Guitarist/songwriter Ján Ačo Slepčík dies

Romani guitarist and songwriter Ján Ačo Slepčík has died at the age of 58. The news was revealed by an associate at Charles University on Sunday. Slepčík, born in Pardubice, east Bohemia, founded his first band, Terne Čhave (Young Men) in Slovakia at the age of just 14. Later, he relocated to Prague in the 1980s, befriending Czech writer Bohumil Hrabal, and working with musicians like jazz artist Jiří Stivín and others. In recent years, Mr Slepčík took part in numerous events, including a performance at the Respekt festival in Prague. In 2004 he recorded the solo album “Gipsy Songs”.