Jaromir Nohavica

Jaromír Nohavica, known to many as Jarek Nohavica, stands among the Czech Republic’s most celebrated songwriters, performers, poets, and musicians, with parallel acclaim in Poland and Slovakia. Early in his path he supplied material to ensembles such as Atlantis, Noe, and Majestic before shifting to a solo trajectory that extended beyond twenty years. Born in Ostrava on June 7, 1953, without formal musical instruction, he first placed successful compositions with numerous other artists and only stepped forward independently in the mid-1980s. A warmly received set at the 1982 Folk Carousel festival in Ostrava-Poruba opened the door to two initial EPs, Cesty (Roads) in 1985 and Pisne Pro V.V. (Songs for V.V.) in 1988. The same year brought the live full-length Darmodej (Aimless), whose strong reception inaugurated a sustained and fruitful sequence of recordings and performances. A Czech Grammy recipient, Nohavica issued roughly a dozen additional albums over the next two decades, some captured live and others circulated online. These included the children’s project Tri Cunici (Three Piglets) from 1994 and the 1998 concert album Koncert, in which he revisited earlier songs backed by a band. Further releases comprised the 2006 CD/DVD set Doma (At Home) and the 2008 album Ikarus, which reached the summit of the Czech album charts.