Jan Kyncl & Mikuláš Pokorný @
U Staré Paní 17.2.2025
Last night I completed my extended musical weekend attending a not so usual instrument combination at the Old Lady when, Jan Kyncl – saxophone & Mikuláš Pokorný – piano, stepped out of the regular frame and gave us a very interesting and in all, a very pleasant night. A duo with sax and piano is not in any way an Aha moment, Eureka I found it! 
Yet it’s not a very normal combination to run into, not even in Prague, where the musical offering is above average compared to most European cities. This may be because it poses slightly different challenges for the players, more than just the missing rhythm section. When talking to Mikuláš about this, he of course being the professional in this area, admitted the challenges but also said that he feels a totally different freedom in this setup, with the challenge and the possibility to experiment more. At the same time he also made it clear that this will not work with everybody, it requires a certain chemistry between the musicians. And from what I heard last night, these two musicians have found their chemistry alright. 
Yet it’s not a very normal combination to run into, not even in Prague, where the musical offering is above average compared to most European cities. This may be because it poses slightly different challenges for the players, more than just the missing rhythm section. When talking to Mikuláš about this, he of course being the professional in this area, admitted the challenges but also said that he feels a totally different freedom in this setup, with the challenge and the possibility to experiment more. At the same time he also made it clear that this will not work with everybody, it requires a certain chemistry between the musicians. And from what I heard last night, these two musicians have found their chemistry alright. They found it...
Just to make things clear, both Mikuláš and Jan are ispite of their young age, extremely talented artists. Mikuláš I knew from before so this was no surprise, while Jan was a new acquaintance for me, and even though suffering from the aftermath of the flu it was very fast clear that also he, as Mikuláš, already belongs to what could be called the future of jazz in the republic, so impressive was the collaboration between these two young gentlemen. And maybe the age helped a little here, they approach their music without prejudice, not afraid of taking the step to the unknown. Because the three set evening included very much a repertoire from the Great American, they were only presented in a little different way, with a slightly new twist, a twist that at least I will go and listen to again. I really hope this duo will continue working together because they have found something very interesting together, and yes, like I already mentioned, the chemistry is working!
