Miroslav Ladislav Vitouš (born 6 December 1947) is a Czech jazz bassist.

Biography

Born in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

, Vitouš began the violin at age six, switching to piano after about three years, and then to bass at age fourteen. As a young man in Europe, Vitouš was a competitive swimmer. One of his early music groups was the Junior Trio with his brother Alan on drums and Jan Hammer on keyboards. He studied music at the

Prague Conservatory The Prague Conservatory or Prague Conservatoire ( cs, Pražská konzervatoř) is a music school in Prague, Czech Republic, founded in 1808. Currently, Prague Conservatory offers four or six year study courses, which can be compared to the level ...

under František Pošta, and won a music contest in Vienna that gave him a scholarship to the

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cou ...

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of musi ...

saw Vitouš playing with

Clark Terry Clark Virgil Terry Jr. (December 14, 1920 – February 21, 2015) was an American swing and bebop trumpeter, a pioneer of the flugelhorn in jazz, and a composer and educator. He played with Charlie Barnet (1947), Count Basie (1948–51), Duke ...

in 1967 and invited him to join his group in New York City. Vitouš recorded his debut album ''

Infinite Search ''Infinite Search'' is the debut album by Czech jazz bassist Miroslav Vitouš. It was released in 1970 by Embryo Records. The same album has been released under three different titles. The second is ''Mountain in the Clouds'' a later remixed and e ...

'' for

Embryo An embryo is an initial stage of development of a multicellular organism. In organisms that reproduce sexually, embryonic development is the part of the life cycle that begins just after fertilization of the female egg cell by the male sperm ...

(later issued on

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

as ''Mountain In The Clouds'') in 1969 with Joe Henderson, John McLaughlin,

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he hel ...

Jack DeJohnette Jack DeJohnette (born August 9, 1942) is an American jazz drummer, pianist, and composer. Known for his extensive work as leader and sideman for musicians including Charles Lloyd, Freddie Hubbard, Keith Jarrett, Bill Evans, John Abercrombie ...

, and Joe Chambers. In 1970, he also recorded ''Purple'' for

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...

with McLaughlin, Billy Cobham and

Joe Zawinul Josef Erich Zawinul ( '; 7 July 1932 – 11 September 2007) was an Austrian jazz and jazz fusion keyboardist and composer. First coming to prominence with saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, Zawinul went on to play with Miles Davis and to b ...

. In 1970, he was a founding member of the group

Weather Report Weather Report was an American jazz fusion band active from 1970 to 1986. The band was founded in 1970 by Austrian virtuoso keyboardist Joe Zawinul, American saxophonist Wayne Shorter, Czech bassist Miroslav Vitouš, American drummer and voca ...

. There's some dispute over how Weather Report initially formed. According to Zawinul, it began when he and Shorter recruited Vitouš, who had previously played with each of them separately. According to Vitouš himself, it was he and Shorter who actually founded Weather Report, with Shorter bringing in Zawinul afterwards. Whichever story is true, it was those three musicians – all composers – who formed the initial core of the project. Vitouš and Zawinul experimented with electronic effects pedals (as generally used by rock guitarists) with Zawinul using them on electric piano and synthesizers and Vitouš on his

upright bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

(which he frequently bowed through distortion to create a second horn-like voice). Vitouš and Zawinul eventually found themselves at creative loggerheads, since the former preferred Weather Report's original approach and the latter wished to continue further along the road to funk. Retrospectively, Zawinul accused Vitouš of being unable to play funk convincingly (something which Greg Errico corroborated) and claimed that he had not provided enough music for the band. Vitouš countered that he had in fact brought in compositions, but that Zawinul had been unable to play them. Vitouš has also accused Zawinul of having been "a first-class manipulator" primarily interested in commercial success. When Shorter sided with Zawinul, the original three-man partnership broke down acrimoniously and Vitouš left Weather Report, moving on to an illustrious career leading his own band and winning respect as a composer.Prasad, Anil
"Miroslav Vitous: Freeing the muse"
Innerviews webzine. 2004. Vitouš was replaced by

