B-Side Band – Folk Swings

4 March 2021, 1:00

B-Side Band – Folk Swings

“It’s absolutely perfect, I play it all the time and it plays in my head all the time,” commented Matěj H., a music studies graduate and Brno politician. In another Facebook debate, a musical editor with a pen name of Max B. depicts it to be “totally horrible stuff.” Few domestic albums recorded in 2020 received such varied responses as Folk Swings, a collection of what were initially contemporary folk songs, re-arranged to become big-band pieces and performed by B-Side Band with Josef Buchta as the bandmaster.

It is not necessary to count whether there were more positive (probably yes) or negative voices on social media. In fact, it is not necessary to examine or consider whether there was a commercial calculus at the start of the project (like “orchestral re-arrangements of well-known songs will rock” and “we’ll add Dyk and Farna in there,”) or – hopefully – a real effort to honour Czech contemporary folk music. More importantly, it is about how the result affects the audience. The truth is that, in addition to extreme opinions (whether fans’ or critical ones), one can very often encounter an evaluation such as, “Yep, I like it, but….” The author of this article also ranks himself in this category, after all.

Recording a cover version is legitimate and, in some genres (jazz is one of them), absolutely common. In addition, when original authors of songs participate in such a project, which in this case includes artists such as Jaromír Nohavica, Vlasta Redl, Slávek Janoušek, Jaroslav Samson Lenk and Radek Pastrňák, to name a few, there can be no objection at all. B-Side Band is a professional, high-end group – in other words, it is an ensemble of top musicians in its genre, as demonstrated not only by the truly outstanding jazz album Meeting Point of 2014. The second thing is that the same orchestra has won a huge number of fans thanks to its re-arrangement of world hits and its cooperation with the popular singer Vojtěch Dyk. Yes, those things can be taken as opposing one another, claiming that the orchestra diverted from pure jazz music through its tendency toward pop music. But it can also be seen as a positive thing that the listeners get well crafted, good quality music as well as arrangements that their authors had been really thinking over.

The same is the case for Folk Swings. The two main project arrangers, Petr Kovařík and Pavel Zlámal, explained their motivation and working methods in a comprehensive interview for the Brno – město hudby (Brno – Music Friendly City) web portal. They were of course based on their own experience and expertise (Pavel Zlámal, after all, is the leading avant-garde jazz author and a representative of an improvised musical scene that transcends the city of Brno), each of them, of course, were in some form related to the Czech modern folk music and singing at campfires, while at the same time they had to balance very well possible objections from the cooperating authors of songs. The result is certainly not a one-size-fits-all bulk of large-scale orchestra arrangements; rather, it is a diverse combination of approaches, which can be seen as a very positive feature of the album. After all, diversity is the term which can be applied to the choice of songs as such: While Nohavica’s Ježíšek (Baby Jesus) is asking to be turned into a swing piece already in its subtle form as found on the Ikarus  (Icarus) album, the love song Zatímco se koupeš (While You Bathe) has been transformed into what is actually a pop ballad, in which the regular hits of the drums and the sax solo both create an interesting contrast to the still folk-based – that is, the narrative – way the song is interpreted by the renowned author. The long gone hit by Slávek Janoušek Rozhovor s nádražákem (Interview with a Station Master) has been transformed very well. Jazz reflecting in the line saying: “there’s no New York anyway,” working with the rhythm and, above all, dynamics is a perfect fit with Janoušek’s inimitable singing performance. Also interesting is Janoušek’s Náš dům (Our House) in which the elements of the lyrics’ comicality complement the comicality of the music. The songs by Vlasta Redl then oscillate between what we are expecting from this master (Čarodějova píseň (Wizard’s Song)), as, for example, saxophonist Michal Žáček, member of B-Side Band, sometimes plays in Redl’s band, too, and some sort of combination of the interpretation by Vlasta Redl and Peter Lipa (Tak vidíš (So You See)).

