Show
Czech Culture And The History Of Jazz
About this show
Introduction
In this episode of Hear Me Talking to You, Dominik speaks with Tony Cleary about the cultural and political history of Czechoslovakia. He discusses the evolution of jazz in the region and the impact of political regimes on art, while also sharing memories of the tramping movement and his firsthand experience during the Velvet Revolution.
In an interview with Tony Cleary, Dominik discusses the cultural and political history of Czechoslovakia, noting its 1918 independence and its nickname 'Little America' due to its democratic model. He explains the 'tramping movement' and the naval origins of the Czech greeting 'ahoy'. The conversation covers the evolution of jazz in the region, from its popularity during the WWII German occupation to the mixed views of the communist regime starting in 1948. Dominik also shares personal details, including his move to the UK in 1992, his preference for jazz guitar and bass, and his occasional radio program, Textures.
Topics
- The history and arrival of jazz in Czechoslovakia
- The influence of American culture and politics on early 20th century Czech society
- The history and political suppression of jazz in Czechoslovakia
- Music education in the Czech Republic
- Dominik's personal listening habits and preferences regarding jazz instruments.
- Dominik's radio broadcasting work on the program Textures.
Participants
- Dominik
- Tony Cleary
Names are taken from the archive as written and may include spelling variants.
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Priding itself on being a democracy, having a fairly progressive constitution, women had the right to vote. You know, quite a few years before they had the right to vote in the UK or and in the US, and it modelled itself after the US democracy. And so people were calling the Czechoslovakia of that time the Little America.
Of the sort, the political milieu of that time as well, which, by the way, brought us the Czech national greeting, which is "ahoy," and it comes from the English naval "ahoy" because Czechs, as a landlocked country, always yearned for for being you know for the sea, so they're canoeing up and.
But what do you still listen to jazz over here? Do you go to jazz concert yourself? I'm not much of a concert goer, but I listen to jazz pretty much exclusively. As I mean, if if I'm sort of deciding what to put on, you know, when I'm working or when I'm just want to listen to something, that it would be jazz rather than anything else. But
Selected music
Czech Culture And The History Of Jazz
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Why it was chosen It is one of his favorites and he chose a straight up blues because it's accessible.
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Why it was chosen He likes Víklitský's reinterpretations of Czech folklore.
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Why it was chosen To illustrate Czech musicians going out into the world and exporting their skill.