Emil Viklický Trio

Emil Viklický is a key player on the Czech jazz scene. Apart from playing with his own bands, he also worked with Karel Velebný´s SHQ, the Prague Big Band, the Czech Radio Jazz Orchestra and the Super Quartet with Jiří Stivín. In the late 1970´s Viklický went to the renowned Berklee College in Boston to study, developing some very valuable musical friendships in the process.

Upon his return, Viklický recorded a number of albums with his new friends, prominent American jazz musicians: A Window and A Door with the quitarist Bill Frisell, Together, a piano duo with James Wiliams, Midgets with Joe Newman, Magic Eye with Scott Robinson, and others.

Viklický´s suite, Homage to Joan Miro, recorded with the Talich Quartet and presented also at the Prague Spring Festival with the British multi-instrumentalist John Surman and Kyncl´s quartet, was received with equal interest both at home and abroad. Viklický´s project Ad lib, with Zuzana Lapčíková and Jiří Pavlica with whom he has already performed in Japan and the USA, is of a long term character.

The latest significant achievement of Emil Viklický´s was in chamber music, where he attracted great attention with an album called Homage to Josip Plečnik, on which his compositions are performed by number of renowned artists and formations, most notably Magdaléna Kožená, Jana Boušková, Jan Adamus or the Trio Martinů. At present, Emil Viklický´s trio comprises the drummer Laco Tropp, a veteran of the Czechoslovak jazz scene, and double bass player František Uhlíř.

Apart from its regular program AghaRTA Jazz Centre organizes the Annual AghaRTA Prague Jazz Festival featuring distinguished artists, such as The Brecker Brothers, Chick Corea, Candy Dulfer, Jan Garbarek, Diana Krall, Branford Marsalis, Wynton Marsalis, John McLaughlin, Pat Metheny, Oregon, Maceo Parker, Courtney Pine, John Scofield, Wayne Shorter, Spyro Gyra, McCoy Tyner, Miroslav Vitous, Mark Whitfield, Yellow Jackets.