JazzFest Brno 2013 - JazzFestBrno: CPR Trio, The Trio of OZ

The CPR Electrio encompasses three friends from New York City who live and breathe music and share a similar creative vision. The goal of this group is very simple: to create some exciting, genre-bending music, with three people from diverse cultures. All three members play various styles of music: Russell Carter has performed and toured with James Brown’s former bass player Fred Thomas and is a member of the Jason Marshall Quartet. Karel Růžička, who left the Czech Republic to make his dream come true about a dozen years ago, tours extensively with jazz legend Michael Franks and leads his own quartet and trio. Ondřej Pivec has been living in New York City for more than four years and currently is the musical director of the Gospel church at Coney Island in Brooklyn. Their respective jazz gigs provided the basis of their unity. Each band member is also able to experiment sonically, using electronic sounds that aren’t generally used in live, improvised music. What the CPR Electrio does is exceptional and explores yet undiscovered musical paths. The Trio of Oz, featuring Omar Hakim and Rachel Z, fuses rock, jazz, and jam into a must-hear musical statement. Touring extensively around the globe for the last year, the Trio of Oz is creating a legion of fans wherever they play. Legendary drummer Omar Hakim and Grammy winning pianist, Rachel Z came together in 2010 to form the Trio of Oz. Their debut CD, The Trio of Oz, garnered rave reviews and Jazziz Magazine nominated it Best Jazz CD of the year.