JOE KUCERA Saxophone / Flute www.joe-kucera.com Joe Kucera, „Saxophone Joe“, born in Prague, studied bassoon at the Prague conservatory. In 1971 he moves to Berlin and stays. Similar to Hans Hartmann, jazz is his first musical love, but he soon discovers an affinity to rock and roll. When he meets Jesse Ballard in the early 1970s, their encounter marks his first important access to American Rhythm and Blues. The years with Ballard in the Paradise Island Band turn out to be among the best of his life. It is to Ballard that Joe develops the strongest musical connection and they often perform together as a duo. Over the years, working with Joe Kucera turns into something like a brand of quality for many musicians. He guests and plays in countless bands and formations, connects with more and more musical styles and, among all these influences he puts his one of a kind stamp on the music. Nobody plays like Joe. Personally solid as the proverbial rock, Kucera turns into a sparkling fountain of notes when it comes to music. The inexhaustible ease, the immense diversity of his melodic sax improvisations are what sets him apart. His is a musicality that remains a constant source of inspiration for his fellow musicians.