Richard Scheufler
Encyclopedia
Richard Scheufler – a multi-instrumentalist
, solo singer, composer
, music arranger, teacher
and producer. He is one of the most significant personalities of the contemporary Czech, but also European music scene. Richard's music represents a mixture of various music styles including funk
, pop
, rock
, modern jazz
, hardcore and its fusion with the classical music
.
, gradually he learned to play piano
and percussion
. He pursued his music ambitions by performing in the children's orchestra
under the guidance of his uncle Jirka. After the break-up of the orchestra the thirteen-year-old Richard switched to the bass guitar
which he plays until today.
At the beginning he studied music on his own, until he took private lessons from the professor
Vladimír Hora (1987–1989) and in 1998 till 1999 he continued his music education under the supervision of Prof. Hora at the Conservatory of Jaroslav Ježek in Prague
, where he in addition to playing the bass guitar took also singing lessons.
and composer Milan Steigerwald meant another important move in Richard's professional career – for the coming twelve years he became the member of the band King Size. Although the band stopped performing, it still exists and Richard and his son Richard appear as guest artists with it. At the same time, he appeared as guest artist
in the recordings of several pop artists, such as Karel Gott
, Lucie Bílá
and Lenka Filipová. He participated on the recording of the pop album of the band Damiens Nechci zůstat sám/ I don't want to be alone together with Láďa Křížek. It is worth mentioning the Golden Disc Award (Zlatá deska) he was given for his contribution to this album. He has also contributed to various jazz projects, such as the band Blue Birds of the saxophonist Ivan Myslikovjan, saxophonist Andrea Kolmanová (together with the son Richard he also participated on the recording of her CD Andrea) and many others.
For the time being, he is a member of the rock band Pražský Výběr II/ Prague Selection II, led by a composer, singer and political activist Michael Kocáb
. During the year 2007 he went on the concert tour with PV II , performing at the festivals and participated on all activities that have to do with the rock band (studio work on other projects, radio performance, video clips...). In the same year, the album of PV II Vymlácený rockový palice/ Smashed Rock Heads was launched and the concert PRAŽSKÝ VÝBĚR II LIVE, held on the 3rd of May 2007 in Teplice, Czech Republic has appeared on DVD in June 2008.
, England
. He worked in the music studio of Claire Hamill
and performed with local artists, such as Tom Palmer, Steve Winchester, Donna Terenzi, Mama Josie and Papa George. He gave also solo performances and started a closer cooperation with Nana Tsiboe - the former percussionist of Robbie Williams
Band - in his solo project called Bushfaya.
Richard worked also outside the borders of England; in 2001 he made a couple of video clips in Africa and participated at the Frankfurt Music Fair, presenting the musical instruments produced by George Dennis.
The second solo album Between us was produced between 2004 and 2008 and Richard launched it under the label Scheufler's Records in 2008. The album includes 16 tracks - instrumental and vocal compositions recorded in English with the contribution of a couple of other artists (the son Richard, Ted Whang, Peter Boška, Jiří Neužil, Štěpán Škoch, Andrea Kolmanová, Markéta Rohanová et al.).
From 1997 till 2002 he was engaged as lecturer on regularly organized summer Rock courses in Dobra Voda, near Prachatice, Czech Republic. The students of the course gave the initial impetus for the recording of a CD called Jednou v roce/Once a Year.
Besides that, he has carried out many workshops at various music fairs, each year in Prague since 1991 (Huvel, Muzika 2003), in Bratislava, Slovakia and in Frankfurt, Germany.
), officially under the name Scheufler Project, enjoys a special status in his professional career. The history repeated itself and Richard junior has said yes to music in a very early age. Along with his father he performed with the King Size band, of which guest artists they are until now. At the age of twelve years, Richard junior participated on the recording of the pop album of the band Damiens Nechci zůstat sám/ I don't want to be alone, which Richard also co-produced. He also took part on the Lenka Filipová Tour and contributed to the father's second solo album Between us (Scheufler’s Records, 2008). Since 2004 they both have been performing as permanent guest artists in the rock opera Antigona.
Amplifiers) concerning the presentation of the instruments Quantum, at his solo concerts, workshops and music fairs. He also cooperates with the company Alexim presenting the analog effects and strings produced by the Swedish company EBS. In 2007, Richard started the cooperation with the company Roland and the Hungarian producer of handmade guitars Fibenare, which since 2006 has been developing the 6-string model Fibenare Standard RS MIDI for Richard - bass guitar using the analog and digital input. Richard's collection of music instruments includes, moreover, signed models by the company K&K, he has been cooperating with since 1997, as follows:
and Yamaha TRB 6P.
Studio and workshop equipment includes the Yamaha QY 700 sequencer, HDD Korg D16, Korg Pandora PX5D and Audix Microphone.
When the cooperation with the MusicData and Hughes & Kettner at the end of the year 2007 was finished, Richard bought the AMPEG (Ampeg SVP-CL, Ampeg SVT PRO and Ampeg SVP-BSP) and Hafler instruments (power amp). He has been using the complete range of EBS and George Dennis Phaser for the analog effects and Roland V-Bass, Roland GR-20 and Roland GKP-4 for the digital effects.
