Libor Šmoldas ()
Libor Šmoldas is a leading Czech jazz guitarist. The Czech and international press agree on his high qualities and leading position among European jazz guitarists.
His concert activity spans four continents and world capitals New York, Washington, Sydney, Beijing, Istanbul, Vienna, Berlin, Denver, Milan, Philadelphia, Brisbane, Melbourne and London. With his quartet, he was the first Czech jazz band to tour the USA and regularly returns there, as well as on annual concert tours to Australia and other countries. Among the world clubs where he performs are the legendary Pizza express, Smalls, Iridium, Blue Note, Dear Head Inn and Bennetts Lane.
In the Czech Republic, he has played over two thousand club concerts, leading festivals such as Prague Spring, Prague Proms, Brno Jazz Fest, Bohemia Jazz Fest, Strings of Autumn and Janáček’s May, and collaborated with top Czech jazz artists including Ondřej Pivec, Robert Balzar and David Dorůžka. He has played and recorded with world-class musicians such as George Mraz, Jeff Ballard, Sam Yahel, Bobby Watson, Adam Nussbaum, Brian Charette and Jay Anderson. Libor has won many awards, such as the Best Jazz Composition of 2014 and the Angel Award for Jazz Record of the Year with the Organic Quartet. He teaches at the Jaroslav Ježek Conservatory in Prague and at international workshops in England, Germany, Greece, Italy and Australia. He has released nine albums under his own name and many more as a collaborator.
Mikuláš Pokorný ()
During his studies at the Jaroslav Ježek Academy of Music in Prague, the Janáček Academy in Brno and the Escola Superior de Música de Lisboa in Lisbon, Mikuláš Pokorný has been or still is a leader or sideman in several groups and projects (Laco Deczi & Celula New York, Jan Smigmator, Los Quemados, Mikuláš Pokorný Trio).
