The annual International Solo Jazz Piano Festival is a commendable effort and a highlight of Prague's autumn jazz season. Held over three successive Saturday evenings, each concert promises a combination of young and veteran jazz pianists in solo concerts, performing on a first-rate Steinway to boot.

The opening evening features Michel Reis from Luxembourg, Christophe Stieffel from Switzerland, and Anat Fort from Israel. The 28-year-old Reis studied at Berklee College of Music and the New England Conservatory, and has recorded and performed with Danilo Perez, Esperanza Spalding, Joe Lovano and Dave Holland, among others. His sound is close to easy listening yet also sincere, passionate and compelling. He is a young European player to watch for in the future. Stieffel, born in Zurich in 1961 is considered one of the most interesting voices in European jazz.

The headliner of the first night is Israeli Anat Fort. She has just released her second album And If, a follow-up to her 2007 debut, which featured avant-garde veterans like Perry Robinson on clarinet and Ed Schuller on bass, and the iconic modern jazz drummer Paul Motian. Fort moved to the United States in the mid-1990s to study jazz and has remained there since, an influential figure on the New York alternative jazz scene and a highly appreciated player in her homeland.

The second night of concerts features Austrian David Helbock, a young virtuoso and showman who looks more like a young Deadhead than a jazz-head yet recalls many of the great jazz pianists from Bud Powell to Duke Ellington and Cecil Taylor.

"I will be playing solo piano, which is very different than playing with a group," she says. "It is very challenging and also a lot of fun. I have to treat the piano like an orchestra and explore lots of textural and sound possibilities - because it is just the piano. I have to have a musical conversation with myself!"The headliner for the second evening is American Lynne Arriale, who studied classical music, earning a master's degree from the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music. She turned to jazz in her mid-20s, once she realized the importance of improvisation. Arriale is now a critic's favorite for polls in Downbeat, Jazz Times and NPR, and she deserves such praise. She performed last year in Prague with her own remarkable group, featuring Randy Brecker, George Mraz, and Anthony Pinciotti, playing songs from their CD Nuance - The Bennett Studio Sessions. Arriale tells The Prague Post that her Prague show will offer something atypical.

With a performance of some originals and standards, as well as material from a recently recorded solo album, which will be released next year, Arriale may be the highlight of this year's festival.

"The program will also include some tunes by Thelonious Monk, Cole Porter, Billy Joel as well as my own compositions," she says.

The final night of the festival features yet another woman as co-headliner. Takana Miyamoto, a rising star on the American jazz scene, is currently based in Atlanta, though born in Japan. She moved to New York when she was 19, and studied at Berklee College of Music. Other performers on this final evening include Piotr Orzechowski from Poland and Wajdi Cherif from Tunisia.

Wajdi Cherif is one of the few up-and-coming jazz pianists from North Africa. He plays modern jazz influenced by Keith Jarret, Chick Corea and Thelonious Monk with an Arabic flavor. Cherif has played with Sigi Finkel, Ahmad Jamal and Archie Shepp. His concert to conclude this year's exceptional festival should not be missed.

The solo piano jazz festival is held in the Church of St. Lawrence, a converted medieval church used primarily for private events or the Prague Symphony's practice recitals. The space is ancient, but also cozy (as well as smoke-free), with a reasonably priced wine bar in an adjacent room. Musicians are never disappointed by this unique arrangement, and it shows in their unforgettable performances.