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Jan
was born on 18th November. From a very young age, at music
school, he studied to play the flute and guitar. Legendary
artists like Paul McCartney, Bryan Adams, Bon Jovi and The
Beatles influenced his early years. By the age of sixteen,
he was already recording his first home demos inspired by
these artists. At about that time, he started to write his
own music and lyrics.
Shortly
after, he recorded and produced his first CD “Demo
2000”. His unique interpretation of the now
classical songs by these artists as well as by Queen and
U2 has become well known to his audiences across the
country. As a singer and song writer, Jan was one of
the top finalists in prestigeous competitions „
Bohemia Talent“ and „Zlin Talent“ in
2001. Jan performs mostly with his own band, the
Blackbirds, which he founded in 2003. The song and the
biography book “The Blackbird” of Paul
McCartney inspired the band's name, and it has
since been known as Jan's personal alter-ego and symbol.
His fondness of pop-rock, an appreciation of cabaret, and
a regard for rythm were mirrored in the band's early
repertoir, but it also included many of his original songs.
In recognition of his unique interpretation of Queen songs,
the band was invited to perform at the biggest after-party
concert of Queen & Paul Rodgers. Over the years, Jan
made an number of appearances in various TV shows. His
song "I Swear To You", in particular, was
chosen by the Czech TV's program featuring young talents,
and then made it into various radio stations enjoying
great acclaim.
Despite
engagement with the band, his performances on the musical
scene remained mostly solo. He kept trying his hand in
various musicals, cabarets, cafes and clasical concerts in
the Czech Republic. He often played at the Prague’s
prestigious piano-bar Rhapsody for devoted audiences as
well ambassadors and other influential visitors including
the British Prime Minister and the Czech President. As a
singer, composer and an actor, Jan participated in a
musical play The Hammer for
Witches bringing to life its main character,
Rake Marquee. Original songs that Jan wrote for the play,
“One more Chance to Give” and “Foolish
Things” as well as the already well known
„I Swear to You” became the centrepiece
of the play‘s sound track. Meanwhile, he also
managed to secure small parts in movies like ”Van
Helsing”, “First Daughter”, ”Charles
II.”, as well as in several commercials.
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Year
2006 started with his recognition as a registered author
with OSA (Protective Federation of Authors). Soon after,
Jan left behind most of these diverse activities and
concentrated on returning to his pop-rock roots and
presentation of his own songs, many of them in English due
to his fans abroad. Less than two years later, he released
a new single titled „Lost and Found“ and
announced an upcoming album in 2008. In May 2008, due to the popularity of
his newly released singles, he was invited to perform at
the international festival “Carpathia” in
Poland. Other international engagements, like the Queen
Convention in Hungary, and Mysliborz in Poland, followed. He
also performed in Germany, Slovakia and England. |
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In
autumn of 2008, Jan returned to the studio and completed
his newest album, appropriately called “Lost and
Found”. The CD was produced by a small independent
label, Good Day Records, in December 2008. The album
carries through pop-rock vibes, and the influence of Jan's
early childhood idols is evident. It is worth noting Jan's
versatility and passion for detail; besides being the
author of the music and lyrics, he provided musical
arrangements and programming for the CD production, and
recorded most of the musical instruments. He simply wanted
to be involved in every aspect as he wanted it to be
conceptually beautiful. “Lost and Found” is a
pop-rock album with mainly English lyrics, which besides
having rythmic rock guitar rifts, has plenty of ballads
that pull at the heartstrings. Above all, the CD shows the
author's originality with his heart-felt message inspired
by his life story and experiences, which, in his own words,
make up 90% of the album. The official CD release party
was held on January 19, 2009 with a live onstage
performance by Jan and the Blackbirds, featuring some of
the album's songs along with some of the band's other
favourites. The gala occassion brought in many exclussive
guests and friends. Among them, as godfathers of the
album, Peter Freestone, former secretary and personal
friend of the legendary Freddie Mercury; Czech actress
Jitka Asterova; and singer and producer Martin France. And
finally, as if the event couldn't get any better, the
singer, songwriter and producer, frontman of the legendary
Czech band Olympic, as well as the chairman of the Czech
X-Factor TV series (Czech version of Britain's Got Talent)
Petr Janda, walked in. When Petr first heard the CD he
accepted an invitation and, by the evening's end, Petr
offered Jan the chance to be the opening act for the
Olympic's upcoming series of concerts.
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Jan
is passionate about his music. “If the public buys the the
album, I will be delighted, but if not, I'am really happy just
gigging about in small clubs”, he adds. Knowing that he is
a musician who likes best travelling and live concerts, his fans
can soon look forward to a string of his performances at clubs
not only in the Czech Republic but also abroad.
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26. 3. 2009 |
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