Elena Suchankova

Since arriving on the Czech music scene in 1992, Elena has quickly become one of the country's most respected jazz vocalists and is now performing and gaining recognition in Britain and America. Based in Prague, Elena and her band Jocose Jazz are regulars in Prague's jazz clubs and have appeared at festivals throughout Europe. Formed in 1996, the band features a unique line up of vocal, vibraphone, guitar, doublebass and drums. Their repertoire includes original compositions alongside contemporary arrangements of music by Miles Davis, Billy Strayhorn, Horace Silver, Antonio Carlos Jobim and others. With the popular 1920s and 30s salon orchestra, Causa Bibendi, Elena presents a completely different repertoire. Causa Bibendi features an ensemble including violins, bass, guitar, clarinet and saxophone. The orchestra takes its audience back to the days of speak-easies and ragtime. Elena's broadcast work includes live performances with the Prague Radio Big Band and TV shows with both Jocose Jazz and Causa Bibendi. She has given numerous radio interviews and has also hosted several prestigious events including a master class given by Wynton Marsalis and a concert of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. Recordings include CDs with Causa Bibendi (“Opus One” and “Blue World”), Twin Quartet (“TwinQ+Elena”) and her solo debut, “You Go To My Head” -an international project including musicians from Britain, Mexico, and the Czech Republic. Elena is a graduate of the Jaroslav Jezek Conservatory in Prague and was awarded a scholarship to the Berklee College of Music in Boston.