Klíč k životu – Vitouš Miroslav (2021)

The book Key to Life brings the memories of Miroslav Vitouš (*1947), a Czech jazz double bassist and bassist. Together with his brother Alan and keyboardist Jan Hammer Jr., he founded the Junior Trio in 1961, the most promising Czech jazz band of all time. After winning an international music competition in Vienna in 1966, he secured a scholarship to the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, USA, and moved there. He is considered one of the best double bassists in the world for his precise yet daring technique and flawless rhythm, along with captivating melodic turns and an insatiable desire to improvise. He has played and recorded albums with the world's jazz elite (Chick Corea, Herbie Mann, Miles Davis, Jack DeJohnette, John McLaughlin, Terje Rypdal, Herbie Hancock, Jan Garbarek, Stan Getz, Michel Petrucciani, and others). He is a founding member of the group Weather Report, with which he recorded its first, best albums, and the leader of his own Miroslav Vitous Group. He has also recorded several dozen of his own albums and has been a sought-after musician on many others. His memories describe a wide arc from the beginnings of playing the violin, a sports swimming career, studying at the Prague Conservatory under František Pošta, to moving to the USA, where he soon found himself at the very...