Petr Kroutil (born 31 January 1973 in

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 ...

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

) is a Czech musician and actor. He is a vocalist, composer, arranger, and bandleader who plays clarinet, flute, saxophone, and the

bansuri A bansuri is an ancient side-blown bamboo flute originating from the Indian Subcontinent. It is an aerophone produced from bamboo and metal-like material, used in many Indian and Nepali Lok songs. A ''bansuri'' is traditionally made from a ...

Education

Kroutil began playing

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at the age of six. By the age of nine, he had begun studying clarinet. After graduating from high school he studied at

Jaroslav Ježek Conservatory Jaroslav Ježek Conservatory (), located in Prague, Czech Republic, is a conservatory specializing in contemporary music. Known primarily as a school for jazz and commercial music, it also offers a six-year undergraduate diploma in Classical m ...

of Music in Prague and at

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 ...

in Boston. For two years he lived in Nepal to study Indian

bamboo flute The bamboo flute, especially the bone flute, is one of the oldest musical instruments known. Examples of Paleolithic flutes, Paleolithic bone flutes have survived for more than 40,000 years, to be discovered by archaeologists. While the oldest f ...

Kathmandu University Kathmandu University (KU) () is an autonomous university in Nepal. It is the third oldest university in Nepal, located in Dhulikhel of Kavrepalanchok District, about east of Kathmandu. It was established in 1991 with the motto "Quality Educat ...

Career

In 1991, at the age of eighteen, Kroutil became a member of the Original Prague Syncopated Orchestra. The band concentrated on music from the 1930s and went on tour in Europe and North Africa. After starring in the romantic comedy '' Prima Sezona (The Swell Season)'', an adaptation of the novel by

Josef Škvorecký Josef Škvorecký (; September 27, 1924 – January 3, 2012) was a Czech-Canadian writer and publisher. He spent half of his life in Canada, publishing and supporting banned Czech literature during the communist era. Škvorecký was awarded the ...

, Kroutil gained fame in the Czech Republic. He recorded and performed the soundtrack for the mini-series. In 1996, Kroutil helped form the Prague Swing Orchestra, specializing in swing music of the 1940s. As lead soloist, singer, and emcee, he played at jazz festivals in Europe. The orchestra has performed concerts which were broadcast internationally on television. In 1997, he formed the modern jazz quintet Přátele Tichého Jazzu influenced by American jazz musicians

Chet Baker Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool". Baker earned much attention and ...

Stan Getz Stan Getz (born Stanley Gayetski; February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wis ...

, and

Gerry Mulligan Gerald Joseph Mulligan (April 6, 1927 – January 20, 1996), also known as Jeru, was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, pianist, composer and arranger. Though primarily known as one of the leading jazz baritone saxophonists—playing t ...

. In 2002, Kroutil released the album ''Bhakti Junction'' in London with singer Renu Gidoomal. The British-Indian jazz fusion album included two compositions by Kroutil. He became a member of the

Royal Caribbean Cruise Line Royal Caribbean International (RCI), formerly Royal Caribbean Cruise Line (RCCL), is a cruise line founded in 1968 in Norway and organized as a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Group since 1997. Based in Miami, Florida, it is the Lis ...

's orchestra in 2003. The Orchestra performed with

The Platters The Platters are an American vocal group formed in 1952. They are one of the most successful vocal groups of the early rock and roll era. Their distinctive sound bridges the pre-rock Tin Pan Alley tradition and the new burgeoning genre. The act ...

with

Herb Reed Herbert Reed (August 7, 1928 – June 4, 2012) was an American musician, vocalist, and founding/naming member of The Platters, known for songs such as "Only You (and You Alone)" and "The Great Pretender". Reed was the last surviving original memb ...

Marty Allen Morton David Alpern (March 23, 1922 – February 12, 2018), better known as Marty Allen, was an American comedian, actor, and philanthropist. He worked as a comedy headliner in nightclubs, as a dramatic actor in television roles, and was once c ...

, Kenny James, Victor Mendoza's Afro-Latin American Big Band, and Joe Mareiny from Louis Armstrong's All Stars Band. Living in Nepal from 2004 to 2005, he studied bamboo flute,

, and

Indian classical music Indian classical music is the art music, classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It is generally described using terms like ''Shastriya Sangeet'' and ''Marg Sangeet''. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as ...

at Kathmandu University. He formed the band The McTwisters, performing his compositions. Members of the band included the Nepali musicians Manoj, Nirakar, Adrian, and Sanjey from the band 1974 A.D. Returning home to the Czech Republic in August 2005, he formed the trio Shanti which performs his compositions and some standards, and also worked with Czech jazz singer

Jana Koubková Jana may refer to: Entertainment * ''Jana'' (film), a 2004 Tamil film by Shaji Kailas * Jana (singer) (born 1974), Serbian singer * Jana (Native American singer), née Jana Mashonee * ''Jana of the Jungle'', animated series created by Doug Wild ...

's band. In 2006 he started the Petr Kroutil Orchestra, which plays jazz standards and his compositions. In 2007 he performed with Russian rock musician

Boris Grebenshchikov Boris Borisovich Grebenshchikov (; born ) is a prominent member of the generation which is widely considered to be the "founding fathers" of Russian rock music. He is the founder and lead singer of the band Aquarium which has been active since ...

. Instead of hard rock music, they performed Tibetan mantras for over 800 listeners. For

Michal Horáček Michal Horáček (born 23 July 1952) is a Czech Republic, Czech entrepreneur, lyricist, poet, writer, journalist and music producer. From 2007 until 2010, he was the chairman of the Czech Academy of Popular Music. He founded Czech betting compan ...

, he recorded all wind instruments for the bestselling album of the year, '' Ohrožený druh''. With Renu Gidoomal he recorded a children's album called ''Human Values'' that was released in the UK in October 2010. They performed on

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster in Central London. It was established in the early-19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. Its name commemorates the Battle of Trafalgar, the Royal Navy, ...

for over 25000 people with Bhajazz. Kroutil returned to Trafalgar Square during 2012 for the River of Music Festival. Over 2000 musicians from around the world performed on five stages before the Olympic games started. Kroutil was chosen to represent the Czech Republic, and he performed with Budapest Bar from Hungary. The concert was broadcast by the BBC.

References

Bibliography

Last updated in 2006.

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kroutil, Petr 1973 births Living people Czech composers Czech male composers Czech jazz musicians Czech jazz composers Nepalese musicians Berklee College of Music alumni Czech jazz saxophonists Czech jazz clarinetists Bansuri players Musicians from Prague Czech male film actors Male actors from Prague 21st-century saxophonists 21st-century Czech clarinetists Male jazz composers 21st-century Czech male musicians Alumni of Kathmandu University Czech flautists 21st-century flautists