Jazz Concert on occasion of 100th Anniversary of the foundation of Czechoslovakia
By Mariam Chanishvili
Monday, October 22
Fats Jazz Band concert took place at Tbilisi State Conservatoire on October 19.
The event, which was dedicated to the 100th Anniversary of the foundation of Czechoslovakia, was attended by the representatives of the embassies of the two countries, as well as the Ambassador of the European Union to Georgia Carl Hartzell.
Czech and Slovak Republics are celebrating the 100th anniversary of the founding of Czechoslovakia in 2018. The country split up into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993, but both countries are marking the anniversary anyway.
The First Republic was declared on Oct. 28, 1918, when novelist Alois Jirásek read the proclamation of the independence of Czechoslovakia in front of the Saint Wenceslas statue on Wenceslas Square.
Various events were organized in both countries to celebrate the 100th anniversary.
The Embassies decided to organize a concert in Tbilisi and present a famous jazz band for the audience.
Fats Jazz Band is a nine-member orchestra presenting jazz and swing music from the late 1920s till 1940s. It was initiated by Ladislav Fancovic, one of the best present Slovak pianists.
Fancovic transcribes carefully chosen tunes from old shellacs by ear to music scores.
Ladislav Fancovic is a Slovak pianist, an old-jazz lover and an enthusiastic saxophonist who is today rightly considered a top representative of the European performing arts and among the most all-around musicians in Czechia and Slovakia.
The audience listened to the original arrangements as they were played by early jazz legends in their time.
The program also included Czech and Slovak jazz pieces, as well as various versions of pieces by Antonín Dvorák.
In 2012 FATS JAZZ BAND released debut CD album named "...IN FATS WALLER'S RHYTHM...", which consists of unique reconstructions of authentic recordings of legendary pianist, composer, singer and entertainer Thomas "Fats" Waller and his groups from years 1928 till 1943.
The band members also revived the long past tradition of Bratislava’s dancing evenings under the name Presburger swing evenings, which are visited by audience dressed in vintage dresses and rediscovering the forgotten magic of society bon-ton and quality values.
