Reduta - legendary Prague jazz club
Reduta is legendary Prague’s jazz club where played the most important Czech jazz musicians like Mirloslav Vitous ( founder member of Wheather Report ), flautist Jiri Stivin or Karel Ruzicka. It was found in 1958 as a place primarily for Czech jazzmen, stars from other countries played in larger halls. The club was feared by communist government because jazz carried treasonous ideology. It was same as with rock music, but jazz wasn’t too discriminated because it was older than rock music.
What kinds of jazz you could hear there? All kinds, beginning at traditional jazz and dixielands, continuing with swinging big bands and blues bands and ending by modern jazz or jazzrock.
Reduta is in the downtown next to the Rock Café Club. Its walls are docrated with photographies of jazzmen and they are covered with many notes so they look like a note paper. After the Velvet Revolution it was the place where often passed his time Czech president Vaclav Havel. And ex president of USA played there as a saxophonist. The club isn’t too large but it is still able to host small theater. That theater is well know by its ‘text-appeal’ shows that continue in tradition of criticizing the government and society through intelligent humour. There is a black-light theater too.
Address: Reduta Jazz Club, Narodni 20, Prague 1
Phone: +420 224 933 487
How to get there: It is few steps from the Narodni Trida subway B station, not too far from National Theatre (Narodni Divadlo).