JFB: Petr Dvorský celebrates 50 / feat. Emil Viklický Trio, Walter Fischbacher’s Winterfisch, the Four

The 50th birthday –a true reason to celebrate … It’s hard to believe that bassist Petr Dvorský, yesterday the talent of the year, today practically a legend, will turn fifty this year.  Petr is the perfect definition of the word sideman which for him must be completed with the epithet – happy sideman. Given the span of his engagements, he can hardly find time for his own projects and seems to be content with the little thankless role of a jazz worker. His extensive work, well beyond genres, has confirmed his versatility and clearly shows that he ranks among the most distinctive local artists in jazz and beyond.
It is quite obvious that the fundamental asset of the happy sideman Petr Dvorský is his ability to adapt to any musical situation and contribute to what the music requires at the given moment. That’s why he so often gets phone calls from many different bandleaders. Pianist Walter Fischbacher, who has made a name for himself in the Czech Republic mainly alongside Laco Deczi, is one of them. His latest project is called Winter Fisch and Petr Dvorský is– once again -involved. Its co-leaders Walter Fischbacher and Andy Winter, both New Yorkers by choice, poured their varied and vast experience in both music and life into it. The tension that arises from their fundamentally different approaches to writing and arranging music has a gravitational pull that permeates each piece of their album “Timeless”.  And it builds throughout gorgeous musical arches, bursts through in hard driving bebop lines and finds its resolution in intimate ballads that ring true with the fundamental human need for genuine, authentic connection. For their CD release tour in the Spring of 2016 they are joined by celebrated Echo Jazz Winner Johannes Enders on tenor saxophone. All three can now use the chance to congratulate Petr Dvorský.
If there is anything the jazz laborer and happy sideman Petr Dvorský deserves for his illustrious and honest career, it’s a bit more of attention from the audience often too focused on bandleaders and somewhat neglecting the sidemen. By fellow musicians, though, Petr is already admired! Congratulations!