Jiří Dědeček Solo & Odd Steinar Albrigtsen Quartet @ Ateliér 57 | 18.10.2026
The best jazz club in Prague—the one in Beroun—came up with something that must be accounted for as a master surprise. Yesterday’s Sunday session had as the first performing artist Jiří Dědeček Solo. The man is a living legend, a prominent singer-songwriter, poet, translator, and author. Known for his sharp wit, biting humor, and poetic chanson style, he has been a fixture of the music and literary scene for decades.
Unfortunately, his act is very much based on his lyrics, and with me having this small language barrier, it wouldn’t be fair to write anything about his performance. So, I will stop before I start, with the clear truth that looking at the response Jiří Dědeček got from the audience, it’s time for me to start learning Czech!
As for the evening’s second highlight—because that is exactly what it was: The Odd Steinar Albrigtsen Quartet. I have no problem writing my opinion about the performance and the music offered, and this is not due to the fact that they don’t have a vocalist. The only problem is keeping my words of praise in check so things don’t get out of hand, because that’s how fabulous they are.
It’s been almost to the day a year since they graced A57 with their presence (click HERE for last year’s review), and I must confess, I’ve been waiting for them to show up. To make a long story short—so if you don’t want to read anymore and just want to head straight for the photos from last night—I can honestly say: yes, it was worth the wait. They are not just good, they are brilliant! So now you can go to the pictures, or find out a bit more about last night by keeping on reading.
As one can guess already from the name of the lineup, very much is built around Odd Steinar and his guitar. But if you think this means a two-hour ego trip of endless guitar solos, you don’t know Odd Steinar. Just like when I saw them last year, his brilliance as a bandleader shines through his modesty. He has this incredible way of guiding the ship while giving his bandmates massive amounts of room to breathe, explore, and completely blow us away.
