Record Reviews

MARTIN KRATOCHVIL ~ HIMALAYAN ECHOES SUPRAPHON 5498 (Barcode: 099925549824) ~ CZECH REPUBLIC ~ Soundtracks Recorded: 2002 - 2003 Released: 2003 This is an album by Czech keyboardist / composer Martin KratochvilFind albums by this artist, which presents the music he composed as a soundtrack to a TV documentary series about the Himalayan mountains. The album presents eighteen relatively short tracks, performed by Kratochvil, all composed by him except one track, which is an arrangement of a folk song from Nepal. Sitar player Jiri MazanekFind albums by this artist guests on one track and Vlastislav MatousekFind albums by this artist adds some background vocals. Kratochvil, primarily known for his stellar work in the Jazz and Fusion genres and the leader of the legendary Jazz QFind albums by this artist ensemble, is also a well-established cinematic and TV composer, with a long list of scores to his credit. Since he is also a dedicated mountaineer, this music was certainly inspired by personal experiences. Despite the fact that this music was created as a soundtrack, it stands wonderfully on its own merits, as is always the case with Kratochvil. He is blessed with a sublime ability to weave beautiful melodies, which sound great regardless of the context. Combined with the Jazz attitude, which this music also embraces, this album is certainly a very pleasant listening experience and represents the composer’s talents, as well as his ability to perform the music almost entirely on his own. Overall, although quite different form the Jazz / Fusion music Kratochvil is renowned for, this is still a very nice piece of music, which showcases his versatility and great skills as a composer, and a most welcome addition to his recorded legacy.

Updated: 07/09/2025Posted: 07/09/2025

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