George Mraz

George Mraz ( born September 9, 1944 in Pisek Jiří Mráz ) is an American jazz bassist of Czech origin.

Mraz played from the age of seven, violin, alto saxophone, and then later the bass were added. Until 1966 he studied double bass at the Prague Conservatory. He was a member of the trio of guitarist Rudolf Dašek, which later merged into the band by Karel Velebný and took a Czech band attended a jazz workshop of the Norddeutscher Rundfunk. In 1968 he played in the big band of Gustav Brom. After graduating, he spent a year in Munich, where he among other things, appeared with Benny Bailey and Mal Waldron, but also played in a trio with Irène Schweizer and Pierre Favre.

After the invasion of the Warsaw Five in Czechoslovakia in 1968, he emigrated to the United States where he studied at the Berklee College of Music until 1970. He then toured with Oscar Peterson and from 1973 to 1976 member of the Thad Jones / Mel Lewis Orchestra. He then worked with numerous musicians such as John Abercrombie, Pepper Adams, Richie Beirach, Bill Evans, Tommy Flanagan, Richard Galliano, Stan Getz, Stephane Grappelli, Roland Hanna, John Hicks, Hank Jones, Miriam Klein, Rudy Linka, Carmen McRae, Walter Norris, Art Pepper, Sonny Rollins, Jimmy Rowles, Zoot Sims and Attila Zoller. Overall, it appears on more than nine hundred albums as a sideman. He accompanied many important jazz pianist in the Piano Trio, where he has a harsh tone that makes him recognizable.

Since the early 1990s, Mraz also released a number of albums as a soloist and bandleader.

Disco Graphical Notes

  • Catching Up, 1992
  • Jazz ( Milestone, 1995) with Richie Beirach, Billy Hart, Larry Willis, Rich Perry
  • My Foolish Heart ( Milestone, 1995) with Richie Beirach, Billy Hart
  • Bottom Lines ( Milestone, 1997) with Cyrus Chestnut, Al Foster, Rich Perry
  • Upon Reflection with Hank Jones and Elvin Jones, Gitanes
  • Duke 's Place with Renee Rosnes, Billy Drummond, Cyrus Chestnut, 1999
  • Morava ( Milestone, 2002) with Billy Hart, Emil Viklický, Zuzana Lapčíková
  • Moravian Gems with Iva Bittová, Emil Viklický, Laco Tropp, 2007
  • Jazz bassist
  • American musician
  • Born in 1944
  • Man
Pierre Favre (musician) The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra John Abercrombie (guitarist) John Hicks (jazz pianist) Walter Norris Name Authority File
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