Reduta Jazz Club

From pioneering Czech jazz and experimental theatre to Bill Clinton’s 1994 saxophone jam, Reduta Jazz Club has shaped Prague’s cultural life since the late 1950s.

Set in an intimate basement space on Národní Street, a short walk from the National Theatre, Reduta is Prague’s oldest jazz club. The audience sits close to the stage — fitting for a venue where modern jazz, small-form theatre and political debate have repeatedly shared the same address.

Jazz and experimental theatre

Reduta’s modern history began in 1957 with a circle of musicians and theatre makers. Its early programme grew out of the Accord Club, which helped shape the emerging Czech tradition of small-form theatre and new popular music. In 1958, the pioneering modern-jazz ensemble Studio 5 appeared here, helping establish jazz as the venue’s defining voice.

From the 1963/64 season, Reduta provided a base for small independent ensembles that had no stage of their own. Ivan Vyskočil’s Nedivadlo and the Jára Cimrman Theatre were among the companies connected with the venue, while musicians including Karel Velebný and Jiří Stivín helped build its jazz reputation.

During communist rule, Reduta also offered a meeting place for avant-garde artists and dissidents. By the end of the 1980s, it had become one of the cultural centres associated with the Velvet Revolution.

The presidential jam session

On 11 January 1994, Czech President Václav Havel brought US President Bill Clinton to Reduta and presented him with a Czech-made saxophone engraved with Havel’s signature and heart. Clinton joined the musicians for Summertime and My Funny Valentine, while Havel played tambourine.

The impromptu performance became a defining story in the club’s history. Today its programme ranges from traditional and modern jazz to blues, funk and big-band evenings, preserving Reduta’s character as a small room where music, theatre and public life meet at close range.