David Dorůžka, one of the most prominent Czech jazz guitarists (source: Wikipedia Commons)

Michael Formanek Quartet, Dmitry Baevsky Quartet featuring Joe Cohn, The Stoner featuring David Dorůžka… and many more great jazz bands and musicians are going to perform in Brno between April 13 and April 21.

The 10th season of Jazzfest Brno starts next Wednesday and takes place mostly at Fléda and Semilasso clubs.

Schedule

April 13, 8:00 pm @ Fléda

Paradox (FRA)

Michael Formanek Quartet featuring Craig Taborn, Gerald Cleaver and Tim Berne (USA)

April 14, 7:30 pm @ Brno City Theater

Dmitry Baevsky Quartet featuring Joe Cohn (RUS/USA/CZ/SK)
Carla Cook Quartet featuring Darryl Ivey, Kenny Davis and Willard Dyson (USA)
Mju:z
Jam session

April 15, 8:00 pm @ HaDivadlo

Face of the Bass (CZ)
Limbo Electro Acoustic (CZ)

April 16, 8:00 pm @ Semilasso

Štefan “Pišta“ Bartuš JazzBrothers featuring Andy Middleton (SK/USA)
The Stoner featuring David Dorůžka (SWE/CZ)
Jam Session

April 17, 8:00 pm @ Semilasso

Will Bernard Trio (USA)
Mike Stern Band featuring Dave Weckl, Tom Kennedy and Bob Malach (USA)
Jam Session

April 18, 8:00 pm @ Fléda

Zuzana Lapčíková Quintet (CZ/SK)
Elena Sonenshine (CZ)

April 19, 8:00 pm @ Husův sbor

Tomáš Liška Trio featuring Daniele Di Bonaventura and David Dorůžka (ITA/CZ)
Vertigo Quintet and Dorota Barová (CZ/SK)

April 20, 8:00 pm @ Fléda

Robert Balzar Trio (CZ)
Dan Weiss Trio (USA)
Jam Session

April 21, 8:00 pm @ Semilasso

Vincenc Kummer Celebrates 70
JAZZFESTBRNO 2011 Celebrates 10

The festival has nice English-language website; tickets may be bought online, although it is not a “PayPal joyride”.

Club Fléda anounced today that there are only 100 tickets to The Swell Season concert left.

If you want to enjoy the gig of the Oscar-awarded duo of Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová in Semilasso club on February 2, hurry up to Fléda or Indies music store (2 Poštovská st.). Tickets cost CZK 750 (€29).

Královo pole means “King’s field” – so is it possible to live like a king there?

Semilasso is one of the cultural Mekkas of Brno. Every man and every woman has danced there at least once.

Quick facts

Before 1919, Královo Pole (also known as Königsfeld) was an independent town near Brno. Now it is one of its biggest and best-known districts (population: 28,251). Královo Pole is located in the norhern part of the town, 10-15 minutes of tram ride from main station.

The neighbourhood is home to some of the most valuable historical buildings in Brno, such is auditorium Semilasso and a former monastery of Ordo Cartusiensis.

Pros

• Lively atmosphere – there are several colleges (complete University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences and some faculties of University of Technology) and many clubs (incl. my favorite Fléda) in the quarter, as well as groceries opened until late night.
• Nice mix of old buildings and ultra-modern structures (often in one place, as in the case of the University of Technology). No matter if you prefer to live in a family house, a tenement building or a block of flat – you’ll get everything in Královo Pole.
• Affordable rents and prices of flats.

Former monastery is now serving as a university building - that tells a lot about Královo Pole.

Cons

• The quarter is affected by one of the biggest  civil engineering projects in the Czech republic, the ongoing construction of “Dobrovského st. tunnels” (highway tunnels going under whole Královo Pole, watch an animation for a clear idea). There is high amount of dust in the air around Dobrovského st. and Hradecká st. What’s more, some houses have problems with stability because of the project, so if you are buing a property, always ask a structural designer for a consultation.
• Parking problems and frequent traffic jams.
• There are some small parks, but no really huge area of nature.

Streets of Královo Pole are full of life all day long (it seems silly, but you can't say the same, for example, about the streets of Bystrc).

Shopping

There’s no large supermarket, but many small shops and a daily vegetable market at Slovanské sq.

Reader Mira noted that I had forgotten Tesco at Sportovní st. The same with the Interspar on the other side of the street. Allright, there are two large supermarkets!

Secret tip: try pretzels (CZK 5) from a bakery at Skácelova st.

Best restaurants

• I travel from the very other part of the town to a pub called “U srdcí” regulary. It’s an underground pub with excellent beer “Dudák” and underground, rock atmosphere.
• You can get the best kebab in Brno right in Královo pole!
• Many people like restaurant U hodného psa, with ultra-fat bulldog walking among the guests. I stay rather calm, but not disappointed.

Links

• Geotagged photos of Královo Pole at Flickr
• Machine-translated website of the district
• Facebook group “Královo Pole”

Map

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