Great news from our friend, banjo player Richard Ciferský in The Slovak Republic. On top of his many entrepreneurial ventures with his Banjolit company, and his recent children’s book, The Adventures of Willo the Dwarf, Richard has announced the formation of a new band, Leveled Floor, to play his original compositions for banjo.
Ciferský’s music has always leaned towards a jazz orientation, and now he has gone all out. Leveled Floor consists of himself on banjo, Michal Vavro on guitar, Marian Jaslovský on sax, Jozef Madola on bass, and Jakub Valíček on drums. They perform Richard’s instrumental pieces, as well as work from other composers and vocal music.
According to Richard, the band fell into place over a few months time.
“Everything started in February when I was planning a release party for my book and CD, The Adventures of Willo the Dwarf.
I asked Michal, the guitarist who recorded on the CD to play, and I asked my old friend Marian, our saxophone player, if he could cover the fiddle parts which are on the original recording.
After the release party I got so much positive feedback, and the musicians pushed me to continue and create a regular band.
Marian brought on board new bass player Jozef, and he immediately became a member and started co-working on the arrangements of my songs. Then in September I got in contact with Jakub and asked him to play drums with us.
At the end of September we had our first concert.”
To offer a flavor of their sound, they have released a music video for Don’t Drink My Orange Juice, which seems to indicate that Richard’s bandmates aren’t very good at taking direction.
Have a look/listen…
You can learn more about Leveled Floor by visiting their web site, where you can contact the band about performing.
