Robert Balzar (born 11 May 1962) is a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a Bass (instrument), bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboar ...

and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

who was born in

Náchod Náchod (; german: Nachod) is a town in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 19,000 inhabitants. It is known both as a tourist destination and centre of industry. The town centre with the castle complex is well preserved ...

. Robert Balzar studied bass at academy of music in

Brno Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...

. After working with various groups, he founded ''Robert Balzar Trio'' in 1996. The collaboration with American jazz guitar player John Abercrombie brought him international attention. He worked together with Joe Newman,

Benny Bailey Ernest Harold "Benny" Bailey (August 13, 1925 – April 14, 2005) was an American jazz trumpeter. Biography A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Bailey briefly studied flute and piano before turning to trumpet. He attended the Cleveland Institute ...

Tony Scott Anthony David Leighton Scott (21 June 1944 – 19 August 2012) was an English film director and producer. He was known for directing highly successful action and thriller films such as ''Top Gun'' (1986), ''Beverly Hills Cop II'' (1987), ''Day ...

Benny Golson Benny Golson (born January 25, 1929) is an American bebop/hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He came to prominence with the big bands of Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie, more as a writer than a performer, before launch ...

Wynton Marsalis Wynton Learson Marsalis (born October 18, 1961) is an American trumpeter, composer, teacher, and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has promoted classical and jazz music, often to young audiences. Marsalis has won nine Grammy Awar ...

Lew Tabackin Lewis Barry Tabackin (born March 26, 1940) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist and flutist. He is married to pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi with whom he has co-led large ensembles since the 1970s. Biography Tabackin started learning flute at age 1 ...

Sinan Alimanović Sinan Alimanović (born 11 February 1954) is a Bosnian jazz pianist, organist, composer, conductor, arranger and educator. Biography Sinan Alimanović has worked with American and European jazz musicians such as Randy Brecker, Harvie S, Duško ...

Tony Lakatos Antal "Tony" Lakatos (born 13 November 1958 in Budapest) is a Hungarian Jazz saxophonist (tenor, soprano saxophone), who currently lives in Frankfurt (Germany). Lakatos attended the Béla Bartók Conservatory in Budapest from 1975 to 1980, then ...

, Victor Lewis, the

Hal Galper Harold Galper (born April 18, 1938) is an American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, bandleader, educator, and writer. Biography He was born in Salem, Massachusetts, United States. Galper studied classical piano as a boy, but switched to jazz wh ...

Trio,

Craig Handy Craig Mitchell Handy (born September 25, 1962) is an American tenor saxophonist. Born in Oakland, California, he attended North Texas State University from 1981 to 1984, and following this played with Art Blakey, Wynton Marsalis, Roy Haynes, Ab ...

and others.

Awards

Robert Balzar and his Trio received several awards: * 1998: Album ''Travelling'', best Czech CD of the year during the Czech Radio Jazz Test * 1999: Robert Balzar, best Czech bassist of the year * 2000: Album ''Alone'', best Czech CD of the year * 2000: Robert Balzar Trio, best Czech group of the year

Discography of Robert Balzar Trio

* 1998: ''Travelling'' * 2000: ''Alone'' * 2005: ''Overnight'' * 2008: ''Tales'', with John Abercrombie * 2010: ''Theyories'', with vocalist

Dan Bárta Dan Bárta (born 14 December 1969 in Karlovy Vary Karlovy Vary (; german: Karlsbad, formerly also spelled ''Carlsbad'' in English) is a spa city in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 46,000 inhabitants. It lies on the ...

* 2013: ''Discover Who We Are'' * 2014: ''Vuja Dé''

External links

Homepage of Robert Balzar

Robert Balzar
on allaboutjazz.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Balzar, Robert 1962 births Living people Czech jazz double-bassists Male double-bassists 21st-century double-bassists 21st-century Czech male musicians Male jazz musicians