Alongside the songs of living authors, B-Side Band has also processed the songs of those who could not comment on the final form. We can ask whether Ewa Farna has the ability to replace charismatic Zuzana Navarová in her Kočky (Cats) song; let’s say that the song did not go wrong, but there’s nothing like the original in this case. Now, however, the Ryvola brothers’ songs and the one song by Karel Kryl were even a greater challenge. For Tunel jménem čas (Tunnel Called Time) by Miki Ryvola (erroneously, his brother Wabi is mentioned as the author in the booklet), Petr Kovařík has made the most of the swing-based rhythm of the song, and the version rendered by one young female singer (Kristýna Daňhelová) and two male singers (Petr Rybíz Toman and Jiří Kalousek) is not bad at all. In fact, it is only a pity that the orchestra failed to invite the still living author to cooperate in this case – after all, in 2016, Miki Ryvola himself recorded his own swing-turned versions of his songs to an album entitled exactly as this song. The Ryvola brothers’ second hit, the famous Tereza (originally: Osamělý město (A Lonely City)) by Wabi, puts far more questions in front of the audience. Turning a rather easy-going, nostalgic song into what is a fast pace and Caribbean rhythm, plus appending a kind of coda to the lyrics that develops and shifts the original story, can be a stumbling block for many fans. The article author admits that he himself has the greatest problem with Tereza, too. Not that he would assume Petr Kovařík’s right to modify the song in this very way, but the “added conclusion” (constantly persuading Tereza, performed by Kristýna Daňhelová) already goes against the spirit of the original song. However, the song should also be seen in the context of the whole album as Tereza is followed by an instrumental version of Podvod (Scam) by Honza Nedvěd. And what was told in Ryvola’s song unlike in the original version one can only presume in the case of Podvod (Scam) between the tones of what is a very interestingly treated song. So, in fact, all’s well that ends well.

When it comes to changes made to the original songs, however, one apparent detail needs to be mentioned, concerning which an attentive listener needs to raise a question: Why? Karel Kryl was known as a master of language, an author of innovative rhymes, a poet who practically never diverted from the regularity of the verses and whose texts could be used to teach correct Czech. No bookishness sounded in an unduly manner in his case. The Děkuji (Thank You) song is one of the most powerful that he ever composed and knocking yourself out would not be difficult at all. Although the subtle author’s make, accompanied with a single acoustic guitar, is and will always be the most inward version, Dyk’s performance with the orchestra behind his back does not remove anything from the strength of the lyrics. But a change in a single speech sound that someone dared to make is something that really rips your ears. Kryl singing: “Thank you, thank you for the tears / they teach me how to feel / for those who live and accuse / and scream for compassion.” There is a piece of bookishness which in the modern Czech literary language is the only possible form for the plural of the masculine for the animate pronoun contained in the lyrics. It sounds archaic, so we replace the Czech pronoun “jenž” (which) with “kteří”, the Czech plural pronoun for “who” that is normally used in everyday speech. The artists, however, replaced the masculine with feminine, shifting the meaning of the subordinate clause, indicating that the poet feels just for women “who accuse”, NOT women and men; it is considered a sign of unprofessionalism. Or can anyone explain it differently?

So, what is the Folk Swings album actually like? It is definitely a well-crafted and performed album that offers in some cases new and in many other cases really well-done versions of old hits. It is also an album that asks a number of questions. Some of them are useful and good, others unfortunately not so much. But asking questions and provoking is still better than passing through ears without getting interest from listeners. In addition, shortly after the Folk Swings album, B-Side Band released a new version of Jazzová mše (Missa Jazz) by Jaromír Hnilička as an excellent piece of work that is sure to appeal to those who have only words of criticism for big band versions of modern folk hits. But that is what I am going to cover the next time.

B-Side Band – Folk Swings: Universal Music. 17 songs. Total footage: 60:02

Photo by TINO

Comments

Reply

No comment added yet..

The Brno Philharmonic's New Year's concert on 1 January at the Janáček Theatre is already a well-established tradition. This year was no exception, and the orchestra, led by conductor Michel Tabachnik, gave a performance consisting mainly of works by Johann Strauss the Younger. This was the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra's show opening the 'Strauss Year'. After all, 2025 is the 200th anniversary of the birth of the composer, dubbed the king of waltzes. Strauss's compositions were accompanied by works by Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Richard Strauss and Dimitri Shostakovich.  more

The now world-famous Swedish band Dirty Loops finished their autumn European tour on Saturday, 30 November at Brno's Metro Music Bar. The band featured on the programme of the seventeenth annual Groove Brno funk, soul and jazz festival. The virtuoso trio, consisting of Jonah Nilsson - vocals and keyboards, Henrik Linder - bass guitar and Aron Mellergård - drums, are famous for their flawless technical proficiency, sophisticated original compositions and cover versions of well-known numbers, especially pop songs. However, these songs are often reharmonised in their arrangements and the style is more a combination of disco, pop and jazz fusion. To avoid having to resort to using pre-recorded backing tracks, the trio was joined on tour by keyboardist and vocalist Kristian Kraftlingmore

Ensemble Opera Diversa put a distinctive "spin" on its last orchestral concert of the year. It took place on 26 November at the Alterna music club, which is more a rock, electronica and indie pop hangout than an artistic music venue. The pair of selected pieces consisting of Vojtěch Dlask's premièred work Querell Songs for soprano saxophone and strings and Miloslav Ištvan's Hard Blues for pop-baritone, soprano, reciter and chamber ensemble also reflected this. Naturally, it was Ištvan's Hard Blues that gave the evening its name - the clash of the artistic, composed and purposefully "artistic" world (not meant pejoratively) with authentic African-American musical expressions springing from the depths of the soul of a man tested by life formed as the centre of the evening. This was not merely a stylistic inspiration, but more thematic, which was also evident in the opening piece of the evening. This was the composition Querelle Songs, inspired by Jean Genet's novel, previously dedicated to Ensemble Opera Diversa, but this time in a new instrumentation.  more

