Articles on swing, balls and live music
Practical advice for organisers of balls, galas and corporate evenings, a look behind the scenes of a big band and portraits of our soloists.
SoloistsDavid Kleňha: the jazz and swing singer bringing jazz back to a younger generationBorn in Karlovy Vary, big band soloist and a regular at Prague’s Reduta. A portrait of the singer and his four line-ups.
SoloistsMirka Lendělová: a classically trained singer with a swing heartA graduate of the Plzeň Conservatory, competition singer and teacher. Soloist of the orchestra for many years.
For ball organisersHow to choose a band for a ball: seven questions to ask before you signHall size, set length, sound engineer, repertoire. What to ask before booking a band for a ball.
For ball organisersHow much space does a big band need? A practical guide for ball organisersA 10 × 8 m stage, sound engineer, power sockets, set times. The technical minimum for the full orchestra and the Jazz Combo.
Line-upsJazz Combo: big band sound for a smaller hall and a more modest budgetEight musicians, half the stage, full swing sound. The line-up for smaller halls and limited budgets.
For companiesA live band for a corporate party: when a big band, when a smaller line-upHonestly: how many guests make an orchestra worthwhile, when the Jazz Combo is enough and when intimate jazz is best.
Swing up closeInside a big band: a guide to the sections of the orchestraTrumpets, trombones, saxophones and rhythm. What each section does and why a big band sounds the way it does.
Swing up closeEllington, Basie, Goodman, Sinatra: four names that hold swing togetherShort portraits of the four figures the orchestra’s repertoire is built on — and what to listen to.
SeasonAdvent with swing: why a Christmas concert with a big band worksSwing and Christmas belong together. How to plan an Advent concert and why to book early.
Where we playKarlovy Vary Municipal Theatre: the orchestra’s home stageA theatre opened in 1886, a curtain by Gustav Klimt — and an orchestra a hundred years younger on its stage.
Where we playSwing in the open air: the orchestra at festivals, colonnades and squaresTown festivals, spa towns, border Bavaria. What an orchestra needs when it plays outdoors.
Behind the scenesFrom score to stage: how the programme of a concert is madeChoosing songs, arrangements for twenty people, the shape of the evening. How the orchestra builds a programme.