Martin Kratochvíl (born 22 May 1946) is a 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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as jazz rock, jazz-rock fusion, or simply fusion) is a popular music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric gui ...

keyboardist and businessman born 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 ...

. He cofounded the Jazz Q quartet in 1964. During his career, he has performed in various countries around the world, launched his own record label, opened a recording studio, and released numerous albums both as a solo artist and with other musicians.

Career

In 1964, Kratochvíl cofounded the band Jazz Q with flautist

Jiří Stivín Jiří Stivín (born 23 November 1942 in Prague) is a Czech flute player and composer. Biography He graduated from the Film Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU). He also studied composition at the Royal Academy of Music a ...

; the group was later rounded out by guitarist Luboš Andršt and bassist

Vladimír Padrůněk Vladimír Padrůněk (17 February 1952 – 30 August 1991) was a Czech jazz and rock bass guitarist. He is known for his work with the groups Jazz Q, Energit, Etc..., Abraxas, and others. Biography Padrůněk began playing bass guitar at the ...

during their most successful era. In 1970, they collaborated with the rock band

Blue Effect Blue Effect was a Czech rock band, also operating under the names M. Efekt, Modrý efekt, or the Special Blue Effect, since their formation in 1968. The band's main and only permanent member, from its founding until his death in 2016, was guitar ...

on the fusion album ''Coniunctio''. Kratochvíl has also performed and released a number of albums with American guitarist Tony Ackerman. Being a successful musician both in Czechoslovakia and overseas, Kratochvíl saved enough money so that when the

communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...

collapsed in 1989, he became a successful businessman, owner of an airport, several factories, and other ventures. The same year, he founded the record label

Bonton Music Bonton may refer to: * Bonton, Dallas, neighborhood in Dallas, Texas * Bonton Group, a media/entertainment holding company *A brand name for Lorazepam Lorazepam, sold under the brand name Ativan, Tavor among others, is a benzodiazepine med ...

. Kratochvíl also has his own recording studio, Studio Budíkov.

Personal life

Kratochvíl's first wife was Magdalena Kocábová, sister of musician and activist

Michael Kocáb Michael Kocáb (born 28 July 1954) is a Czech composer, singer, and political activist. He is the leader of Pražský výběr, a popular music band suppressed by the Czechoslovak communist regime in the 1980s. At the spring 1989 Kocab with ...

Discography

with Jazz Q

* ''Coniunctio'' with

(1970) * ''Pozorovatelna'' (1973) * ''Symbiosis'' (1974) * ''Album, Které Nikdy Nevyšlo'' (1975) * ''Elegie'' (1976) * ''Zvěsti'' (1978) * ''Hodokvas'' (1979) * ''Hvězdoň/Asteroid'' ''1984'' * ''1974–75 live'' (1991) * ''The Best of Jazz Q'' (1995) * ''Znovu'' (2013) * ''Živí Se Diví: Live in Bratislava 1975'' (2013) * ''Temné Slunce'' Original motion picture soundtrack (2014) * ''Talisman'' (2016) * ''Amulet'' (2020)

with Tony Ackerman

* ''Stará Známost/Old Acquaintance'' (1987) * ''Spolu'' (1990) * ''Chiaroscuro/Šerosvit'' with Vojtěch Havel (1993) * ''Duolog'' (2001) * ''Zvukobraní'' (2009) * ''Cestou'' (2011) * ''No Jazz'' with

Miroslav Vitouš Miroslav Ladislav Vitouš (born 6 December 1947) is a Czech jazz bassist. He is known as a founding member of the ensemble Weather Report, and for working as a bandleader and alongside Chick Corea, Jack DeJohnette and others. Biography E ...

and Joe Kučera (2014) * ''Letopis'' with Musa Imran Zangi (2020) * ''Znění & Snění'' with Jana Koubková and Joe Kučera (2020)

Solo

* ''Piano Solo'' (2012) * ''Himalayan Echoes II. – Soundtrack K TV Seriálu České Himálajské Dobrodružství II'' (2014) * ''Siločáry'' (2017) * ''Happiness'' Martin Kratochvíl & Friends (2017)

Other releases

* ''April Orchestra'' Milan Svoboda & Martin Kratochvíl (1979) * ''Tankový Prapor'' Original motion picture soundtrack - contributor (1991)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kratochvil, Martin 1946 births Living people Czech businesspeople Czech jazz musicians Berklee College of Music alumni