The Norman & Annete Rothstein Theatre

950 West 41st Avenue, Vancouver, BC V5Z 2N7

June 4, 2027 at 8pm,

Jakub Šafr is a prominent Czech jazz and swing pianist, composer, arranger, and bandleader. He is recognized as one of the leading figures on the contemporary Czech swing revival scene. Jakub Šafr began classical piano training at six years. While studying at the Prague Conservatory, he shifted his focus specifically to 1930’s jazz. At age 20, he joined Ondřej Havelka’s Melody Makers, famous swing orchestra as a pianist, later serving as its bandleader.

He currently leads several groups, including Shaffer’s Riffers, Swing Trio Avalon and the Jakub Šafr Quartet.

SWING TRIO AVALON

Swing Trio Avalon was founded in 1996 by pianist Jakub Šafr, clarinetist Martin Voříšek, and drummer Jan Kubeš, all captivated by the spirited, energetic, and musically sophisticated style of Benny Goodman’s small ensembles. They aim to convey to their audience the joyful, yet poetic atmosphere of American swing music from the 1930’s and 1940’s. While the trio performs primarily in its home region of South Bohemia, it also appears in other parts of the Czech Republic and abroad. For its members, playing in Swing Trio Avalon is not a livelihood, but rather a path to shared musical euphoria. The only full-time professional musician among them is Jakub Šafr, who collaborates with various Prague-based jazz groups (Swing Session, Jakub Šafr Trio, Melody Makers) and teaches at the Prague Conservatory. He also works as an arranger, composer, accompanist, and conductor for theatrical productions in Prague, Mladá Boleslav, and Plzeň. Martin Voříšek lectures on music history at the University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice. Alongside swing, he occasionally performs Baroque music with the České Budějovice based ensemble Dyškanti. Jan Kubeš teaches Czech language and civics at the St. Agnes of Bohemia Secondary School of Applied Arts in Český Krumlov. He also performs as a permanent or guest drummer in several rock bands from České Budějovice (Potrubí, Oni, Mustang Bluesride).