Multi-instrumentalist
A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:Music written for Symphony...
, solo singer, composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, music arranger, teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
and producer. He is one of the most significant personalities of the contemporary Czech, but also European music scene. Richard's music represents a mixture of various music styles including funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
, pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
, rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
, modern jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, hardcore and its fusion with the classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
.
Music beginnings and education
Richard showed talent for music already in his early childhood. He wasn't even three years old when he started to play harmonicaHarmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
, gradually he learned to play piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
and percussion
Percussion instrument
A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
. He pursued his music ambitions by performing in the children's orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
under the guidance of his uncle Jirka. After the break-up of the orchestra the thirteen-year-old Richard switched to the bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
which he plays until today.
At the beginning he studied music on his own, until he took private lessons from the professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
Vladimír Hora (1987–1989) and in 1998 till 1999 he continued his music education under the supervision of Prof. Hora at the Conservatory of Jaroslav Ježek in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, where he in addition to playing the bass guitar took also singing lessons.
Music career
After performing with regional bands Richard gained in 1986 his first professional engagement in the band called Natural for approximately four years. After that he performed in the band Buran Prášil, later in 1990 it was the band of Dalibor Janda. The encounter with the musicianMusician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
and composer Milan Steigerwald meant another important move in Richard's professional career – for the coming twelve years he became the member of the band King Size. Although the band stopped performing, it still exists and Richard and his son Richard appear as guest artists with it. At the same time, he appeared as guest artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
in the recordings of several pop artists, such as Karel Gott
Karel Gott
Karel Gott is a Czech Schlager singer, and an amateur painter. He is considered as the most successful male singer in former Czechoslovakia and currently in the Czech Republic; he has being voted the Most Favorite Male Singer in the annual national pool Český slavík in total thirty-six times...
, Lucie Bílá
Lucie Bílá
Lucie Bílá is a Czech pop singer. With a powerful, distinctively intense voice and impressive range, she is one of the most famous and celebrated female artists in Czech Republic history...
and Lenka Filipová. He participated on the recording of the pop album of the band Damiens Nechci zůstat sám/ I don't want to be alone together with Láďa Křížek. It is worth mentioning the Golden Disc Award (Zlatá deska) he was given for his contribution to this album. He has also contributed to various jazz projects, such as the band Blue Birds of the saxophonist Ivan Myslikovjan, saxophonist Andrea Kolmanová (together with the son Richard he also participated on the recording of her CD Andrea) and many others.
For the time being, he is a member of the rock band Pražský Výběr II/ Prague Selection II, led by a composer, singer and political activist Michael Kocáb
Michael Kocáb
Michael Kocáb is a Czech composer, singer and political activist.Kocáb is leader of Pražský výběr, popular music band, which was suppressed by Czechoslovak communist regime in the 1980s...
. During the year 2007 he went on the concert tour with PV II , performing at the festivals and participated on all activities that have to do with the rock band (studio work on other projects, radio performance, video clips...). In the same year, the album of PV II Vymlácený rockový palice/ Smashed Rock Heads was launched and the concert PRAŽSKÝ VÝBĚR II LIVE, held on the 3rd of May 2007 in Teplice, Czech Republic has appeared on DVD in June 2008.
Career abroad
At the end of the year 2002 Richard's steps lead to HastingsHastings
Hastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located east of the county town of Lewes and south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He worked in the music studio of Claire Hamill
Claire Hamill
Claire Hamill is a British singer-songwriter.- Biography :Claire Hamill was active in the music business since age 17...
and performed with local artists, such as Tom Palmer, Steve Winchester, Donna Terenzi, Mama Josie and Papa George. He gave also solo performances and started a closer cooperation with Nana Tsiboe - the former percussionist of Robbie Williams
Robbie Williams
Robert Peter "Robbie" Williams is an English singer-songwriter, vocal coach and occasional actor. He is a member of the pop group Take That. Williams rose to fame in the band's first run in the early- to mid-1990s. After many disagreements with the management and certain group members, Williams...
Band - in his solo project called Bushfaya.
Richard worked also outside the borders of England; in 2001 he made a couple of video clips in Africa and participated at the Frankfurt Music Fair, presenting the musical instruments produced by George Dennis.
Solo albums
The debut solo album by Richard Scheufler called V rukou Tvých / In your hands, was launched in 2001 in Czech and English version. On this album, he established himself as a composer, solo singer, music arranger and producer.The second solo album Between us was produced between 2004 and 2008 and Richard launched it under the label Scheufler's Records in 2008. The album includes 16 tracks - instrumental and vocal compositions recorded in English with the contribution of a couple of other artists (the son Richard, Ted Whang, Peter Boška, Jiří Neužil, Štěpán Škoch, Andrea Kolmanová, Markéta Rohanová et al.).
