Ondřej Štveráček Double Drums Quintet
ft. Jesse Simpson / Marek Urbánek

The leading saxophonist Ondřej Štveráček has assembled an extraordinary quintet with two drummers, which is characterized by energy, bravura technique and imaginative improvisation. The music of this ensemble of top musicians could be described as post Coltrane-bop. After two studio albums Calm and Sketches, Ondřej Štveráček has recorded a third CD together with American drummer Gene Jackson, double bassist Tomas Baroš and pianist Klaudio Kováč. It was a live recording from a concert at Jazz Dock, released under the title Ondřej Štveráček Quartet Live in Prague. The album is composed mainly of Štveráček's original compositions, but there are also compositions by his bandmates and a jazz standard by John Coltrane.

“Ondřej Štveráček’s thunderous tenor sax recalls ‘new breed’ reedmen like Steve Grossman and Dave Liebman who honed their sound in the billowing wake of John Coltrane’s legacy. It is impossible not to hear echoes of the icon in this young Czech lion – a whole-horn, sound-for-its-own-sake approach with chops to support any idea that occurs – but he is clearly on his way to a more original concept with What’s Outside. On “Out-Sight” and Coltrane’s “Africa” Štveráček nearly melts the remaining varnish from his faded sax, taxing his reed with overblown immediacy while “Weaver of Dreams” reveals a gentler side; unlike his idol, he eschews ‘shaggy-dog’ storytelling in favor of succinct, song-serving narratives.” (Tom Greenland - New York City Journalist)