"Ivan Habernal debuts tremendously and sensationally."
★★★★★
— Concerto Magazin, October 2021
5/5 stars review
"Ivan Habernal debuts tremendously and sensationally."
★★★★★
— Concerto Magazin, October 2021
5/5 stars review
Bassist, pianist, composer
Welcome to my personal website! I am a bassist, composer, and pianist, born in 1983 in the Czech Republic.
In 2009/2010 I studied electric bass at the Jaroslav Jezek Jazz College in Prague. In 2011, I declined a scholarship offer from Berklee College of Music and instead spent three months in New York City studying privately with Hans Glawishnig, John Patitucci, John Benitez, and others.
I have had the honor of performing with some international jazz stars (Randy Brecker, Steve Smith, Vincent Mendoza, Bobby Shew) as well as with great Czech pop singers (Marta Kubišová, Karel Gott) and many great Czech jazz musicians. I live in Frankfurt am Main (Germany), where I regularly perform with the Ivan Habernal Quartet and other projects. In 2015 J-Sound Project was awarded the Frankfurt Jazz Scholarship. In June 2015 I performed with the Buddy Rich Big Band, including Steve Smith (dr) and Bobby Shew (tp), among others.
In 2020 I composed a 5-part suite for string quartet and jazz septet entitled “Suite for Little J” and performed it live with the Ivan Habernal Orchestra.
In 2021 I was awarded the Frankfurter Jazz-Scholarship. Press cover:
Contemporary jazz quartet
"[...] Schnell entfacht der Bandleader auf seinem sechssaitigen E-Bass zusammen mit Schlagzeuger Martin Standke einen in die Beine fahrenden Groove, ebenso eingängig wirken die Leitmotive. Tatsächlich verfügt Habernal über ein feines Gespür für Melodien, die sich umgehend im Ohr festsetzen. [...] — Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 08/2023
[...] Habernal findet seine eigene musikalische Position. Durchweg großartig die Solisten, in einem austarierten Verhältnis von Komposition und Improvisation. — Frankfurter Rundschau, 2023
[...] Habernal's idea was to tell stories without words. And that's exactly what he succeeded in doing. — Frankfurter Neue Presse, 2021
Contemporary jazz septet, sometimes with a string quartet
[...] Selbstverständlich blitzt Ivan Habernals Können auch in den Arrangements für sein Septett auf. [...] — Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 05/2022
[...] Im weiteren Verlauf verweben sich insistierende Figuren und schwellende Klänge, kontrapunktische Akzente und leicht versponnene Stimmungen, nervöse Rhythmen und abstrakte Synthesizer-Einwürfe. [...] Mit cleveren Wechseln, Verzahnungen und gezielten Kontrasten lässt der Schluss Ivan Habernals Talent für Arrangements hell aufleuchten. — Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 08/2023
Upcoming live performances
Selected highlights
Subscribe at youtube.com/@ivan-habernal-music
Ivan Habernal Orchestra, 2020
Ivan Habernal Quartet, 2020
Buddy Rich Bigband, Prague Proms 2015
Selected recordings (scroll left or right)
Ivan Habernal Quartet, 2021
JSound, 2020
J-Sound, 2016
Robert Štolba, 2014
Pestalozzi, 2014
feat. Randy Brecker, Bobby Shew, Czech National Symphonic Orchestra, St. Blaise’s Big Band, conducted by Vince Mendoza, 2013
by Kryštof Marek, feat. Karlovarský Repre Band & Karlovy Vary Symphony Orchestra, 2013
feat. Marta Kubišová, Aneta Langerová, Karel Štolba Band, 2013
Jazz Mistake, 2008
Contact us via e-mail or phone
+49 179 6004212
ivan.habernal@protonmail.com