Alphonso Johnson Alphonso Johnson (born February 2, 1951) is an American jazz bassist active since the early 1970s. Johnson was a member of the jazz fusion group Weather Report from 1973 to 1975, and has performed and recorded with numerous high-profile rock ...

in 1973, later stating "I enjoyed the beginning of it very much, but it turned into a little bit of a drag in the end because Joe Zawinul wanted to go in another direction. The band was seeking success and fame and they basically changed their music to go a commercial way into a black funk thing". He also felt aggrieved financially, commenting "I was an equal partner and basically, I didn't get anything. We had a corporation together that was completely ignored. If you have a company and three people own it, and then two people say 'Okay, we don't want to work like this anymore. It's just two of us now', normally, they break down the stock and pay off the third person". Roy Haynes Quintet 1981

In 1981, Vitouš performed at the Woodstock Jazz Festival held in celebration of the tenth anniversary of the Creative Music Studio, and in 1984 he collaborated with Stanley Clarke.1984 Sydney Town Hall, producer Ian Davis (ABC radio) In 1988, Vitouš moved back to Europe to concentrate on composing but nonetheless continued to perform in festivals. In 2001, Vitouš reunited with

Chick Corea Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea (June 12, 1941 – February 9, 2021) was an American jazz composer, pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and occasional percussionist. His compositions "Spain", "500 Miles High", "La Fiesta", "Armando's Rhumba", and " ...

and Roy Haynes, with whom he had recorded Corea's album ''

Now He Sings, Now He Sobs ''Now He Sings, Now He Sobs'' is the second album by Chick Corea, released in December 1968 on Solid State Records. It features Corea in a trio with acoustic bassist Miroslav Vitouš and drummer Roy Haynes. It was later reissued on CD by Blue Note ...

'' in 1968, for a concert in a series entitled "Rendezvous in New York" in celebration of Corea's 60th birthday. The album of the same name came out in 2003 and earned Corea a Grammy Award for Best Improvised Jazz Solo for the composition "Matrix". He has also worked with

Larry Coryell Larry Coryell (born Lorenz Albert Van DeLinder III; April 2, 1943 – February 19, 2017) was an American jazz guitarist. Early life Larry Coryell was born in Galveston, Texas, United States. He never knew his biological father, a musician. He w ...

, Jan Garbarek,

, Freddie Hubbard,

Herbie Mann Herbert Jay Solomon (April 16, 1930 – July 1, 2003), known by his stage name Herbie Mann, was an American jazz flute player and important early practitioner of world music. Early in his career, he also played tenor saxophone and clarinet (inc ...

, Michel Petrucciani, Terje Rypdal, and

Wayne Shorter Wayne Shorter (born August 25, 1933) is an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Shorter came to prominence in the late 1950s as a member of, and eventually primary composer for, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. In the 1960s, he joined Miles Dav ...

Discography

As leader

* 1969: ''

'' (Embryo, 1970) * 1970?: '' Purple'' ( CBS/Sony, 1970) – in Japan only * 1976?: ''Magical Shepherd'' (Warner Bros., 1976) * 1976?: ''Majesty Music'' (

Arista Arista may refer to: Organizations *Arista Networks, a software defined networking company *Arista Records, an American record label, division of Sony Music **Arista Nashville, a record label specializing in country music *Arista (honor society) ...

, 1976) * 1977?: ''Miroslav'' (Arista/Freedom, 1977) * 1978: ''Guardian Angels'' with George Otsuka,

John Scofield John Scofield (born December 26, 1951), sometimes referred to as "Sco", is an American guitarist and composer whose music over a long career has blended jazz, jazz fusion, funk, blues, soul and rock. He first came to mainstream attention in ...

Kenny Kirkland Kenneth David Kirkland (September 28, 1955 – November 12, 1998) was an American pianist and keyboardist. Biography Early life Born in Brooklyn, New York, United States, Kirkland was six when he first sat down at a piano keyboard. After years ...

, Mabumi Yamaguchi (Trio, 1979) * 1979: '' First Meeting'' (

ECM ECM may refer to: Economics and commerce * Engineering change management * Equity capital markets * Error correction model, an econometric model * European Common Market Mathematics * Elliptic curve method * European Congress of Mathematics ...

