering on free jazz, which usually has one or two players maintaining a basic rhythm line while the others soar into contrasting keys and complementary time signatures. When it works, it’s heady and stimulating fare.

Two pieces, Nejtek’s “Night” and Honzák’s “Mysterious Face,” worked very well strung together in that framework. So did Honzák’s “If,” which featured a soulful bass solo. Bárta pulled some impressive squawks, moans and screams out of his horns for Eric Dolphy’s “Hat & Beard,” a piece stylistically very close to the group’s own repertoire. And who would have thought that ABBA’s “Dancing Queen” could be translated into a slow, engaging jazz ballad? Bárta left the stage for that song, as if the thought was too much to bear. But if Charlie Parker could make a jazz classic out of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “My Favorite Things,” the pop possibilities are endless.

The only down note of the evening was the sound. Visually, Sts. Simon and Jude offers an enchanting performance space. But the acoustics have vexed more than one group, including classical choirs. For a small jazz ensemble, it’s almost hopeless; the sound breaks up quickly, and the drums tend to overwhelm everything else, even with a soft touch like Vícha’s. Miking and balancing all the instruments might work, but as it was, only two instruments were plugged in last night – the bass and a supplemental keyboard. As a result, many of the fine points of the performance were lost, in particular some flashy solos by Bárta.

But give the programmers at the Prague Symphony Orchestra credit for including a jazz combo in their chamber music series, especially this one. Honzák is an interesting composer and player who deserves to be seen and heard. The music can be challenging – but then, so can getting to the venue.

For more about:

Jaromír Honzák: http://www.jaromirhonzak.com/en/news

Chamber music at Sts. Simon and Jude: http://www.fok.cz/en/chamber-series-08-09.html

COLLEGIUM 1704

Sts. Simon & Jude Church

December 31

What better way to ring in the new year than with Händel’s glorious Messiah? Collegium 1704 served up a fiery performance of the popular oratorio Friday night that brought a capacity crowd to its feet and lent a radiant glow to the frosty streets of Old Town.

Conductor and artistic director Václav Luks led a group that was ideal for the sanctuary space at Sts. Simon and Jude – 20 musicians, 16 choral singers and four soloists. The sound was rich and full, yet perfectly clear. And there was no cutting corners with content. The ensemble performed the complete work, which with intermission runs nearly three hours. It was a wonderful opportunity to hear and appreciate the full piece, especially given the high caliber of the performance.

Luks set a brisk tempo with the opening “Sinfonia,” seguing quickly to the prophecy of salvation, sung by tenor Eric Stoklossa. He proved to be the most versatile singer of the cast, taking full advantage of the ornamentation possibilities in the score. The chorus followed, sounding perhaps the best that it has all year, vibrant and spirited without losing any of the complexity or nuances of the music. Luks is masterful at drawing out the subtleties of anything he conducts, while giving free rein to vocals that seem to soar heavenward. In this performance, the male voices, which provide an earthly anchor for the divine sopranos and altos, were particularly good.

The other soloists were uniformly strong. Marián Krejčík showed surprising range for a bass singer, and excellent diction. Soprano Alena Hellerová and alto Markéta Cukrová were also strikingly fluent with the English-language text. Hellerová has a fine facility for Baroque phrasing, and Cukrová offered her usual combination of sensitive expression and technical skill.

One of the hallmarks of Collegium 1704’s sound is its balance, which is a challenge in this work. Typically, the chorus runs away with the piece, especially in the signature “Hallelujah” movement. Luks managed not only to keep the instruments and vocals in balance, but create a dialogue between the two, giving the piece fluidity and momentum without sacrificing any of its riveting singular moments. The sweep of music with those kind of dynamics is irresistible, and made the three hours pass quickly.

The other intangible that Collegium 1704 brings to the early music repertoire is its exuberance, a sense of joy and spontaneity that transcends anything on the printed page. This was in full bloom Friday night, evident in everything from the smiles on the violin players’ faces to the energy of the music as it burst from the stage like a shower of confetti and balloons. There are other ways to interpret the Messiah, but it would hard to surpass this one for emotional power and eloquence.

So it seemed only natural that, as the echoes of a “Hallelujah” encore reverberated through the church, the audience rose to its feet with a wave of applause and cries of “Bravo!” Prague audiences will give a standing ovation to almost anything these days, but this one was honestly earned and well-deserved. Luks and his ensemble provided an effervescent start to the new year, and may have spoiled their fans. Future New Year’s Eves will seem paltry indeed without an inspired performance like this one.