SHQ

SHQ was a Czech jazz-rock ensemble led by multi-instrumentalist Karel Velebný. The group maintained a changing lineup through the Sixties and Seventies and moved from modern jazz and hard bop into freer forms, large-ensemble writing, and electric jazz-rock. SHQ recorded for Supraphon and Panton in Czechoslovakia and also made albums for the West German SABA label and American imprint ESP-Disk. Their albums SH Jazz Quintet, Nonet SHQ & Woodwinds, Karel Velebny / SHQ, and Motus trace the group across successive acoustic and electric configurations.

Members: Karel Velebný (piano, tenor saxophone, vibraphone), Jan Konopásek (flute, baritone saxophone, tenor saxophone, 1961-64), Milan Pilar (double bass, 1961-63), Pavel Staněk (drums, 1961-62, 1964-65), Antonín Julina (guitar, 1962-63), Jan Arnet (double bass, 1963-64), Pavol Polanský (drums, 1962-63), Laco Deczi (trumpet, 1963-64, 1966-67), Laco Tropp (drums, 1963-64), Zdeněk Pulec (trombone, 1964), Rudolf Dašek (guitar, 1964-66), George Mraz (double bass, 1964-66), Milan Mader (drums, 1964-66), Luděk Švábenský (piano, 1966-71), Karel Vejvoda (double bass, 1966-71), Josef Vejvoda (drums, 1966-71), Jiří Stivín (flute, saxophone, 1967-68), Josef “Bažík” Pavelka (trombone, 1968-1971), Rudolf Ticháček (saxophone, 1969-74, 1974-?), Petr Kořínek (double bass, 1971-74), Karel Růžička (piano, 1972-74), Emil Viklický (piano, 1974-89), František Uhlíř (double bass, 1974-89), Jaromír Helešic (drums, 1978-79), Ivan Smažík (drums, 1979-?), Milan Vitoch (drums, 1978-?), Antonín Viktora (guitar, 1979-?)

Background

SHQ formed in 1961 in Prague when vibraphonist and tenor saxophonist Karel Velebný and baritone saxophonist and flutist Jan Konopásek left the Jazz Orchestra of Czechoslovak Radio and assembled a quartet with bassist Milan Pilar and drummer Pavel Staněk. The quartet joined the Spejbl and Hurvínek Theatre in Prague, where the musicians provided stage music and developed an independent concert program. The musicians used the theatre initials for S+H and added Q for quartet.

Velebný was born in Prague in 1931 and learned piano from age seven, then taught himself alto saxophone as a teenager. He graduated in percussion from the Prague Conservatory in 1955 and played for three years in the Karel Krautgartner orchestra. Velebný and Konopásek then helped establish Studio 5, the small modern-jazz group formed from musicians associated with Krautgartner.

Konopásek was born in Prague in 1931 and studied piano privately, then taught himself clarinet and saxophone. He played with Ivan Štědrý and Zdeněk Barták and joined the Krautgartner orchestra in 1956, where he met Velebný. Pilar came from the Brno jazz circuit and appeared on recordings with the Gustav Brom orchestra and a combo under his own name.

SHQ first performed on September 23, 1961, at Divadélko Alfa in Plzeň, with guitarist Rudolf Dašek as a guest. The quartet played the Prague premiere on October 18 at the Spejbl and Hurvínek Theatre, using American material alongside compositions by Eduard Parma, Pilar, and Velebný. SHQ expanded concerts to Divadlo Na zábradlí and the Luxor and Valdek cafés. The group entered Studio Strahov on March 3, 1962, for the first SHQ recording session and appeared at the international jazz review in Karlovy Vary that May. 

Brno guitarist Antonín Julina joined in 1962, while Staněk left for military service and the ensemble temporarily played without drums. Pilar left Czechoslovakia, and bassist Jan Arnet replaced him. Slovak drummer Paľo Polanský also passed through the group, while Staněk later returned to the kit. At the close of 1962, only Velebný and Konopásek remained from the original quartet.

Trumpeter Laco Déczi joined in 1963, and drummer Laco Tropp soon completed a new rhythm section with Arnet. SHQ began a standing engagement at Prague jazz club Reduta on October 7, 1963. From November 4, the regular quintet comprised Velebný, Konopásek, Déczi, Arnet, and Tropp, with trombonist Zdeněk Pulec expanding selected appearances to a sextet. The group shifted toward bop and hard bop and also performed Pavel Blatný’s Tre per SHQ and Velebný’s Pět dodeka. SHQ played the Bled jazz festival in Yugoslavia in summer 1964, then divided into separate Velebný- and Konopásek-led units. SHQ entered Studio Strahov from August 31 through September 2 with the five-man Reduta lineup and Pulec on selected titles to record the sessions for the first long-playing album.

1967–71

SHQ changed drummers in 1967 when Milan Mader left Czechoslovakia and Velebný recruited Josef Vejvoda. Jiří Stivín joined on flute and saxophone for a quintet with Velebný, pianist Luděk Švábenský, bassist Karel Vejvoda, and Josef Vejvoda. The group continued Prague appearances at Reduta and Viola. SHQ also formed part of Divadlo Járy Cimrmana productions at Malostranská beseda, where the quintet followed each performance with a jazz concert. Velebný then linked SHQ with Jiří Linha’s newly reconstituted vocal group through a shared engagement with the Army Art Ensemble. SHQ accompanied the singers on their first standalone Supraphon record, issued the following year.

