The trio of Martin Kratochvil (piano), Tony Ackerman (7-string guitar) and Imram Musa Zangi (percussion) has been a staple of the Prague jazz scene for over 25 years. Their unique sound combines elements of their three native countries (Czech Republic, USA, Iran) with the raw energy of jazz improvisation and the easy familiarity of a half a lifetime of playing together.

The Czech Ambassador organized a chamber jazz event to present the outstanding musicians to the cultural and diplomatic community. Later that week the Trio performed at an opening of Adolf Loos exhibition in RIBA and at the Secondo Bar in Clapham.

Martin Kratochvil, who holds a doctorate in philosophy, was the first musician to bring jazz/rock behind the Iron Curtain in the early 1970's, and his jazz/rock group Jazz Q Praha still draws big crowds today. He was also the first Czech to attend the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston. He now divides his time between live music, trekking in the Himalayas, and making films of his adventurous journeys.

Tony Ackerman, a music scholar and teacher as well as a performer, learned all the current folk and blues styles as a teenager in the Boston area, and honed his guitar skills with several years of classical study. His custom made 7-string guitar provides a rounded, natural sound to complement the grand piano and ethnic percussion.

Imram Musa Zangi, a respected ophthalmologist during the day, plays on a very personal set of congas, bongos, and a whole battery of small percussion instruments to lend not only rhythmic intricacy, but also a great range of ethnic colours to the group. In their concert you will hear the three go from sweet, melodic openings to highly charged, rhythmically intricate free passages; because their music is so eclectic and has drawn on so many folk and world music roots as well as jazz, it has a way of speaking to people of all ages and musical tastes.

The trio issued 8 albums to date and played at New York's Village Gate, and at various festivals and concerts in Germany, Austria, Finland, Israel etc.

Fl: Tony Ackermann, Imram Musa Zangi, Martin Kratochvíl