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Photo: Martin Borovicka |
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Justin Lavash is a musician who has taken blues, folk and jazz styles and fused them to create something truly original and driving. His solo tours of the last two years have put him in venues large and small all over the Czech Republic, France, Germany and Britain to great acclaim. Critics have praised him highly for his mastery of the guitar and powerful, soulful voice, but it is his songwriting which seems to speak to people the most. His compositions both embrace tradition and reinvent it. These are songs which can grow from a whisper to a howl and grab your attention with their pulsing rhythms and infectious melodies.
His concerts are mostly solo because, as one critic recently observed, he is an orchestra. He commands the guitar with breathtaking skill and has a voice to match. This is an act which is as much at home on a big club stage as it is in an intimate venue. Just read the reviews: "Charismatic [...] with a roughened voice and fantastic solos...an exceptional combination of folk, blues and rock traditions" Prazsky Denik 05/09/08 "A musician without equal" Nord-Littoral 24/07/08 "There are moments when all the thunder of orchestras and rock groups can't come close to what one singer and a guitar can do. Case in point: Justin Lavash" Prague Post 25/04/07 "Played guitar like it was a whole orchestra, with a full sound and huge energy" Nymbursky Denik 15/09/08 It takes a while to achieve this level of musicianship and JL has been playing professionally for twenty years. His early work on London's jazz scene in the nineties helped him develop his own brand of fingerstyle and slide guitar which so impresses audiences today. He later worked as a session and studio player in Britain and America, working with established session men, honing his skills as a musician and also gaining a name as a freelance transcriber and arranger. Exposure to many different styles of music gave him a unique opportunity to experiment with genre and harmony in his own compositions. His songwriting shows many influences but the folk and blues shine out, probably due to his early exposure to these styles from his American father and Irish mother. Regular visits to France introduced him to chanson francaise, giving his own compositions lyrical depth and insight. No pastiche bluesman, but rather a true original, whose first two CDs, Harder and Harder (2007) and Fits and Starts (2008) have already sold more than 2000 copies at concerts alone. |
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TV/Radio:
Na Moll, CT2, April 2009 Babylon, CT2 Jan 2008 Dobré ráno, CT2, April 2008 Radio Canut (102.2 Mhz, Lyon) Radio Vltava feature Nov 2009 |
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Festivals and larger concerts:
Akropolis (Prague) 21/10/09 Jinej Pristup, Celakovice, Oct 2009 Grimma Fest, Grimma, Germany, Sept 2009 Haida Festival, Ceske Petrovice, June 2009 Okor se štávou, June 2009 FestBlues Kolin, Jan 2009 Jinej Pristup, Celákovice, Oct 2008 Folkomin 2008 festival Sept 2008 Okor se štávou, June 2008 Kolin Blues Festival, May 2008 Le Tot ou T’art, Boulogne France, Mar 2008 Vagon (Prague) Mar 2008 Roxy/Nod (Prague) Dec 2007 Babi Leto festival (Prague) Sept 2007 Prazdniny v Telcy Aug 2007 Okor se štávou, June 2007 |