Luděk Hulan (11 October 1929, in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

– 22 February 1979, in Prague) was 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 *Czech (surnam ...

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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

double-bassist The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

and musical organiser. He was an important exponent of Czech jazz in the second half of the 20th century.

Biography

Hulan started his career as a founder-member of the amateur ''Hootie Club'' ensemble in 1948. In the early 1950s he performed in various professional jazz ensembles and helped organise

jam session A jam session is a relatively informal musical event, process, or activity where musicians, typically instrumentalists, play improvised solos and vamp over tunes, drones, songs, and chord progressions. To "jam" is to improvise music without ...

s in Prague. From 1953 to 1957, he moved to

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and played double bass with the '' Gustav Brom Orchestra'', and on his return to Prague he co-founded ''Studio 5'', which later became a part of the ''Taneční orchestr Československého rozhlasu'' (TOČR) (The Dance Orchestra of the Czechoslovak Radio). ''Studio 5'', one of the most important modern jazz ensembles in

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, disbanded in 1961, and Hulan founded another band - ''Jazzové studio'' (The Jazz Studio). The ''Jazz Studio'' often performed Hulan's own short compositions, which had poetic titles connected with the "flow of modern life".Dorůžka (1990), p. 265 In the late 1960s he still collaborated with ''TOČR'' (later renamed the ''Jazz Orchestra of the Czechoslovak Radio - JOČR'') and actively participated in Czech musical life. He was one of the pioneers of the ''"Jazz a poezie"'' (Jazz and Poetry) movement, which focused on cross-connections between various spheres of the Arts.Dorůžka (1990), p. 265 In his ''Jazz studio'' Hulan collaborated with many important jazz instrumentalists, among them tenor saxophonist Milan Ulrich and trumpeter Richard Kubernát. In 1968, following the

Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia On 20–21 August 1968, the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was jointly invaded by four fellow Warsaw Pact countries: the Soviet Union, the Polish People's Republic, the People's Republic of Bulgaria, and the Hungarian People's Republic. The in ...

he emigrated to

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, but could find no work connected with music and soon returned. His wife and daughter remained abroad.Dorůžka (2002), p. 253 As a returned emigrant he was listed as "politically undesirable", a considerable obstacle in finding new music engagements. Despite this, he organised night-time jam sessions in the "poetic wine bar" ''Viola'', founded a new band, ''Jazz Sanatorium'' with former colleagues from ''Jazz Studio'', and helped its younger members in their careers.Dorůžka (1990), p. 265 He also found work - occasional at first - with the ''Linha Singers'' ensemble. In 1972 the ''Traditional Jazz Studio'' invited him to record with the

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

clarinetist

Albert Nicholas Albert Nicholas (May 27, 1900 – September 3, 1973) was an American jazz clarinet player, who was mostly based in Europe after 1953. Career Nicholas's primary instrument was the clarinet, which he studied with Lorenzo Tio in his hometown ...

. He also performed with the American clarinetist

Tony Scott Anthony David Leighton Scott (21 June 1944 – 19 August 2012) was a British film director and producer. He made his theatrical film debut with ''The Hunger (1983 film), The Hunger'' (1983) and went on to direct highly successful action and t ...

, and prepared a TV series, ''Jazzový herbář'' (The Jazz Herbarium) with the director M. Peer. Hulan organised the ''"Jazz-film-forum"'' and ''"Jazz quiz"'' as part of his ''Jazz Sanatorium'', using American films, recordings and literature. This was a rare event: in the "deep normalisation" of Czechoslovakia, any propagation of American culture was officially undesirable. However, the Communist authorities had already confiscated his passport, so Hulan could visit the American embassy in Prague and borrow the materials for these readings and shows "without fear".Dorůžka (2002), p. 254 Luděk Hulan died under unhappy circumstances. He broke a rib in a stairway fall. The rib had pierced a lung, but Hulan was unaware of the nature or extent of his injury. He went to bed as usual, and died there. The ''Czech Jazz Society'' presents an annual ''Luděk Hulan Award'' at the ''Slaný Jazz Days''. In 1984, the prize was awarded to Eva Olmerová, Hulan's regular collaborator.

Works

*''Černý proud'' (The Black Stream) *''Duše jazzového hudebníka'' (The Soul of the Jazz Musician) *''Moderní žena'' (A Modern Woman) *''Valčík pro Charlieho Chaplina'' (Valse for

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered o ...

)

Discography

*''Jazz In My Soul'' (Supraphon 1965) P*''Jazz kolem Karla Krautgartnera'' (Supraphon 1965) P*''Poezie a jazz I.'' (Poetry and Jazz I) (1965) P*''Poezie a jazz II.'' (Poetry and Jazz II) (1967) P*''Albert's Blues'' - together with ''Traditional Jazz Studio'' and

, (

Supraphon Supraphon Music Publishing is a Czech record label, oriented mainly towards publishing classical music and popular music, with an emphasis on Czech and Slovak composers. History The Supraphon name was first registered as a trademark in 1932. Th ...

1 15 1420) (1972) P*''Jazz Sanatorium'' (Mini jazz klub) (P 33 0480) (1976) P*''Milá společnost'' (S 1 15 2309) (1977) P*''Bumerang'' - together with ''Traditional Jazz Studio'' and

, (1978) P*''Luděk Hulan: Blues for You'' (Mlt MCD 005) (1994) D

Notes

References

* *

External links

Český hudební slovník (Czech music Dictionary)

Ecce Homo - Luděk Hulan (Czech Radio Brno)

České filmové nebe (Czech Film Heaven)

Jazz dnes (Jazz today)

Discography at Discogs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hulan, Ludek 1929 births 1979 deaths Czech jazz double-bassists Male double-bassists Czech jazz musicians 20th-century double-bassists 20th-century Czech male musicians Czech male jazz musicians