Gustav Brom (22 May 1921 – 25 September 1995) was a Slovak-

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

big band leader, arranger, clarinetist and composer. He achieved fame in Europe and abroad from the 1940s right through to his death in 1995. He worked prolifically and was noted for remaining true to the jazz big band idiom, beginning with

Dixieland Dixieland jazz, also referred to as traditional jazz, hot jazz, or simply Dixieland, is a style of jazz based on the music that developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century. The 1917 recordings by the Original Dixieland Jass Band ( ...

and swing and later, with contributions from his musicians, moving into the

West Coast jazz West Coast jazz refers to styles of jazz that developed in Los Angeles and San Francisco during the 1950s. West Coast jazz is often seen as a subgenre of cool jazz, which consisted of a calmer style than bebop or hard bop. The music relied rel ...

sound.

Biography

Born Gustav Frkal on 22 May 1921 in

Veľké Leváre Veľké Leváre (, ) is a village and municipality in western Slovakia in Malacky District in the Bratislava region. The first written notice about the village has its origins in the year 1378. The village Veľké Leváre is situated in the reach ...

, his and the band's first professional engagement was in June 1940 in the Radhošť Hotel in

Rožnov pod Radhoštěm Rožnov pod Radhoštěm (; ) is a town in Vsetín District in the Zlín Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 16,000 inhabitants. Geography Rožnov pod Radhoštěm is located about northeast of Vsetín and south of Ostrava. It lies in the ...

. Shortly after World War II, Brom's band performed in

Brno Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...

and

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

and also for several months in 1947 in Switzerland. Other top big band leaders in Prague at this time included

Karel Vlach Karel Vlach (8 October 1911, in Prague – 26 February 1986, in Prague) was a Czech dance orchestra conductor and arranger. He founded his first orchestra in 1938. Many important composers, instrumentalists and arrangers of the Czech jazz scene g ...

and

Kamil Běhounek Kamil Běhounek (29 March 1916 – 22 November 1983) was a Czech-German accordionist and composer. He played jazz and popular music. He also worked as a bandleader, arranger and film scorer. He also occasionally played tenor saxophone. Biography B ...

. Brom triumphed in 1955 at the

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

Fair, in the former East Germany, winning accolades for his outstanding arrangements. The 1950s saw Brom signed with

Supraphon Supraphon Music Publishing is a Czech record label, oriented mainly towards publishing classical music and popular music, with an emphasis on Czech and Slovak composers. History The Supraphon name was first registered as a trademark in 1932. Th ...

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, recording and arranging prolifically with many guest artists including British singer

Gery Scott Gery Scott (5 October 1923 – 14 December 2005) was a jazz and cabaret entertainer and teacher, whose performing career spanned 26 countries and over 60 years. She was noted for her powerful stage persona and engaging delivery, with material rang ...

, Czech singers

Karel Gott Karel Gott (14 July 1939 – 1 October 2019) was a Czech singer, considered the most successful male singer in Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic. He was voted the country's best male singer in the annual ''Český slavík'' (''Czech Nighti ...

Helena Vondráčková Helena Vondráčková (born 24 June 1947, in Prague) is a Czech people, Czech singer and actress whose prolific career as a performer has spanned more than six decades, earning her acclaim both domestically and internationally. Recognized for h ...

and Hana and Petr Ulrych (aka Ulrychovi) and Greek sisters Tena and Martha Elefteriadu. He died in Brno on 25 September 1995.

International recognition

In the 1960s Brom's band was rated one of the top ten big-bands in the world by the American jazz polls.

Maynard Ferguson Walter Maynard Ferguson CM (May 4, 1928 – August 23, 2006) was a Canadian jazz trumpeter and bandleader. He came to prominence in Stan Kenton's orchestra before forming his own big band in 1957. He was noted for his bands, which often served ...

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( ; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improvisation, improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy El ...

Diana Ross & the Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959 as the Primettes. A premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful Amer ...

Ray Conniff Joseph Raymond Conniff (November 6, 1916 – October 12, 2002) was an American bandleader and arranger best known for his Ray Conniff Singers during the 1960s. Biography Conniff was born November 6, 1916, in Attleboro, Massachusetts, United S ...

Ben Cramer Ben Cramer (born Bernardus Kramer; 17 February 1947) is a Dutch singer who represented the Netherlands in the 1973 Eurovision Song Contest. Music career Early years Cramer was born in Amsterdam. He made his television debut in 1966 with his b ...

, Bill Ramsey and others joined the Gustav Brom Big Band in many concerts and performances and the band's name became well known and respected among professional performers as well as the discerning public. Brom was honoured in 1993 with the

Luděk Hulan Luděk Hulan (11 October 1929, in Prague – 22 February 1979, in Prague) was a Czech jazz double-bassist and musical organiser. He was an important exponent of Czech jazz in the second half of the 20th century. Biography Hulan started his ...

Jazz Award, presented yearly by the Czech Jazz Society,

Legacy

With Brom's death in 1995, the band started a new phase under a slightly changed name, conducted by Vladimír Valovič from the

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

n capital,

. Valovič was appointed by Brom himself as successor. New members have joined from the Czech cities of

Olomouc Olomouc (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 103,000 inhabitants, making it the Statutory city (Czech Republic), sixth largest city in the country. It is the administrative centre of the Olomouc Region. Located on the Morava (rive ...

and

Ostrava Ostrava (; ; ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 283,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four rivers: Oder, Opava (river), Opa ...

, and also from Bratislava. Since June 1940, Gustav Brom's big-band's name has appeared on over 570 music records, of both Czech and foreign origin, and the post-war recordings are becoming of interest to record collectors and music lovers worldwide. In September 2006, Czech recording label ''Producentské centrum Františka Rychtaříka'' released the CD ''Gery Scott & Gustav Brom'', a reissue of selections recorded by Supraphon in Prague in 1957.

Discography

*1961: ''Jazz in der Tschechoslovakei'' (Supraphon SUC 15388) *1962: ''Jazz Souvenirs'' (Supraphon, SUK 35545) Single B-side only, A-side consists of music by

János Kőrössy János Kőrössy (Cluj 26 December 1926 – Bucharest 21 January 2013) was a Romanian jazz musician of Hungarian descent. He was a piano player, composer and arranger. He was born to an ethnic Hungarian family in Cluj. His first teacher was pian ...

& Studio 5 *1966: ''Československý jazz 1965'' (Supraphon DV 1023) Various Artists (including

Jan Hammer Jan Hammer () (born 17 April 1948) is a Czech-American musician, composer, and record producer. He rose to prominence while playing keyboards with the Mahavishnu Orchestra during the early 1970s, as well as with his film scores for television an ...

Karel Velebný Karel Velebný (17 March 1931 – 7 March 1989, Prague) was a Czechs, Czech jazz musician, composer, arranger, actor, writer and music pedagogue. Velebný was one of the founders of modern Czech jazz in the second half of the 20th century. Biog ...

and others) *1967: ''Jazzovy Concert'' (Supraphon 150478) *1967: ''Swinging The Jazz'' (MPS Records) *1969: ''Missa Jazz'' (MPS Records) *1969: ''Maynard + Gustav'' (Supraphon, 1 15 0716, Los Grandes del JAZZ Sarpe 85), Maynard Ferguson and Gustav Brom Orchestra *1976: ''Polymelomodus'' (

) *1976: ''Mini Jazz Klub vol.3 in memoriam Josef Blaha'' (Panton, 330388) *1976: ''Plays for you pop, jazz and swing'' (Opus 91150447)

Biography

International recognition

Legacy

Discography

References

Further reading