Cotatcha Orchestra: a modern big band
Over the past decade, big bands have been experiencing something of a Renaissance here in the Czech Republic. One of the new ensembles on the scene is Cotatcha Orchestra, named after its bandleader Jiří Kotača.
Cotatcha Orchestra was established six years ago as Jiří Kotača's master's thesis project at the Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Brno. The jazzman, who also studied at conservatories in Rotterdam and Barcelona, later got the idea to turn the orchestra into an independent big band.
The Cotatcha Orchestra Big Band consists of 16 musicians, including the bandleader. Their first album, Bigband Electronica, was released in January by the Big Round Records label of the US publisher Parma Recordings.
