SOURCE: “This Thing, the Bass Saxophone, Is Anything but Ordinary,” in The Review of Contemporary Fiction, Vol. 17, No. 1, Spring, 1997, pp. 120-125.

In the following essay, Jarab examines the importance of jazz music to author Josef Skvorecky.

Josef Skvorecky's fascination with jazz is no new story for anyone who knows the author or has read his work. His writings and his private perception of the genuinely American musical phenomenon made it only logical and proper that he should be present at the Reduta Jazz Club in Prague during Bill Clinton's visit in January 1994, when the president of the United States brought his idea for a project called Partnership for Peace and was given by the Czech head of state, Václav Havel, a shining brand-new saxophone in return. The American statesman showed his appreciation by playing the instrument not only in Prague but later in the Kremlin for the...