, 1980) * 1980: '' Miroslav Vitous Group'' (ECM, 1981) * 1982: '' Journey's End'' (ECM, 1983) * 1985: ''

Emergence In philosophy, systems theory, science, and art, emergence occurs when an entity is observed to have properties its parts do not have on their own, properties or behaviors that emerge only when the parts interact in a wider whole. Emergen ...

'' (ECM, 1986) * 1992: '' Atmos'' with Jan Garbarek (ECM, 1993) * 2002: '' Universal Syncopations'' (ECM, 2003) * 2004-05: '' Universal Syncopations II'' (ECM, 2007) * 2006-07: ''Remembering Weather Report'' with

Michel Portal Michel Portal (born 27 November 1935) is a French composer, saxophonist, and clarinetist. He plays both jazz and classical music and is considered to be "one of the architects of modern European jazz". Early life Portal was born in Bayonne on 2 ...

(ECM, 2009) * 2010–11: ''Music of Weather Report'' (ECM, 2016) * 2016: ''Live at NOSPR'' with Adam Pierończyk (Jazz Sound , 2019) – live * 2016: ''Ziljabu Nights'' (Intuition, 2016) * 2016: ''Ad-Lib Orbits'' with Adam Pierończyk (PAO, 2017) * 2018: ''Moravian Romance'' with

Emil Viklický Emil Viklický (born 23 November 1948) is a Czech jazz pianist and composer. Career Viklický was born in Olomouc. He graduated from Palacký University in 1971 with a degree in mathematics. As a student, he devoted a lot of time to playing ...

(Venus, 2018)

As a member of
Weather Report Weather Report was an American jazz fusion band active from 1970 to 1986. The band was founded in 1970 by Austrian virtuoso keyboardist Joe Zawinul, American saxophonist Wayne Shorter, Czech bassist Miroslav Vitouš, American drummer and voca ...

* ''

'' (Columbia, 1971) * ''

I Sing the Body Electric "I Sing the Body Electric" is a poem by Walt Whitman from his 1855 collection '' Leaves of Grass''. The poem is divided into nine sections, each celebrating a different aspect of human physicality. Its original publication, like the other poems ...

'' (Columbia, 1972) – recorded in 1971–72 * '' Live in Tokyo'' (CBS/Sony, 1972) * '' Sweetnighter'' (Columbia, 1973) * '' Mysterious Traveller'' (Columbia, 1974) – recorded in 1973–74

As sideman

With Roy Ayers * '' Stoned Soul Picnic'' (Atlantic, 1968) * ''All Blues'' (Columbia, 1969) * ''Herbie Mann Presents Comin' Home Baby Roy Ayers Quartet 1'' (Columbia, 1969) * ''Unchain My Heart'' (Columbia, 1970) With

* 1968: ''

'' (

Solid State Solid state, or solid matter, is one of the four fundamental states of matter. Solid state may also refer to: Electronics * Solid-state electronics, circuits built of solid materials * Solid state ionics, study of ionic conductors and their u ...

, 1968) * 1968–70: '' Circling In'' ( Blue Note, 1975) * 1981: '' Trio Music'' (

, 1982) * 1984: ''

Trio Music Live in Europe ''Trio Music Live in Europe'' is a live album by pianist Chick Corea with bassist Miroslav Vitous and drummer Roy Haynes recorded in Switzerland and Germany in 1984 and released on the ECM label.

'' (ECM, 1986) * 2001: '' Rendezvous in New York'' ( Stretch, 2003) With

* ''

Spaces Spaces may refer to: * Google Spaces (app), a cross-platform application for group messaging and sharing * Windows Live Spaces, the next generation of MSN Spaces * Spaces (software), a virtual desktop manager implemented in Mac OS X Leopard * Spac ...

'' (Vanguard, 1970) - recorded in 1969 * '' Planet End'' (Vanguard, 1975) * ''

Dedicated to Bill Evans and Scott LaFaro ''Dedicated to Bill Evans and Scott LaFaro'' is an album by the American guitarist Larry Coryell and the Czech bass player Miroslav Vitouš, which was released by Jazzpoint Records in 1987.[ Allmusic Review: ''Dedicated to Bill Evans and Scott LaF ...