Leoš Janáček's (1854-1928) Moravian national opera Jenůfa was brought to Brno for the Janáček Brno 2024 festival by the Moravian Theatre Olomouc in a co-production with the Janáček Opera NdB. Rather than using the Czech title Její pastorkyňa, the production team, headed by director Veronika Kos Loulová, decided to stage the work as Jenůfa, the name under which it is performed abroad. On Wednesday, 20 November, five days after its première in Olomouc, the audience at the Mahen Theatre could also see the latest domestic take on Janáček's most widely performed opera. The musical staging of the significantly modified original version from 1904 was the work of conductor Anna Novotná Pešková, and the main roles were played by Barbora Perná (Jenůfa), Eliška Gattringerová (Kostelnička), Josef Moravec (Laca Klemeň) and Roman Hasymau (Števa Buryja).  more

The office of Brno - UNESCO City of Music, with the financial support of the South Moravian Region, presents a line-up of active folklore groups (ensembles, chasers, musics) in the Brno region as part of the Year of Folklore Ensembles.  more

Trumpeter Jiří Kotača founded the big band Cotatcha Orchestra ten years ago. Nowadays, he performs a variety of programmes ranging from the most traditional jazz to a visionary fusion of jazz and electronica. We chatted with Jiří Kotača about how the orchestra has gradually developed, how the original repertoire is blurring the boundaries between jazz and electronica, and also about what fans can expect from the November concert to celebrate the orchestra's 10th anniversary. We also talk about Kotača's International Quartet, as well as how the trumpet and flugelhorn can be enriched with effects.  more

On Saturday, 24 August, the Korean radio orchestra KBS Symphony Orchestra with its musical director - Finnish conductor and violinist Pietari Inkinen - came to Brno's Špilberk Festival with an exclusively romantic repertoire. The invitation was also accepted by South Korean violinist Bomsori Kim, a graduate of the prestigious Julliard School.  more

For a quarter of a century now, the Brno Philharmonic has been organising the Špilberk Festival at the end of August in the courtyard of the castle of the same name. Four open-air musical evenings offer the audience a selection of concerts featuring classical, film and computer music, as well as often jazz and other genres. This makes it a diverse mix of performers and repertoires with an often pleasant, summery, laid-back ambience. This year's big and rapdily sold-out attraction was the Wednesday evening of 21 August, full of melodies from the James Bond films, performed by the Czech National Symphony Orchestra, headed by world-renowned conductor, composer and arranger Steven Mercurio. During the concert, the audience also got to enjoy singers Sara MilfajtováVendula Příhodová and David Krausmore

As part of its European tour, the Taiwanese Taipei Philharmonic Chamber Choir (TPCC), under the direction of artistic director and choirmaster Dr. YuChung Johnny Ku, took the city up on its invitation and visited Brno. The concert was held on Monday, 13th August in the hall of the newly renovated Passage Hotel.  more

The final concert of this year's season of the Brno Philharmonic was devoted to works by Antonín Dvořák and Jean Sibelius at the Janáček Theatre. On Thursday, 20 June, Danish conductor Michael Schønwandt, who had not appeared before a Brno audience since January last year, took the lead of the Philharmonic. In the first half of the programme, the orchestra was accompanied by violinist Alexander Sitkovetskymore

In the spirit of the idea that Brno and folklore belong together, the Folklore Ensemble Happening of the Year took place on Thursday 6 June. The event was organised by the Brno UNESCO City of Music Office in cooperation with the Brno Dances and Sings association. The event thus became part of a long-term project that set out to map the amateur music scene in Brno, and not only folk music. Last year Brno City of Music reached out to choirs in a similar way, and in the future will host garage bands and more. This just goes to prove the diversity of Brno's music scene, not only as regards professional ensembles, but also enthusiastic amateurs for whom music is an inseparable part of their lives.  more

The Brno Dances and Sings Association and TIC Brno organised the 49th annual Brno Dances and Sings show on 6 June. The programme, concentrated into a single day, was busier than in previous years. The subtitle Year of Folklore Ensembles was borrowed from the project of the same name organised by the Brno UNESCO City of Music Office.  more

A year ago we would have found an Asian market in the New Synagogue in Velké Meziříčí. However, the town decided to buy the building and has started to make more fitting and dignified use of it. On Wednesday 5 June, during the ongoing Concentus Moraviae festival, audiences could visit this heritage site and enjoy a chamber concert by singer and violinist Iva Bittová and her women's choir Babačka, featuring musicians Jakub Jedlinský (accordion) and Pavel Fischer (violin).  more

