of these recordings deserve special mention. "Bugatti Step" (1930; Ultraphone A10166) is an up-tempo number for piano and jazz orchestra, enjoying enduring popularity as a hot jazz piano solo. "Teď ještě ne" (Not Yet) (1931; Ultraphon A10217) is rousing dance music in the Jean Goldkette or Coon-Sanders' Nighthawks style. "Rubbish Heap Blues" (1937; Ultraphon A11421) shows that Ježek not only listened to Duke Ellington's records, but was keeping up with Duke's very latest work. "Rubbish Heap" features a Johnny Hodges-like alto sax and a Cootie Williams-like growl trumpet, plus a three-trombone section to complement the three trumpets. Ježek's composition titled simply "Polonaisa" (1931; Ultraphon A10355) is a traditional Polonaise clothed in modern instrumentation, harmony and textures. It is as if Chopin and Gershwin had collaborated, the Polish dance rhythms mingling easily with hot syncopation. Ježek also turned the boys loose in records of his arrangements of well-known hot jazz standards, such as "Tiger Rag," "Dinah" and "Chinatown, My Chinatown." These recordings, very few of which could have survived the Nazi occupation and World War II, are almost completely unknown, at least in the United States. A seven-volume CD retrospective of Voskovec and Werich's work for the Liberated Theater (1929–1938) containing the items mentioned above and dozens of others was issued by the Czech Supraphon label in 1994 (and reissued in 2007). Selected works Orchestral Concert for Piano and Orchestra (1927) Fantasy for Piano and Orchestra (1930) Concert for Violin and Orchestra (1930) Symphonic Poem (1936) Chamber Serenade for Wind Quartet (1929) Wind Quintet (1931) String Quartet No. 1. (1932) Sonata for Violin and Piano (1933) Duo for 2 Violins (1934) String Quartet No. 2. (1941) Piano Suite for Quarter-tone Piano (1927) Sonatina (1928) Petite Suite (1928) Capriccio (1932) Etuda (1933) Bagatelles (1933) Rhapsodie (1938) Toccata (1939) Grande valse brillante (1939) Sonata (1941) See also Jaroslav Ježek Conservatory Osvobozené divadlo Notes References Vysloužil, Jiří: Hudební slovník pro každého II. Vizovice: Lípa, 1998. Holzknecht, Václav: Jaroslav Ježek a Osvobozené divadlo. Prague: Arsci, 2007. External links Short biography at Czech radio site 1906 births 1942 deaths Musicians from Prague Czechoslovak exiles Czech classical composers Czech male classical composers 20th-century classical composers Microtonal musicians Czech jazz musicians Prague Conservatory alumni Blind classical musicians Recipients of Medal of Merit (Czech Republic) Czechoslovak expatriates in the United States 20th-century Czech male musicians Male jazz musicians Deaths from kidney disease