Embassy of the Czech Republic
When:
June 9, 2017,
5-8:30 pm
Where:
National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden - between 7th and 9th Streets, NW (on the Mall), Washington, DC



The Embassy of the Czech Republic invites you to the performance of Dan Bárta & Robert Balzar Trio as part of the Jazz in the Garden series at the National Gallery of Art on June 9, 2017, from 5-8:30 pm. Unwind listening to seven-time Czech Grammy-winner Dan Bárta, performing with the exceptional Robert Balzar Trio, top performers on the Czech jazz scene.

The group is comprised of Dan Bárta (singer), Robert Balzar (double bass), Jiří Levíček (piano), Kamil Slezák (drums). Multi-genre singer Dan Bárta has collaborated with the Trio since 1999. The members have received numerous musical recognitions at the annual Czech Music Awards in genre and main categories. In 2010, they released their first album Theyories, followed by the live recording Jazz in Box in 2015. They have performed throughout Europe.


MORE ABOUT THE BAND:
Dan Bárta is a well-recognized Czech singer and author , awarded 7 Czech Grammy Awards for the Best Male Vocalist in 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004 – performing rock, pop, funky and finally jazz. With different groups, he has released more than twenty albums and held concerts in the Czech Republic, and abroad. For example, he has repeatedly appeared in concert with Bobby McFerrin and the WB3. He holds ten awards from the annual Czech Music Awards as a singer (for the first time in 1994 and last time in 2013). His album Illustratosphere, created with respected Czech musicians Filip Jelínek and Miroslav Chyška, was the album of the year in 2000. In 2016, he was awarded as the Quarter Century Singer at the Czech Music Awards. 

Robert Balzar graduated from the Brno Conservatory and is a double bassist of the European format, arranger, and a sought out studio and concert musician, who has represented the Czech Republic on European and world stages in various international musical projects. He has collaborated with numerous famous musicians in the Czech Republic and abroad, most intensely and fruitfully with American guitarist John Abercrombie, with whom he recorded the album Tales, and with the Italian clarinetist Gabriel Mirabassi, with whom he toured around Europe.

Jiří Levíček is a pianist, composer and arranger. After graduating from the Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Brno, he continued his studies at the Texas Southern University. He studied with Stefan Karlsson for two years and played in the famous One O’Clock Big Band, whose recordings were nominated several times for the Grammy Award. With this orchestra, he played at many significant festivals in the US and Europe. In 2008, he released the album Returns with Daniel Foos and Ross Pederson. He won first prize in the prestigious Phillips International Jazz Competition (2009) and third place in the Jacksonville Jazz Piano Competition (2010). 

Kamil Slezák studied percussion instruments at the Janáček Conservatory in Ostrava. Since 1999, he has received continued engagement in the symphonic orchestra of the Moravian Philharmonic in Olomouc. At the same time, he underwent a five year study of “Jazz and Pop” under the direction of Professor Fritz Ozmec at the Universität für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Vienna. In 2001, he became a member of the Gustav Brom Big Band and his musical activity gradually expanded to many other musical groups. Since 2007, he has worked as a teacher at the Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Brno.
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