His father was a Czechoslovak Radio Symphony Orchestra clarinet player, and his mother sang in SLUK Folk song and the Dance Ensemble. Juraj began his piano studies at a primary music school. He also started playing guitar and drums at the age 12 years. His father, who had so many interests, decided that Juraj would study double bass at Bratislava Conservatory (1978-1984). He played in the funk bands Tamis and Tagore at the conservatory. Also, Martin Kratochvil’s Jazz Q and Esprit bands were among his many musical interests. Vlado Valovic’s VV System was also performed at the Copenhagen Jazz Festival 1987. He continued his studies in double bass at the Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, Bratislava. He also played with professional bands, the Czechoslovak Radio Big Band and Czechoslovak Television Big Band. As a member the fusion music group Stop Time, led by Matus Jakabcic, he achieved success. They performed at Jazz festivals in Duketown (Hertogenbosch and Holand), as well as Jazz festival Aix en Provance, France. He has been a frequent guest at the Bratislava Jazz Festival. Many people are still able to recall his jam session at BJF (1985) with Stanley Clark. He was a member of ASH Band and The Quartet in the early 1990s. He recorded “Alice in Jazzland (1992)” with The Quartet. The music is representative of the current musical scene. They received high praise in both the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Juraj is also a successful studio musician, having recorded over 100 CD. He recorded his first CD, “Bass Friends”, in 2000 with Ron Affif, a special guest from New York. He recorded his first CD “Bass Friends” with Ron Affif, a well-known and highly acclaimed magazine called “Bass Player.” His composition “Codfish”, a track from the CD was featured on “CD Sampler Station,” which was released by “Bassics,” an American magazine. It is a recommended release that features such bass legends as Ray Brown, Matt Garrison, and Marcus Miller. He was awarded the Ladislav Martonik Prize for Jazzman of the year 1994 by the Slovak Jazz Association. In 2014, he recorded “Time to Fly”, his second solo CD, with special guests Poogie bell and Patches Stewart. CD Time to Fly was awarded the Esprit prize – best slovak Jazz CD of 2015. He released his third album, ” Juraj Grigak”, in 2017.
