Emil Viklický is a pianist and composer. In 1971 he graduated in mathematics from Palacký University in Olomouc, which awarded him an honorary doctorate in 2023. In 1974 he won the award for best soloist at the Czechoslovak Amateur Jazz Festival, and in 1977 he received a scholarship to Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he studied composition and arranging with Herb Pomeroy; he later trained with George Crumb and Václav Kučera. He played in Karel Velebný’s SHQ and has worked with George Mraz, Billy Hart, Wynton Marsalis, Bill Frisell and Miroslav Vitouš. In his work he combines Moravian folklore with modern jazz, and he also writes chamber, orchestral, operatic and film music. Amplión Records released the albums of his duo with Pavel Hrubý, Between Us (2020) and Live at JazzDock (2025). More at viklicky.com.
