JazzFestBrno presents Harry Sokal Groove and Chris Porter Quartet.
Harry Sokal Groove:
Harry Sokal – saxophone, Raphael Wressnig – Hammond B-3 organs, Lukas Knöfler – drums
Harry Sokal has been making tracks in the musical landscape for years already, with his own innovative projects, such as Depart, Full Circle, Roots Ahead, Voices of Time, Stories and freeTenors, and also as a first class sideman for Art Farmer, Carla Bley and Joe Zawinul. But perhaps Harry is most noted for his virtuoso playing with the Vienna Art Orchestra and he stayed on with Mathias Rüegg for the whole life of the VAO. With his current trio Groove and their new CD bearing the promising title "Where sparks start to fly", Harry Sokal once again lives up to the highest of expectations.This is mainly because he knows better than almost anyone else how to apply individual technical perfection to the art of making music. Harry Sokal is a musician's musician par excellence whose primary concern is the content and who only goes for the applause afterwards. In Harry Sokal's Groove, the master saxophonist makes maximum use of the rhythmicpower field created by top talents Raphael Wressnig on the Hammond B-3 organ and Lukas Knöfler on drums: a dynamic pair who have worked together over the years in a variety of ensembles.In the course of his career, Wressnig has found his own unique voice that lies somewhere in the spectrum between Jimmy Smith and Billy Preston yet with undeniably strong R&B roots. Lukas Knöfler comes from a jazz background and has accumulated valuable experience in the Nouvelle Cuisine Big Band and alongside Karl Ratzer.
Chris Porter Quartet:
Chris Potter – saxophone, David Virelles – piano, Joe Martin – double bass, Marcus Gilmore –drums
Technically and perhaps the most advanced contemporary saxophonist and without exaggeration, a cult figure among jazz saxophonist Chris Potter will join this year's JazzFestBrno. His main instrument is tenor sax but he also performs on soprano and alto saxes, bass clarinets, flutes, guitar and piano. Potter came to prominence as a sideman with trumpeter Red Rodney, before stints with drummer Paul Motianbassist Dave Holland, trumper Dave Douglas and others. Potter has appeared many times in the Down Beat critic's and Reader's Polls, and received the top prize as 'Rising Star' for 'Best Tenor Saxophonist' in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007. He was honoured as Tenor Saxophonist of the Year 2013 by the Jazz Journalists Association.