The evening concert by Ensemble Opera Diversa entitled The Face of Water, which took place on 4 June outdoors in the atrium of the Moravian Library in Brno, was preceded by a morning discussion between Professor Miloš Štědron and Associate Professor Vladimír Maňas from the Institute of Musicology at Masaryk University. They both enjoyed an engaging talk on the theme of water in art (from Gregorian chant to the early 20th century), concluding with a sample of the edition and the playing of a recording of Janáček's symphony The Danube. The concert, conducted by Gabriela Tardonová and inspired by the theme of water, featured one world and three Czech premières. Harpist Dominika Kvardová appeared as a soloist.  more

Like other music festivals, the 29th annual Concentus Moraviae International Music Festival has not only had to reflect the fact that it is the Year of Czech Music, but also the unique 200th anniversary of the birth of Bedřich Smetana, the founder of modern Czech music. The dramaturgy of this year’s festival, which has just launched, is in the spirit of "Metamorphoses: Czech Smetana!". The first festival concert, which took place on 31 May at the Kyjov Municipal Cultural Centre, gave a hint of the direction the rest of the festival's dramaturgy will take. The organisers of the show decided to explore Smetana's work from a fresh angle and to work not only with the music, but also with the audience’s expectations. The opening evening saw a performance of Smetana's famous String Quartet No. 1 in E minor From My Life, but in an arrangement for a symphony orchestra penned by conductor and pianist George Szell. Smetana's work was complemented by the world première of the Concerto for Flute and Orchestra "Sadunkertoja" by Finnish composer, conductor and artist in residence at the 29th annual festival, Olli Mustonen, commissioned especially for the festival. Mustonen also conducted the Prague Philharmonia's performance of the two works. Danish flautist Janne Thomsen performed as soloist.  more

Editorial

Brno's Pop Messe music festival, which showcases the contemporary foreign and domestic electronic, rap, pop and indie scene, has come up with the first confirmed names for next year's event. For the first time ever, Brno will be hosting dance club legend Orbital, one of the most influential producers of our time Danny L Harle, who has produced albums by Caroline Polachek and written hits for Charli XCX, Dua Lipa, Tommy Cash and Rina Sawayama, as well as Leon Vynehall and Batu, top names on the British DJ scene, and American hyperpop duo Frost Children, Toccororo, the queen of the Spanish club scene, Polish electronic duo Wczasy, the five-member Parisian collective 15 15 aka Quinze Quinze, who mix global underground culture with Tahitian roots, French dance duo Atoem, and Mikuláš Příhoda aka Kewu, whose set will feature the Czech-Slovak ballroom dancers Viktor Velvet and the Kiki Dancers collective.  more

Planes from all over the world have been landing in Brno Tuřany for seventy years now, but there hasn't been a single direct flight from America. The Brno Contemporary Orchestra decided to make up for this symbolic deficit with a concert entitled From America to Tuřany. And it's in just the right Christmas spirit. The ensemble will transform the Tuřany Sokol hall into the heart of the Euro-American world. It will be filled with Argentine rhythms, minimalism, a postmodern waltz and unorthodox carols.  more

The Leoš Janáček Foundation, the Society of Friends of the NdB and the JAMU Faculty of Music invite you to a discussion with singer and teacher Natalia Romanová. The event will take place in the Mozart Hall of the Reduta Theatre.  more

The management of the Brno Philharmonic is holding an audition for a player in the 2nd violin group (tutti). The expected starting date is 1 September 2025.  more

This evening from the Eyes of Brno series will be dedicated to Jana Kosíková, a long-time soloist of the NdB Ballet. Visitors can get a glimpse into the world of this successful prima ballerina and her career.  more

The Janáček Opera of the National Theatre Brno is holding an audition for a second bass for its opera chorus. Full-time position.  more

Dušan Holý has passed away

3 January 2025, 10:00

Dušan Holý, professor at the Institute of European Ethnology, Faculty of Arts, MU, singer, ethnologist and musicologist, has died at the age of 91.  more

This week will see the Czech première of Confluere by Justé Janulyté, who composed it as a co-commission for the Brno Philharmonic and Radio France, L'Orchestre national des Pays de la Loire. The internationally acclaimed Lithuanian composer wrote it as a work to immediately precede Mozart's Symphony No. 40 in G minor. The concerts are conducted by Tomáš Netopil, with French violinist Fedor Rudin, former concertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic, and Pavel Nikl, one of the best Czech violists, as soloists.  more

Brno's Gloria Brunensis choir is expanding and looking for women to join the soprano section.  more

Antalová and Alex Anders are preparing an evening of chanson. The MdB actress and singer will be performing together with composer, lyricist, performer and pianist Alex Anders (real name Alexandr Špunda) on the drama stage of Brno City Theatre.  more