Prazsky vyber (also Vyber)

band of two strong individualities, vocalist and keyboard player Michaela Kocab and guitar player Michal Pavlicek. Never creative but thanks to top level instrumental skills always able to interprete current musical trends to the Czech listener, which was a rare opportunity because of the "Iron Curtain" that time. Album #1 is jazzrock, recorded with assistance of guests as jazz keyboard player Martin Kratochvil and all members of the Marsyas band. New wave album #3 was originally recorded in 1984 and ready to sell. After the Anti-New-Wave campaign, started by the communist journal Tribuna, distribution of the record was stopped. It was released only 4 years later but meanwhile, the recordings were unofficially distributed among people on tapes and became the most famous new wave album in the Czech Republic ever. The prohibition thus helped Kocab to become one of the most famous musicians and after the revolution in 1989, it brought him even to Czechoslovak Parliament. Even though he came back in the mid-90's, he had never achieved such a big success as with album 3. On the live album #4, Frank Zappa plays as a guest.

Members: Michael Kocab kb,voc(1-4); Ondrej Soukup bg(1); Vratislav Placheta dr(1); Ladislav Malina dr(1); Zdeněk Fiser gt(1); Martin Koubek gt(1); Jiří Niederle sax(1); Michal Pavlicek gt,voc(2-4); Vilem Cok bg,voc(2-4); Klaudius Kryspin dr(2); Jiri Hrubes dr(3); Jiri Tomek perc,voice(3); Stanislav Jelinek gt(4); David Koller dr,voc(4); Frantisek Honig dr(4); Milos Vacik dr(4); Ladislav Faktor kb(4); J.Roucek piano(4); T.Konig piano(4); Tomas Kurfurst piano(4)

Discography:

1. Zizen (LP Panton 1978, also a part of 2CD compilation A.)

2. Vyber (LP Supraphon 1987, CD 1990) ***

3. Prazsky vyber (LP Panton 1988) ***

4. Adieu C.A. (Live, Art Production K, 1991)

5. Ber (1997) 

Compilations:

A. Komplet (2CD, 1995)

B. Habadej (2CD rarities, Bonton 1999)

Links: Michal Pavlicek