Le Jazz

Alongside the Jazz Suite and many of his ballet compositions, the humorous orchestral piece Le Jazz is an example of Bohuslav Martinů’s preoccupation with American light music, which he encountered during his time in Paris between 1923 and 1940 and which inspired him to experiment with his own compositions within this field. Martinů wrote Le Jazz in friendly competition as his own version of the popular jazz pieces composed by his compatriot, Jaroslav Ježek, who was then studying in Paris.

The continuously repeated syncopated melody is ornamented in jazz style with the banjo accompaniment providing rhythmic drive and a flavour of the southern states. The sudden entry of singers performing a jazz vocalise is a cheeky surprise element.

Le Jazz remained unperformed for 34 years until its first radio performance broadcast from Brno in 1962. Since then, the work has found its place in the concert repertoire and continues to be enthusiastically received by both audiences and performers.