'' (Jazzpoint, 1987) With

* ''Windows Opened'' (Atlantic, 1968) * ''The Inspiration I Feel'' (Atlantic, 1968) * ''Memphis Underground'' (Atlantic, 1969) * ''Live at the Whisky a Go Go (Herbie Mann album), Live at the Whisky a Go Go'' (Atlantic, 1969) * '' Stone Flute'' (Embryo, 1970) – recorded in 1969 * '' Muscle Shoals Nitty Gritty'' (Embryo, 1970) * ''

Memphis Two-Step ''Memphis Two-Step'' is a 1971 album by jazz flutist Herbie Mann. It was released on Mann's Embryo Records label, and distributed by Cotillion Records, a division of Atlantic Records. Track listing *Side A (tracks 1-4)/Side One (sic) (tracks 5-7) ...

'' (Embryo, 1971) With Steve Marcus * ''The Lord's Prayer'' (Vortex, 1969) * ''Green Line'' (Nivico, 1970) With Adam Pierończyk * ''Wings'' (For Tune, 2015) * ''Ad-Lib Orbits'' (PAO, 2017) * ''Live at NOSPR'' (Jazz Sound, 2019) With

Enrico Rava Enrico Rava (born 20 August 1939), is an Italian jazz trumpeter. He started on trombone, then changed to the trumpet after hearing Miles Davis. Career He was born in Trieste, Italy. His first commercial work was as a member of Gato Barbieri's ...

and Franco D'Andrea * ''Quatre'' (Gala, 1989) * ''Earthcake'' (Label Bleu, 1991) With Terje Rypdal * ''

Terje Rypdal / Miroslav Vitous / Jack DeJohnette ''Terje Rypdal/Miroslav Vitous/Jack DeJohnette'' is an album by guitarist Terje Rypdal, bassist Miroslav Vitous and drummer Jack DeJohnette recorded in 1978 and released on the ECM label.

'' (ECM, 1979) * ''

To Be Continued A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode or a film of serialized fiction. A cliffhange ...

'' (ECM, 1981) * ''Trio/Live in Concert'' (TDK, 2001) VD-Video With

* 1969: '' Super Nova'' (Blue Note, 1969) * 1970: ''

Moto Grosso Feio ''Moto Grosso Feio'' is the thirteenth album by Wayne Shorter, recorded in 1970 but not released on the Blue Note label until 1974. The album features four originals by Shorter and an arrangement of "Vera Cruz" by Milton Nascimento. Some of the ...

'' (Blue Note, 1974) With

* '' Zawinul'' (Atlantic, 1971) – recorded in 1970 * ''Concerto Retitled'' (Atlantic, 1976) – compilation With others *

Alpay Alpay is a masculine Turkish given name, and a surname. It derives from "alp". In Turkish, "alp" means "stouthearted", "brave", "chivalrous", "daredevil", "valorous", and/or "gallant". Notable persons with that name include: People with the give ...

, ''Tango & Latin'' (Dogan Music, 2001) *

Franco Ambrosetti Franco Ambrosetti (born 10 December 1941) is a jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist and composer. He was born in Lugano, Switzerland; his father, Flavio, was a saxophonist who once played opposite Charlie Parker.Light Breeze ''Light Breeze'' is an album by the flugelhornist and composer Franco Ambrosetti which was recorded in 1997 and released on the Enja label the following year. Reception In JazzTimes, Patricia Myers stated "The pure tone and graceful fluency of ...

'' (Enja, 1998) – recorded in 1997 * Amerie, '' All I Have'' (Columbia, 2002) *

Buck-Tick Buck-Tick (stylized as BUCK-TICK) is a Japanese rock band, formed in Fujioka, Gunma in 1983. The group has consisted of lead vocalist Atsushi Sakurai, lead guitarist Hisashi Imai, rhythm guitarist Hidehiko Hoshino, bassist Yutaka Higuchi and ...

