Rudy Linka

Who is Rudy Linka?

Rudy Linka is a Czech-American jazz guitarist. He studied classical guitar as a teenager at the Prague Conservatory and learned jazz through his mentor, Karel Velebný. After travelling to Germany in 1980 he defected to the West in Sweden. In the first half of the 1980s, he studied composition at the Stockholm Music Institute. While in Sweden he began his collaboration with American double bassist Red Mitchell. In 1985 he moved to Boston and attended the Berklee College of Music under a scholarship obtained with the help of Mitchell. The following year he settled in New York, where he had private lessons with John Abercrombie and Jim Hall and began leading his own small groups. In New York, he also continued his studies at The New School. Linka performed in a duo with George Mraz at Bradley’s, and he recorded two albums in a trio with Mraz and Marvin “Smitty” Smith; following the latter session in January 1996 he toured Europe. In 1998 he was voted one of the ten best guitarists by the readers of magazine Down Beat.

From 1989, Linka is also active music teacher.