NEWSLETTER
New York, N.Y. - Jan Smigmator is set to be the first Czech jazz singer to perform at the famous Carnegie Hall in New York. His solo concert will take place on April 29, 2023 during which he will perform the famous repertoire of The Great American Songbook. Smigmator will be accompanied by The New York Sextet which comprises musicians from a band of the legendary American singer Tony Bennett, including two Czech jazzmen.
The band will meet for the first time only a couple of days before the concert in New York. It includes a music producer and jazz pianist Jan Steinsdörfer, an excellent player on Hammond organ Jan Andr and the members of Tony Bennett quartet - double bassist Marshall Wood and guitar player Gray Sargent from Boston, legendary Californian drummer Harold Jones and swing matador, tenor saxophonist Scott Hamilton. The New York concert will also be released as an album Jan Smigmator Live At Carnegie Hall. All details about the concert can be found at www.smigmator.com as well as on the official pages of Carnegie Hall www.carnegiehall.org - tickets to be purchased on this page as well.
“It’s a dream of any musician to have a solo concert at the famous Carnegie Hall. It’s the Mecca of music and also the biggest accomplishment that can be achieved in the music world. It is a reference that opens the doors to the entire world. It signifies that you do your job very well. It is wonderful that we will play alongside the best American musicians,” says Jan Smigmator.
About Jan Smigmator
Jan Smigmator (born 1986) is a jazz singer, an embodiment of the connection between the music of the 21st century and swing kings like Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin, Bobby Darin, Mel Tormé, or the still-fantastic Tony Bennett. His voice, style, phrasing and love for the music rank him among the leading contemporary jazz and swing performers in Europe.
He graduated in 2008 from the Prague Conservatory singing in the Department of Popular Music and under the instruction of singers Eva Svobodová and Josef Štágr. At this time Smigmator was already performing in the company of leading Czech jazz musicians and orchestras. In 2005 he became a soloist in the legendary Václav Hybš Orchestra, with whom he sang in more than 250 concerts throughout the Czech Republic. Currently, he most commonly performs with his accompanying band, a chamber ensemble composed of top musicians of the Czech jazz scene, including Vladimír Strnad - piano, Jan Greifoner – double bass, Josef Vejvoda - drums, Jan Kyncl – tenor sax.
When leading in a big band, Smigmator joins the stage with Felix Slováček RTV Big Band or as a frequent guest in The Orchestra of Karel Vlach, Gustav Brom Czech Radio Big Band, B-Side Band, The Orchestra of the Central Military Band of the Czech Republic and a number of other local groups.
Jazz singer Jan Smigmator has released four solo albums: his debut, "Swing Is Back" in 2013, "Time To Swing" in 2016, "Vánoce/Christmas" in 2017 and the newest "Smigmator GERSHWIN Winehouse" in 2018 . While the debut record was mainly composed of songs from the Great American Songbook plus one original, in “Time to Swing” Smigmator shows himself to be an accomplished songwriter and composer. The latest album dedicated to the legacy of George Gershwin was recorded with great jazz singer Mitch Winehouse (father of Amy Winehouse) and present great international music guests as legendary saxophonist Scott Hamilton, great US singer Donna Byrne or Slovakian trumpet player Juraj Bartoš.
Since 2011 Smigmator has also been a presenter on Czech Radio 2, where he hosts Evergreen Club with the singer Dasha. Their music show is aimed at promoting the pieces from the Great American Songbook, jazz, swing and pop classics from the perspective of an artist. It focuses on both music history and the feeling that the music creates.
In 2015, the world was commemorating the 100th anniversary of the birth of the true King of Swing: Frank Sinatra. For this occasion, Jan Smigmator with his team devised, prepared and directed his ambitious musical project: Sinatrology. The Sinatrology concerts were held in towns throughout the Czech Republic, were some of the most extensive celebrations of the anniversary in the world. The main gala concert of the tour took place on December 12, 2015 in the Prague Municipal House. It was filmed by Czech Television and aired on New Year's Eve in primetime.
Media Contact:
Denisa Caldova