Petr Kroutil is a Czech musician and actor. He is a clarinettist, saxophonist, bansuri

Bansuri

The bansuri is a transverse alto flute of Bangladesh, India and Nepal made from a single hollow shaft of bamboo with six or seven finger holes. An ancient musical instrument associated with cowherds and the pastoral tradition, it is intimately linked to the love story of Krishna and Radha, and is...

 player, vocalist, composer and arranger.

Musical Education

Kroutil studied jazz music from a very young age and began playing the recorder

Recorder

The recorder is a woodwind musical instrument of the family known as fipple flutes or internal duct flutes—whistle-like instruments which include the tin whistle. The recorder is end-blown and the mouth of the instrument is constricted by a wooden plug, known as a block or fipple...

 at the age of six. By the age of nine, he had begun studying the clarinet

Clarinet

The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...

. After graduating from high school he went on to study at The Jaroslav Jezek Conservatory of Music graduating with a degree in Jazz Performance. Then Kroutil attended the Berklee College of Music

Berklee College of Music

Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...

in Boston, Massachusetts, until 2003, studying performance and jazz composition.

Career

In 1991, at the age of eighteen, Kroutil became a member of the extremely successful big band, the Original Prague Syncopated Orchestra

Original Prague Syncopated Orchestra

The Original Prague Syncopated Orchestra is a Czech jazz band first formed in Prague, in what was then Czechoslovakia, in 1974...

. The band, which concentrated on performing music from the 1930s era, toured Europe and North Africa extensively.

After starring as Dany in the romantic comedy The Swell Season

The Swell Season

The Swell Season is a folk rock duo formed by Irish musician Glen Hansard and Czech singer and pianist Markéta Irglová. "The Swell Season" name is derived from Hansard's favourite novel by Josef Škvorecký from 1975 bearing the same title...

(Czech Herec), an adaptation of the novel by Josef Skvorecky

Josef Škvorecký

Josef Škvorecký, CM is a leading contemporary Czech writer and publisher who has spent much of his life in Canada. He and his wife were long-time supporters of Czech dissident writers before the fall of communism in that country...

, Kroutil gained fame in the Czech Republic. He also recorded and performed the soundtrack for the mini-series.

In 1996, Kroutil co-established the big band The Prague Swing Orchestra (P.S.O.), specializing in swing music of the 1940s. As the lead soloist, singer and emcee for P.S.O, he played at some of the most prestigious jazz festivals in Europe. In addition, the orchestra has performed many live jazz concerts which were televised and internationally broadcast. In 1997, Kroutil also formed a modern jazz quintet

Quintet

A quintet is a group containing five members.It is commonly associated with musical groups, such as a string quintet, or a group of five singers, but can be applied to any situation where five similar or related objects are considered a single unit....

 “Pratele Ticheho Jazzu” influenced by American West Coast musicians like Stan Getz

Stan Getz

Stanley Getz was an American jazz saxophone player. Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre of his idol, Lester Young. Coming to prominence in the late 1940s with Woody Herman's big band, Getz is described by critic Scott...

, Gerry Mulligan

Gerry Mulligan

Gerald Joseph "Gerry" Mulligan was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and arranger. Though Mulligan is primarily known as one of the leading baritone saxophonists in jazz history – playing the instrument with a light and airy tone in the era of cool jazz – he was also...

 and Chet Baker

Chet Baker

Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker, Jr. was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist and singer.Though his music earned him a large following , Baker's popularity was due in part to his "matinee idol-beauty" and "well-publicized drug habit."He died in 1988 in Amsterdam, the...

. The members of the quintet were the top Czech jazz players.

In 2002, Kroutil released an album Bhakti Junction in London with established singer Renu Gidoomal. The British-Indian Jazz-Fusion album includes two original compositions by Kroutil.

Kroutil became a member of the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line's orchestra in 2003. The Orchestra performed with some of the top American jazz and pop musicians including The Platters

The Platters

The Platters were a vocal group of the early rock and roll era. Their distinctive sound was a bridge between the pre-rock Tin Pan Alley tradition and the burgeoning new genre...

 with Herb Reid, Marty Allen

Marty Allen

Marty Allen may refer to:*Marty Allen , American actor and comedian*Martin Allen , former head of Computervision*"Marty Allen" a former disc jockey at WCZX Radio in Poughkeepsie, NY...

, Kenny James

Kenny James

Kenny James may refer to:*Kenny James * Kenny James *Kenny James, a character on My Name is Earl...

, Victor Mendoza’s Afro-Latin American Big Band and Joe Mareiny who had been a member of Louis Armstrong

Louis Armstrong

Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....

’s The All Stars Band.

Living in Nepal

Nepal

Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...

 from 2004–2005, he studied bamboo flute

Bamboo flute

Flutes made of bamboo are found in many musical traditions.Some bamboo flutes include:Flute Country of Origin Atenteben Bashi Bansuri Chi Dizi Daegeum...

 or bansuri and classical Indian music at the Kathmandu University

Kathmandu University

Kathmandu University is the third oldest university in Nepal located in Dhulikhel, Kavrepalanchok District, about 35Km east of Kathmandu. KU was established in 1991 with the motto "Quality Education for Leadership"...

 Department of Music. He also established his own band The Mc Twisters, performing his own compositions. Although the band only survived two years, it became very successful in Nepal and India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. The Mc Twisters were nominated for Nepali Grammys in 2006. Co members of the band are the finest Nepal’s players: Manoj, Nirakar, Adrian and Sanjey from the famous, multi Nepali Grammy winner band 1974 A.D.

Returning home to the Czech Republic in August 2005, Kroutil formed a brand new trio called Shanti, which performs mostly his original compositions and some standards. He is also a co-front man for the top Czech jazz singer Jana Koubková’s band