banner
  • Multicategory: Jazz, Music, Musicians, History

Prague Spring The Soviet Invasion

 

prague01A period of political liberalization in communist Czechoslovakia led by Alexander Dubcek. He promoted “socialism with a human face,” including greater freedom of speech and the press. On 20–21 August 1968, troops from the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries invaded Czechoslovakia to stop the reforms. Around 200,000 troops initially entered the country. Czechoslovak leaders were arrested and taken to Moscow, and the reforms were gradually reversed.

In spite of this, Sandy Brown, the Scottish clarinet player, played in November of that year at The Prague Jazz Festival, the festival a brave act of defiance. None of the viewers of the video who commented seemed to be aware that the streets of Prague were filled with tanks and soldiers.

 

86 And Still Counting

Stockholm 2000: Bluetooth and Cashless Payments — The Future Is Now   I was a member of a journalists press trip to Sweden. The theme was "The New Swedish Economy". It had been arranged by an...

Wall Of Sound. Gig With Victor Brox   The venue was in Bradford. Run by West Indian guys. One room. The bar, a plank on trestles. Drinks, one only, 'Red Stripe' beer. The wall opposite wall...

Why John Mayall Became Famous and Victor Brox Became a Legend   I knew both of them. Was a member of the other band when blues syndicate did their first gig at Manchester University Students...

Roald Dahl. Charlie and The Chocolate Factory   The first UK edition of Charlie and the Chocolate line drawings by British artist Faith Jaques. Laminated Boards: The book was published purely...

Leeds A Town Like New Orleans   During a meeting at the BBC I suggest the possibility of a pro grame about the Leeds jazz scene. Leeds opened the first dedicated United Kingdom jazz school,...

Davy Burns The Ultimate Jazz Jam Ligger   Davy Burns was a familiar individual in and arouund the Soho and London jazz scene. Small, close cropped black hair, quizical gaze, one arm stretched...

Lunch with Everest Legend Tenzing Norgay | Leeds 1977   Tenzing Norgay, May 1914 – 9 May 1986), born Namgyal Wangdi, and also referred to as Sherpa Tenzing, was a Nepalese-Indian Sherpa...

  Four Bar Intro – The Door to Possibilities   A great four-bar jazz introduction does much more than start a tune. It Sets the mood and expectation. Draws the listener into the...

The Designer Kitchen Business   I had a gap between a switch over between employment activities. I saw an advertisement looking for people to work in the domestic kitchen business. "Why not"...

Samuel Pepys Violence Against Women   Samuel Pepys’s diary contains numerous passages describing coercion, unwanted touching, threats, and physical violence toward women, including women in...

Dinosaurs   Roget's Thesaurus. We tend to think of a thesaurus as a collection of synonyms and antonyms. But Roget’s is essentially a reverse dictionary. With a dictionary, the user looks up...

James Joyce Ulysses   I bought my copy of James Joyce Ulysses, the 1958 Reprint of The Bodley Head edition at Willshaw's Bookshop in Manchester. It was a 'Getting out of the RAF' gift to...

More Articles