Velebný expanded SHQ to a nonet in early 1968 for a European tour. Hornist Miloš Petr, oboist Vlastimil Kála, bassoonist Pavel Zedník, and bass clarinetist Miroslav Krýsl augmented the regular quintet. The nine musicians entered SABA-Tonstudio in Villingen on February 20 to record Nonet SHQ & Woodwinds for the West German SABA label. SHQ returned to the Villingen studio that spring as the five-man unit of Velebný, Stivín, Švábenský, Karel Vejvoda, and Josef Vejvoda for an album session commissioned by ESP-Disk.

Velebný later suffered serious injuries in a car crash while returning from Regensburg with Stivín and spent an extended period in a military hospital. Stivín photographed Velebný in his hospital bed with his head bandaged and his left leg in traction. Velebný circulated the photograph as his PF 1969 greeting and supplied it for the ESP album sleeve. ESP-Disk issued Karel Velebny / SHQ the following year with the hospital photograph on the cover.

SHQ changed personnel again in 1969 when Rudolf Ticháček replaced Stivín on saxophone. Švábenský also left, and pianist Karel Růžička joined the group in 1970. Velebný continued with bassist Karel Vejvoda and drummer Josef Vejvoda while the ensemble retained club and festival engagements. Velebný also joined trumpeter Jaromír Hnilička in May 1970 for the Týnom tánom sessions, which combined SHQ musicians with players from the Gustav Brom orchestra.

Bassist Petr Kořínek joined SHQ in 1971 as Karel Vejvoda prepared to leave the group. SHQ recorded Motus at the Mozarteum studio in Prague from February 9 through March 17 as a piano-less quartet centered on Velebný, Ticháček, and Josef Vejvoda. Karel Vejvoda and Kořínek divided the bass parts across the sessions, completing the personnel transition that established the early-Seventies SHQ lineup.

Discography:

• SH/Jazz Quintet (1965)
• SHQ a přátelé (1965)
• Nonet SHQ & Woodwinds (1968)
• Karel Velebny / SHQ (1969)
• Motus (1972)
• Jazzové nebajky (1973)
• Mini Jazz Klub 18 (EP, 1978)
• Parnas (1981 • Karel Velebný & SHQ)
• Zahrajte si s námi (MC, 1986 • Karel Velebný & SHQ)

Sources

• Český hudební slovník — SHQ. Best source for formation, founding lineup, early venues, Karlovy Vary, personnel changes, Reduta dates, Déczi/Tropp lineup, Bled, and the 1964 division. (Český hudební slovník)
• Český hudební slovník — Karel Velebný. Birth, instruments, Prague Conservatory, early ensembles, Krautgartner, and Studio 5. (Český hudební slovník)
• Český hudební slovník — Jan Konopásek. Early lessons, schooling, military-band activity, engineering studies, and first ensembles. (Český hudební slovník)
• Český rozhlas — Jan Konopásek, Vinyl Story. Detailed Studio 5 origin and the Krautgartner connection linking Velebný and Konopásek. (Jazz)
• Radio Proglas — Karel Velebný archive series. Uses Jaroslav Riedel research for the May 1961 formation period, September 23 Plzeň debut, October 18 Prague premiere, and 1962–63 recordings. (PROGLAS)
• Harmonie — Jan Konopásek interview. Déczi and Tropp entry, hard-bop shift, Joachim Kühn connection, and circumstances surrounding the 1964 split. (Časopis Harmonie)
• Supraphon — Jak hrál SHQ. Confirms Studio Strahov, September 2 completion date, and 1965 first issue. (Supraphonline.cz)
• Czech Radio — Velebný archival releases. Confirms that the first SHQ LP sessions took place at the end of August and start of September 1964 with Velebný, Konopásek, Déczi, Arnet, and Tropp. (Jazz)
• Czech Radio, “Vinyl Story: Zapomenuté ‘německé’ nahrávky SHQ.” Confirms the 1967–68 quintet, Mader–Josef Vejvoda change, European tour, Villingen Nonet session, second German session for ESP, and Velebný car accident. (Jazz)
• Český hudební slovník — SHQ. Documents the late-Sixties Prague engagements, Linha Singers collaboration, personnel sequence, and 1969 lineup. (Český hudební slovník)
• MPS — Nonet SHQ & Woodwinds. Confirms the nine-man personnel and SABA release. (MPS Music)
• Vladimír Kouřil, “Z vitrín jazzové archeologie.” Supplies Bernard Stollman’s 1968 approach, the ESP session chronology, Stivín’s role, and the 1969 release context. (Magazinuni)
• Český hudební slovník — Karel Růžička. Places Růžička in SHQ from 1970. (Český hudební slovník)
• Petr Kořínek memoir / KarelVelebný.cz. Dates Kořínek’s SHQ entry to 1971 and describes Velebný’s recruitment letter. (Karel Velebný)
• UNI, “Paže pážete české jazzové moderny.” Confirms the Stivín–Ticháček, Švábenský–Růžička, and Karel Vejvoda–Kořínek transitions and the piano-less Motus sessions. (Magazinuni)
• Jihočeská vědecká knihovna — Motus. Gives the precise Mozarteum recording span of February 9–March 17, 1971. (katalog.cbvk.cz)