Michael Kocáb
Michael Kocáb
(*1954)
The Czech composer, instrumentalist and singer Michael Kocáb has been an important figure in modern Czech music since the end of the 1970s. He studied at the Prague conservatory (studying organ with Jiří Ropek and composition with Ilja Hurník). He was already artistically active during his studies with Prague big band Milana Svobody and Jiří Stivín.
He subsequently founded his own group, Pražský výběr, which helped determine the evolutionary line of Czech rock in the 1980s. After a jazz-rock period, he got to know guitarist Michal Pavlíček ,and together they steered the band toward modern waters. The band recorded the album Straka v hrsti (A Magpie in the Hand) in 1982, but the record was forbidden to be released (it came out six years later).
After resuming activities, the group then enjoyed their most celebrated years, selling out sports halls and recording new records. A joint recording with Michal Pavlíček followed (the album Cerne svetlo, or Black Light), as did a solo record (Povídali, že mu hráli, or They Said They Played For Him) and film (Pražákům, těm je tu hej! or The Praguers Have It Good!).
Michael Kocáb’s transformation from musician to politician began in the summer of 1989 at the Děčínská kotva music festival, when he said that “Every nation has the government it deserves” in a live television broadcast. Afterward, he founded the Most (Bridge) initiative with lyricist Michal Horáček, and was involved in direct negotiations between representatives of the Communist Party and the Civic Forum in November 1989. Kocáb was subsequently a member of the federal Parliament for nearly two years. As chairman of a parliamentary committee, he primarily devoted himself to the removal of Soviet troops.
After this was fully executed, he gave up his parliamentary mandate and organized a concert for the occasion. Pražský výběr played at this event, and were joined by Kocáb’s friend Frank Zappa. When Václav Havel became president, he brought Michael Kocáb to the castle with him as an unpaid external adviser.
In the 1990's, Pražský výběr got back together several times. They recorded an album, played a few concerts and then went their separate ways again. In his most recent solo outing, Michael Kocáb released the album Za kyslík (For Oxygen), which combines his New Wave roots with dance impulses. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
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