My books

Music Fairy and Her Magical World through the perspective of Andrej Kellenberger – musician,
music educator and publicist.

When I met Miro Zahradník some time ago and he began speaking about
his idea for a children’s music theory book, I immediately took notice. To turn it into
music theory—this bogeyman of music schools—into a kind and friendly guide through the world
of music? An almost superhuman task! All the more did I become interested in the result, and now, as the book lies before me,
the beautifully bound, vividly colored Muzička and Her Magical World, I can only acknowledge with appreciation that
hats off!
Miro, as a person firmly standing between the continents of classical music, popular music, and
jazz, has created a work that perhaps appears once in a generation. Playfully, yet systematically,
simply yet comprehensively, and with remarkable wit, he builds—through individual chapters—
(staff notation, rhythm, intervals, melody, scales, chords, etc.) musical knowledge
of a child—from basic knowledge toward a holistic perception of music.
Above all, I must highlight the songbook, where, in fourteen well-crafted and imaginative pieces,
original songs, he musically illustrates individual topics of music theory.
Simply put, it is a bullseye. Muzička and Her Magical World should not be missing from the collection of
music school libraries, but should also be part of the home library of every student
of a music school as an essential part of it.
And I would wish it a life of well-thumbed pages, dog-eared corners, underlined sentences,
in short, all the marks of a frequently used book.
With sincere admiration,
Andrej Kellenberger

A few months after the first book by Miro Zahradník entitled Fundamentals of Jazz Harmony appeared on the Slovak music-literary market, its welcome successor is here, bearing an equally captivating title: Traditional and Progressive Harmonic Practices in Contemporary Jazz. While the first is more of a textbook, the second is a concise and insightful monograph on the development of harmonic thinking in jazz—from bebop to the contemporary soundscapes of Bill Frisell. Across eight chapters—1. Problem Areas, Current State of the Topic; 2. On Terminology and Harmonic Principles in Jazz; 3. Theoretical Foundations for Clarifying Harmonic Relationships in Jazz; 4. Examples of Harmonic Relations of Dynamic Tonality in Standard Jazz Repertoire; 5. Linearity in Jazz Harmony; 6. Modality in Jazz Harmony; 7. Ambient Sound and Sound Painting in Jazz; 8. Selected Figures of the Slovak Jazz Scene After the Fall of the “Iron Curtain” (these are only chapter titles!)—it is in fact the subchapter headings that bring real excitement. A random selection might include: Dynamism as an Important Phenomenon of Jazz Harmony; Jazz Harmony in Light of the System of Privileged Intervals; Symmetry as a Modern Refreshment of Jazz Harmony; The Harmolodic Concept; Basic Principles of Constructing Sound-Painting Chords… Systematically, the author guides the reader through the changing face of jazz music in time and space.

Miro Zahradník, as a curious jazz musician, composer, arranger, and guitarist, seems to formulate questions for himself, which are then concisely answered by the individual chapters—answers he now offers to equally perceptive and inquisitive enthusiasts of jazz music. In terms of both scope and depth, this book is entirely unique within Slovak jazz-focused music literature. It would be difficult for me to say what interested me the most, as it contains such a wealth of fascinating information in one place, but chapters devoted to Slovak figures—Matúš Jakabčic and Andrej Šeban and their contribution to jazz music and improvisation—are of exceptional value for the Slovak reader. I also highly appreciate the very authentic account of the phenomenal Bill Frisell and his “Monk-like” approach to musical creation. But I do not want to do injustice to the other chapters—truth be told, I gladly return to this book, and I would be glad if it were embraced by as many eager readers as possible among young musicians, conservatory students, and students of other music schools.

Andrej Kellenberger 06. 03. 2020