Petr Kroutil

Petr Kroutil performing in 2006.

Petr Kroutil (born 31 January 1973 in Prague, Czechoslovakia) is a Czech musician and actor. He is a clarinettist, saxophonist, bansuri player, vocalist, composer and arranger.

Musical Education

Kroutil studied jazz music from a very young age and began playing the recorder at the age of six. By the age of nine, he had begun studying the clarinet. After graduating from high school he went on to study at The Jaroslav Jezek Conservatory of Music graduating with a degree in Jazz Performance. Then Kroutil attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, until 2003, studying performance and jazz composition.

Career

In 1991, at the age of eighteen, Kroutil became a member of the extremely successful big band, the Original Prague Syncopated Orchestra. The band, which concentrated on performing music from the 1930s era, toured Europe and North Africa extensively.

After starring as Danny in the romantic comedy Prima Sezóna - The Swell Season (Czech Herec),^[1] an adaptation of the novel by Josef Skvorecky, Kroutil gained fame in the Czech Republic. He also recorded and performed the soundtrack for the mini-series.

In 1996, Kroutil co-established the big band The Prague Swing Orchestra (P.S.O.), specializing in swing music of the 1940s. As the lead soloist, singer and emcee for P.S.O, he played at some of the most prestigious jazz festivals in Europe. In addition, the orchestra has performed many live jazz concerts which were televised and internationally broadcast. In 1997, Kroutil also formed a modern jazz quintet “Pratele Ticheho Jazzu” influenced by American West Coast musicians like Stan Getz, Gerry Mulligan and Chet Baker. The members of the quintet were the top Czech jazz players.^[2]

In 2002, Kroutil released an album Bhakti Junction in London with established singer Renu Gidoomal. The British-Indian Jazz-Fusion album includes two original compositions by Kroutil.

Kroutil became a member of the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line's orchestra in 2003. The Orchestra performed with some of the top American jazz and pop musicians including The Platters with Herb Reid, Marty Allen, Kenny James, Victor Mendoza’s Afro-Latin American Big Band and Joe Mareiny who had been a member of Louis Armstrong’s The All Stars Band.

Living in Nepal from 2004–2005, he studied bamboo flute or bansuri and classical Indian music at the Kathmandu University Department of Music. He also established his own band The Mc Twisters, performing his own compositions. Although the band only survived two years, it became very successful in Nepal and India. The Mc Twisters were nominated for Nepali Grammys in 2006. Co members of the band are the finest Nepal’s players: Manoj, Nirakar, Adrian and Sanjey from the famous, multi Nepali Grammy winner band 1974 A.D.

Returning home to the Czech Republic in August 2005, Kroutil formed a brand new trio called Shanti, which performs mostly his original compositions and some standards. He is also a co-front man for the top Czech jazz singer Jana Koubková’s band^[3]

In 2006 Petr started his own band called Petr Kroutil Orchestra which plays not only jazz standards, but his originals as well. Petr’s co-musicians are well known and established colleagues who teach in Prague’s Jazz Conservatory Of Jaroslav Ježek.

In Autumn 2007 Petr permormed with a living legend of Russian rock music – mystical Boris Grebenschicov. Instead of hard rock music, they performed together tibetians mantras for over 800 thrilled listeners. For Michal Horáček he recorded all wind instruments for the most selling and successful album of a year – Ohrožený druh.

With Petr’s long time friend – Renu Gidoomal, he recorded a new CD for Kids called Human Values, released in UK in October 2010. In the same time they performed together on Trafalgar Square for over 25000 people with their – Bhajazz concept.

Petr came back to London and to the Trafalgar Square again during the summer 2012 where he was performing for the River Of Music Festival. Which was the most ambitious music project ever done in London. Over 2000 musicians from all around the world was performing on five stages around London just before the Olympic games started. Petr was chosen as the only one from the Czech republic and he performed with Budapest Bar from Hungary. The concert itself was broadcast by BBC.

References

1. Petr Kroutil
2. None
3. Jana Koubkova

Bibliography

Basis of this article. Last updated in 2006.