Jaroslav Jakubovič


Jaroslav Jakubovič is a Czech-born Israeli jazz saxophonist, composer and record producer.

Biography

Born in Czechoslovakia, Jakubovič emigrated to Israel, via Switzerland in 1968, as a result of the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia. He then enrolled at Berklee College of Music, where he studied composition and arranging. He then married and moved to New York City, where he was signed by the prestigious label Columbia Records. Jakubovič was particularly active as a session musician in New York in the 1970s and worked with such prominent musicians as Paul Simon, the Jackson 5, Bette Midler, Ray Charles, Lionel Hampton and Buddy Rich.
He returned briefly to the Czech Republic in 1998, at the invitation of President Havel, but returned properly only in 2009 to play at the Usti International Jazz and Blues Festival.
In 1985, he recorded the instrumental album Waiting For Messiah featuring jazz adaptations of the songs of Shalom Hanoch. The album was re-issued in 2009. In 2000 he moved back to New York and established a jazz-folk ensemble playing original compositions and covers of well-known songs. His 2009 album Coincidence was recorded with such well-known jazz musicians as Randy Brecker and Adam Nussbaum.
In 2010, Jakubovič appeared at the Red Sea Jazz Festival alongside his son Daniel on guitar.
In February 2015, Jakubovič performed the world premier of Sara and Avraham, his concerto for saxophone, piano and symphony orchestra, with the Prague Symphony Orchestra at the Smetana Hall in Prague. The programme for the concert, which was held under the auspices of Gary Koren, Ambassador of Israel in the Czech Republic, also included Jakubovič's variations on Porgy and Bess by George Gershwin, and featured Czech pianist Emil Viklický and conductor Elli Jaffe.

Reception

Reviewing the 2009 album Coincidence for DownBeat magazine, Shaun Brady said:

The music that Jakubovic has penned for the album also maintains a pop accessibility throughout, with strong grooves and vivid melodies that almost cry out for lyrics to sing along with. Sixties soul-jazz is the well from which Jakubovic draws his strongest inspiration, the most obvious touchstone being Cannonball Adderley’s Zawinul-era output. The gospel-tinged pining of “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy” is evoked several times, most notably on the wistful “Good Ol’ Days,” which spotlights the fluttery suppleness of the leader’s bari playing. “Say What?” is a fairly conscious echo of “Compared to What” while “Bouncing Czech Dobry” is a Lee Morgan-style burner.

Discography

As leader/co-leader