Shabaka Hutchings has spent the last decade reshaping the contemporary jazz scene through his leadership of seminal groups like Sons of Kemet and The Comet Is Coming, whose work takes in influences from hip hop to acid house and drum and bass. His work has been celebrated for its 'shamanic lyricism,' blending afro-futurism with deep, diasporic rhythmic pulses, and he's collaborated with artists as diverse as Floating Points, billy woods, Andre 3000, and Mulatu Astatke. Shabaka’s recent solo material marks a pivotal shift toward breath-led, spiritual explorations on flutes from around the world. This year, he released the self-produced album Of the Earth to critical acclaim.

´There’s something about the soulfulness of Shabaka Hutchings that stirs emotion and summons the spirit'

DownBeat

Ondřej Pivec and Prague Sounds are deeply intertwined, a bond forged during Ondřej's early appearnces at the festival as a rising star, but most notably thanks to his unforgettable 2013 guest appearance alongside Gregory Porter. That meeting proved transformative for Pivec, whose skills left such an impression on Porter that he was soon invited to join the band, initially as a guest and later as a permanent member. So it's fitting that Pivec becomes the third curator of our Choice night in this anniversary year, taking up the baton from Katarzia and Idea. For the occasion, he will invite several guests to join his genre-fluid band Greatest Hits 4000 for a special live set.

Ondřej has been based in the USA since 2009, and had made his mark there even before association with Porter, working as artistic director of a gospel ensemble in an African-American church on Coney Island, a first-call organist in jazz clubs in Manhattan and Brooklyn, and an accompanist for R&B artists in Harlem. This year's Choice promises to be a fascinating melting-pot of domestic and international influences.