# Reduta Jazz Club: The revolutionary history Of Prague’s first Jazz venue: Video, Photos

- Link: https://jazzblues.eu/2022/02/07/reduta-jazz-club-the-revolutionary-history-of-pragues-first-jazz-venue-video-photos/
- Published: 2022-02-07T12:29:16+01:00
- Author: https://JazzBlues.EU

**Reduta Jazz Club is an iconic music venue in Prague with a wide international 
reputation. The first of its kind in Europe, Reduta’s history tells of the enduring
and passionate traits of Czech culture.**

We take a look at the history of this revolutionary venue.

Reduta Jazz Club was born out of the turbulent 20th century in the then Czechoslovakia.
During these dramatic years, Europe faced two World Wars, The Cold War and many 
more conflicts that destroyed, repressed and severely altered the cultural landscapes
of the area.

In the middle of this, the Czech Republic was forced to continually reinvent itself,
redefining its borders and political allies, and it was from this atmosphere of 
uncertainty that Reduta came to life. The first of its kind in Europe, Reduta opened
its doors in 1957 through a commitment to art from the owner and other aspiring 
artists in Prague.

From its opening onwards, Reduta Jazz Club became an icon in Prague. It represented
a place of expression in a time of political conformity, and this bred some of the
most exciting jazz and cabaret performances of the time.

The signature performance style here was the ‘Text-Appeals’: literary cabaret that
fused improvisations in both words and music. Through this merging of art forms 
Reduta saw names like Jiří Suchý, Ivan Vyskočil, Jiří Stivín and Martin Kratochvíl
come under the same roof.

During the years under Alexander Dubček’s political leadership, the jazz club suffered
due to the Normalisation policies that were being enforced. These saw the government
take stricter control over culture and daily life, and hence the relative freedom
that had allowed Reduta to flourish was slowly being taken away.

In decline from what it had grown to be, Reduta was still able to retain its reputation
as small cultural oasis and a point of resistance. In an effort to further quell
this rebellious status, the jazz club lost its private ownership and was bought 
by a larger agency.

Ironically, however, it was this transition that would make Reduta Jazz Club even
more central as a social-political meeting ground. The international status of the
new owners brought names such as Wynton Marsalis, Chris Barber and Aki Takase to
Reduta’s stage, and with this the political and artistic elite were able to meet
in Prague.

In spite of fighting against the odds, Reduta Jazz Club had thrived as a place of
free expression and artistic discovery.

![Reduta Jazz Club](https://i0.wp.com/praguemorning.cz/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/
CZECH-8-5-1024x577.jpg?resize=640%2C361)

**Reduta Jazz Club Today**

Since the Velvet Revolution and the beginning of the modern-day Czech Republic, 
Reduta Jazz Club has maintained its status as a place ‘where political and cultural
persons meet’.

A perfect symbol for this occurred in 1994 when Bill Clinton jumped onto the stage
to play the tenor sax in one of the jam sessions.

The venue features both theatre and jazz programs and holds other music genre nights
such as mainstream, funky, fusion, latin, blues, soul and gospel.

A supporter of aspiring musicians and of the industry, Reduta also organises competitions,
jam nights and festivals for musicians of differing levels. The theatre puts on 
a range of shows including Prague’s famous Black Light Theatre.

![History of Prague’s First Jazz Club](https://i0.wp.com/praguemorning.cz/wp-content/
uploads/2021/12/CZECH-9-5-800x500.jpg?resize=640%2C400&ssl=1)

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