Rudy Linka (born 29 May 1960) is a Czech

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

guitarist.

Biography

From 1975 to 1979, he studied classical guitar as a teenager at the Prague Conservatory and learned jazz through his mentor, Karel Velebný. After travelling to Germany in 1980, he defected to the West in Sweden. In the first half of the 1980s, he studied composition and classical guitar at the Stockholm Music Institute. While in Sweden he began his collaboration with American double bassist Red Mitchell. In 1985 he moved to Boston and attended the

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...

. The following year he moved to New York City, where he studied at

the New School The New School is a Private university, private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for p ...

for Jazz and Contemporary Music with John Abercrombie, Dave Liebman, and Arnie Lawrence. He studied privately with guitarists Jim Hall and John Scofield and before leading his own group. Linka has performed and recorded with Jon Batiste,

Larry Grenadier Larry Grenadier (born February 6, 1966, in San Francisco) is an American jazz double bassist. Early life Grenadier's father was a trumpet player in World War II army bands and later in Europe but stopped playing professionally before his chi ...

, Gil Goldstein,

Paul Motian Stephen Paul Motian (March 25, 1931 – November 22, 2011) was an American jazz drummer, percussionist, and composer of Armenian descent. He played an important role in freeing jazz drummers from strict time-keeping duties. Motian first came t ...

, Bob Mintzer, John Scofield, John Abercrombie, Kenny Wollesen, and Marvin "Smitty" Smith on labels such as Timeless, Enja,

Sony BMG Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout o ...

, and Universal. In 1998 he was voted one of the ten best guitarists by the readers of ''

Down Beat ''DownBeat'' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm that it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1 ...

'' magazine. Linka is the founder and artistic director of the Bohemia Jazz Fest which takes place every July in the Czech Republic.

Discography

* ''Rudy Linka Quartet'' (Arta, 1991) * ''News from Home'' (Arta, 1992) * ''Mostly Standards'' (Arta, 1993) * ''Live It Up'' (Timeless, 1993) * ''Czech It Out'' (Enja, 1994) * ''Always Double Czech'' (Enja, 1997) * ''Emotions in Motion'' (1999) * ''Just Between Us'' (Universal, 2000) * ''Every Moment'' (Acoustic Music Records, 2001) * ''Simple Pleasures'' (Midlantic, 2002) * ''Trip'' (JV, 2005) * ''Lucky Southern'' (Quinton, 2006) * ''Beyond the New York City Limits'' (2006) * ''Songs'' with

and

(Sony, 2008) * ''Re:Connect'' (MIC, 2013) * ''Acoustic & Electric'' (2015) * ''American Trailer'' (MIC, 2017) * ''Live'' (MIC, 2022)

References

External links

* Czech guitarists Czech male guitarists 1960 births Living people Musicians from Prague Czech jazz musicians Czech exiles Prague Conservatory alumni {{jazz-guitarist-stub