Jaroslav Ježek: Composer who combined jazz with Czech modernism

Jaroslav Ježek is a prominent 20th century Czech composer, pianist and conductor whose music became an inseparable part of the Liberated Theatre of Jiří Voskovec and Jan Werich.

Jaroslav Ježek was one of the most distinctive Czech composers of the interwar period, best known for the music he wrote for the Liberated Theatre in Prague. Working closely with playwrights Jiří Voskovec and Jan Werich, he created songs and scores that became closely associated with the theatre’s witty, satirical productions. His music blended jazz, popular song and elements of classical composition, bringing a distinctly modern sound to Czech theatre. Ježek was also a gifted pianist and composed concert works, but his theatre music, including songs such as “Bugatti Step” and “Život je jen náhoda”, has remained the most enduring part of his legacy. Forced to leave Czechoslovakia after the Nazi occupation, he emigrated to the United States in 1939, where he died in 1942, aged just 35.