George Mraz (b. 9 Sep 1944 -- ) is one of today's
top jazz bassists. In particular his style is sought-after
for its lyric, melodic style. He has recorded with dozens of
jazz stars, including pianists Hank Jones, Roland Hanna,
Tommy Flanagan, and McCoy Tyner,
vocalist Carmen McRae, trumpeters Dizzy Gillespie and Clark Terry,
trombonist Slide Hampton, drummer Elvin Jones,
violinist Stephane Grappelli,
and tenor sax players Joe Henderson and Joe Lovano. In the late
1990's Mraz signed with Milestone Records and has 5 albums as a leader
to date.
He was born as Jirí Mraz in Písek, Czechoslovakia,
and he displayed an early musical talent, picking up the violin when
he was 7. In high school he played alto saxophone, getting good enough
to gig around professionally. He tells the story of how he came to
the bass on his record label's website1:
"I was playing some weekend big band jobs, and this bass
player wasn't very good. Either that or he was a genius, because
he seemed to always play the wrong notes. Every now and then you'd think he
must play some of the right notes, just by accident. But, no. So I picked up
the bass on a break and tried to find the notes. I thought, 'It's not that
difficult.' So I got a bass and began playing a little bit. Next thing I knew,
I was in the Prague Conservatory."
After the Prague Conservatory and some playing in Munich, Germany,
Mraz moved to the United States, enrolling in the Berklee College of
Music in 1968. Subsequently, he toured with Oscar Peterson
(1970-1972), the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra (1973-1976), and
Stan Getz (1974-1975). His melodic style and his ability to
"always play the exact right note you want to hear"2
gave him the reputation to freelance as a first-rate touring
and recording bass player.
1 Quotation from http://www.fantasyjazz.com/html/mrazbio.html
2 Richie Beirach1, Mraz's pianist on (at least)
his album Jazz.