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Ondřej Pivec

Organic Quartet

Ondřej was born in 1984 in Brno, where he attended a seven years cycle of the classical piano at the primary school of music. He moved to Prague in 1999 and the same year participated in the Jazz Summer Workshop organized by the Czech Jazz Society. It was right there where guided by lectors such as NajPonk, Kuba Stankiewitch, Michal Tokaj, Pavel Wlosok and others, he was introduced to jazz music. Amazed by this genre he took part in two more summer workshops. After just one year Ondřej formed his first jazz quintet, called „Mantis“ with which he performed as a pianist ocasionally in Prague and across Czech Republic.

The first important engagement came in 2002 when Pivec was asked to join the jazz trio of the prominent Czech jazz guitar player Roman Pokorný. Thanks to him Ondřej switched from piano to the legendary keyboard instrument – the Hammond organ. Throught the cooperation with Roman Pokorný trio Ondřej learnt how to play the bass lines with the left hand and gained his first experience as a professional musician. In the meantime Ondřej started performing with a Polish-Cuban singer, Yvonne Sanchez, in her project called "Brazilian Groove", having more than 130 concerts during 2004 not only in Prague and the Czech Republic, but even abroad.

At that time Ondřej met Alberto Marsico, an Italian organ virtuoso, receiving some important coaching from him. In 2005 Ondřej left both previous projects and set off his own direction by establishing his own band called „Organic quartet“ together with his schoolmates from the Jazz College of Jaroslav Ježek, where he has studied since 2004 (among his teachers were Jiří Nedoma, David Dorůžka, Jaromír Honzák, Filip Gondolán, Milan Svoboda and others). Ondřej also started to collaborate occasionally with the German guitarist Christian Rover.

It was the same year that Ondřej was awarded the first place in „The soloist of the year“ and the Organic quartet „The band of the year“ category in the talent competition held within the 2005 Philips International Jazz Festival in Prague.

The debut album called „Don´t Get Ideas“ of the Organic quartet was released in 2006, by the Czech-British label Cube-Metier. It was appreciated by both national and international critics with more than thousand copies sold within the first eight months.The following year Ondřej Pivec was elected “Organist of the Month” for October 2006, by the International Archives for the Jazz Organ. The most important success so far is an Academy Music Award for Jazz and Blues category 2006 ( Anděl ) that Ondřej Pivec Organic quartet has recieved for the debut album Don´t Get Ideas.

In May 2007 the second album called „Never Enough“ was released by the independent Czech label Animal Music. In summer that year Ondřej experienced more than two months in New York, where he took several lessons from on of the most important organ players Sam Yahel (Ondřej also turned to playing the bass using his feet on the organ pedals) and surprisingly recorded his last album so far called „Overseason“ (in cooperation with some of the most prominent local musicians) to be released on the beginning of 2008. Nowadays Ondřej colaborates with the prominent Czech violinist Gabriela Demeterová and her Collegium on the project that combines both jazz and classical music.

As a leader or a sideman Ondřej Pivec has performed on many different international stages (like SemperOper, Dresden, Blue Note Germany, Gewandhaus Liepzig, Turkey as a member of the Yvonne Sanchez Brazilian Groove band supporting the drummer legend - Billy Cobbham’s Culture Mix Band, Romanian and Moldavian tour with Organic Quartet, St. Germain club in Paris, Kunstfabrik Berlin, Jyvaskyla Jazz festival in Finland, Cheltenham Jazz festival in England, ORF Radiokulturhaus in Vienna or the Alchemia theatre in Cracow – Poland ) Ondřej Pivec is today respected as one of the most remarkable musicians on the Czech jazz and fusion scene.



Projects

Ondřej Pivec ORGANIC quartet
Even though being considered as a new name on the Czech jazz scene, the band has already recorded several major recognitions. Organic quartet takes part of the young and extraordinary new generation of Czech jazz musicians and its potentional, qualities, unique repertory and energy just goes beyond the Czech borders.

This is also being confirmed by different international critics such as „The band of the year“ category award in the talent competition held within the 2005 Philips International Jazz Festival in Prague and participation on many different international festivals. The frontman Ondřej Pivec was also elected “Best soloist of the year” within the same competition and “Organist of the month” for October 2006 by International Archives for Jazz Organ. The most important success so far is an Academy Music Award for Jazz and Blues category 2006 (Anděl) that Ondřej Pivec Organic quartet has recieved for the debut album Don´t Get Ideas. The Organic quartet has recently performed with a great success in ORF Radiokulturhaus in Vienna, the Alchemia theatre in Cracow, on the Romanian and Moldavian tour, St. Germain club in Paris, Kunstfabrik in Berlin, Swinging hall in Sofia or Cheltenham Jazz festival in England.

Ondřej Pivec Organic quartet plays mostly original music inspired by the contemporary jazz giants, but the band is also influenced by some of the most significant icons from other musical genres such as funk, blues or rock. The Organic quartet´s music certainly respects the traditional roots but definitely carries a modern taste at the same time.

The frontman of the Organic quartet is only a 23 years old Hammond organ player, composer and singer Ondřej Pivec. The other band members are: Libor Šmoldas on guitar, Tomáš Hobzek on drums and Jakub Doležal on the saxophone. The absence of bass is obvious – this is just fully being replaced by the left hand and recently also by feet on the Hammond organ pedals by Pivec himself. Over the past three years the band has successfully performed with more than 250 shows in the Czech republic both clubs and festivals as well as abroad, and has established itself one of the favorite uprising jazz bands.

Ondřej Pivec has started his career as a classical pianist, but soon turned to jazz - he started to play the Hammond organ before he was 20 years old. He was inspired by some important organists such as Sam Yahel, Larry Goldings, Jimy Smith, Larry Young and others. He has also taken lessons from the legendary English Hammond player Mike Carr or Italian organ virtuoso Alberto Marsico and recently even Sam Yahel during Ondřej´s stay in New York.

Ondřej´s agile organ bass lines played using his left hand and his feet on the Hammond organ pedals, his decent style and virtuosity while playing the right hand solo are definitely appreciated by both local and international critics. As a leader or a sideman Ondřej Pivec has toured more than 500 concerts all over the Czech Republic and abroad, becoming one of the most remarkable musicians on the Czech jazz and fusion scene.