Music teaching
Richard Scheufler is well-known to the music community for his teaching activities. He is the author of the audio school Slap & Funky (1994). In 2000, the video school of the same title was published as the first video school of its kind in Czech Republic.From 1997 till 2002 he was engaged as lecturer on regularly organized summer Rock courses in Dobra Voda, near Prachatice, Czech Republic. The students of the course gave the initial impetus for the recording of a CD called Jednou v roce/Once a Year.
Besides that, he has carried out many workshops at various music fairs, each year in Prague since 1991 (Huvel, Muzika 2003), in Bratislava, Slovakia and in Frankfurt, Germany.
Music performance with the son Richard - Scheufler Project
The cooperation with the son Richard (born on 28.9.1988 in Partizánske, SlovakiaSlovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
), officially under the name Scheufler Project, enjoys a special status in his professional career. The history repeated itself and Richard junior has said yes to music in a very early age. Along with his father he performed with the King Size band, of which guest artists they are until now. At the age of twelve years, Richard junior participated on the recording of the pop album of the band Damiens Nechci zůstat sám/ I don't want to be alone, which Richard also co-produced. He also took part on the Lenka Filipová Tour and contributed to the father's second solo album Between us (Scheufler’s Records, 2008). Since 2004 they both have been performing as permanent guest artists in the rock opera Antigona.
Music equipment
In October 2004, Richard accepted the offer to cooperate with the company MusicData (distributor of the Hughes & KettnerHughes & Kettner
Hughes & Kettner is a German brand of guitar and bass amplifiers, cabinets and effects processors. It was founded in Neunkirchen in 1984 and is based in St.Wendel since 1987....
Amplifiers) concerning the presentation of the instruments Quantum, at his solo concerts, workshops and music fairs. He also cooperates with the company Alexim presenting the analog effects and strings produced by the Swedish company EBS. In 2007, Richard started the cooperation with the company Roland and the Hungarian producer of handmade guitars Fibenare, which since 2006 has been developing the 6-string model Fibenare Standard RS MIDI for Richard - bass guitar using the analog and digital input. Richard's collection of music instruments includes, moreover, signed models by the company K&K, he has been cooperating with since 1997, as follows:
- Richard Scheufler model Romeo 6 strings
- Richard Scheufler model Juliet 6 strings (fretless)
- Slapper 4 strings
- Bassman 4 strings
and Yamaha TRB 6P.
Studio and workshop equipment includes the Yamaha QY 700 sequencer, HDD Korg D16, Korg Pandora PX5D and Audix Microphone.
When the cooperation with the MusicData and Hughes & Kettner at the end of the year 2007 was finished, Richard bought the AMPEG (Ampeg SVP-CL, Ampeg SVT PRO and Ampeg SVP-BSP) and Hafler instruments (power amp). He has been using the complete range of EBS and George Dennis Phaser for the analog effects and Roland V-Bass, Roland GR-20 and Roland GKP-4 for the digital effects.
Discography
- King Size - Lovci Těl / The Body Hunters (1992)
- Karel Gott - Vánoční Koncert / The Christmas Concert (1992)
- King Size - Jezebel (1993)
- King Size - Happy Sapiens (1993)
- Ondřej Soukup - Nudity for Sale / Nahota na prodej (1993)
- Lucie Bílá - Zahrada Rajských Potešení (1994)
- Audio school - Slap&Funky (1994)
- Čeští Mistři Baskytary - Czech Masters of Bassguitar (1995)
- King Size - Psychothriller (Příkrý Les) (1993)
- King Size - Romeo & Julie / Romeo & Juliet (1997)
- Katryna - Yadid Nefesh (2000)
- Video school - Slap&Funky (2000)
- Damiens - Super Bílá Myš / Super White Mouse (2001)
- R. Scheufler - V Rukou Tvých / In Your Hands (2001)
- D. Stárek - Jediná / The Only One (2001)
- L. Semelka - Muj Vek / My Age (2001)
- Damiens - Nechci zustat sám / I don't want to be alone (2002)
- CD launched by lecturers - Jednou v Roce / Once a Year (2002)
- M. Jakubovie - Z Druhé Strany / From The Other Hand (2002)
- Myslikovjan & Scheufler - The 4 Seasons (2002)
- R. Scheufler & friends - Classical Music (2003)
- The Scheuflers - My World (2003)
- Nana Tsiboe - Bushfaya (2003)
- Andrea Kolman - Andrea (2003)
- King Size - King Size (2004)
- Richard Scheufler - Between us (2004)
- Kečup - Frontální útok / The Frontal Attack (2005)
- Antigona (promo version) - Rock opera (2006)
- Pražský Výběr II / Prague Selection II - Vymlácený rockový palice / Smashed Rock Heads (2007)
- Jan Militký - Sběrné suroviny / The Junk (2007)
- FN 206 Fontana Music Library - Bass & Drums (2007)
- FN 206 Fontana Music Library - Variant Moods For TV Production (2007)
- Pražský výber II / Prague Selection II - DVD PRAŽSKÝ VÝBĚR II LIVE (2008)
- Antigona double album - Rock opera (2008)