, '' Symphonic Buck-Tick in Berlin'' (Invitation, 1990) *

Donald Byrd Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II (December 9, 1932 – February 4, 2013) was an American jazz and rhythm & blues trumpeter and vocalist. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd was one of the few hard bop m ...

, '' The Creeper'' (Blue Note, 1981) – recorded in 1967 *

Mariano Deidda Mariano Deidda (born 1961) is an Italian singer, musician and songwriter. Musical style and work He has usually been described by the Italian press as a "singer-poet", for having dedicated most of his records to setting to music the poems and t ...

, ''L'Incapacità di Pensare'' (Sette Ottavi/Warner, 2005) *

, '' The DeJohnette Complex'' (Milestone, 1969) * Aydin Esen, Vinnie Colaiuta, ''Living'' (Universal/EmArcy, 2001) *

Antonio Farao Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular male ...

, Daniel Humair, ''Takes On Pasolini'' (CAM Jazz, 2005) *

Stan Getz Stanley Getz (February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre o ...

, '' The Song Is You'' (Laserlight, 1996) – recorded in 1969 * Laszlo Gardony, ''The Secret'' (Antilles/Island, 1988) * Jan Garbarek, ''

StAR A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night, but their immense distances from Earth make ...

'' (ECM, 1991) * Tim Hardin, '' Bird on a Wire'' (Columbia, 1971) * Jon Hassell, ''Earthquake Island'' (Tomato, 1978) * Roy Haynes, ''A Life in Time'' (Dreyfus, 2007) * Toshiyuki Honda, ''Dream'' (Eastworld, 1983) * Daniel Humair, ''Edges'' (Label Bleu, 1991) * Vic Juris & John Etheridge, ''Bohemia'' (Jazzpoint, 1988) * Fumio Karashima, ''Hot Islands'' (Trio, 1979) * Anders Koppel, ''Past Present Future'' (Cowbell Music, 2017) * Steve Kuhn, ''Oceans in the Sky'' (Owl, 1990) * Biréli Lagrène & Larry Coryell, ''And Special Guests'' (In-akustik, 1986) * Maria Mena, '' Mellow'' (Columbia, 2004) *

Alphonse Mouzon Alphonse Lee Mouzon (November 21, 1948 – December 25, 2016) was an American jazz fusion drummer and the owner of Tenacious Records, a label that primarily released Mouzon's recordings. He was a composer, arranger, producer, and actor. He g ...

, ''In Search of a Dream'' (MPS, 1978) *

Michal Pavlicek Michal (; he, מיכל , gr, Μιχάλ) was, according to the first Book of Samuel, a princess of the United Kingdom of Israel; the younger daughter of King Saul, she was the first wife of David (), who later became king, first of Judah ...

, ''Minotaurus'' (Panton, 1991) *

Flora Purim Flora Purim (born March 6, 1942) is a Brazilian jazz singer known primarily for her work in the jazz fusion style. She became prominent for her part in Return to Forever with Chick Corea and Stanley Clarke. She has recorded and performed with ...

, '' Stories to Tell'' (Milestone, 1974) * Fredy Studer, ''Seven Songs'' (veraBra, 1991) * Jasper van 't Hof, ''Live in Montreux'' (Pausa, 1980) * Sadao Watanabe, '' Round Trip'' (CBS/Sony, 1970) * Lenny White, ''Big City'' (Nemperor, 1977) * Janci Körössy, ''Ale Ne Pro Mne'' (Supraphon, 1965)

References

External links

Official site
* ttp://news.allaboutjazz.com/uys-miroslav-vitous-and-jean-luc-ponty-interviews.php#.U5WILC9lybI Miroslav Vitous video interview at Allaboutjazz.combr>Conversation With Miroslav Vitous, 8/01/2009

"Agitation", with Stanley Clarke
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vitouš, Miroslav 1947 births Living people Musicians from Prague Avant-garde jazz musicians Jazz fusion musicians Berklee College of Music alumni 20th-century double-bassists 21st-century double-bassists Czech jazz double-bassists Czech jazz musicians Male double-bassists Weather Report members ECM Records artists Freedom Records artists Czechoslovak emigrants to the United States 20th-century Czech male musicians 21st-century Czech male musicians Male jazz musicians