This week two very different, but in some ways similarly iconic, contemporary jazz guitarists tread the boards of Prague for the first time. By adopting heroes from an early age, both Ulf Wakenius and Biréli Lagrňne later found to their surprise that their heroes had become fans themselves.

Sweden's best-known jazz export, Ulf Wakenius, initially turned to the blues for inspiration before discovering the delights of British jazz fusion guitarist John McLaughlin. These days McLaughlin describes Wakenius as "playing as if he was born with a guitar already in his hands." Though no medical experts can confirm this, it's obvious from the 11 solo albums he has under his belt that Wakenius is more than super-connected to his instrument.

"I wouldn't go as far as John McLaughlin's description," muses Wakenius from his hometown of Gothenburg. "But I'm promising, and I think I have something to say, the ability to touch people. You always need role models, and I had Pat Metheny and John McLaughlin. McLaughlin is a guitar genius and is now a good friend of mine."

Playing with quiet contemplation and emotional verve, Wakenius describes his style as "traditional and contemporary jazz mixed with traditional classic jazz." Last year's Notes From The Heart CD fits this description well. It's arguably Wakenius' best effort to date — in fact, he says so himself. There's a total of 11 tracks on the disc, and they all pay homage to another early hero, Keith Jarrett.

"The sound is just beautiful," Wakenius says. "Although it's the music of Keith Jarrett, I think I still have my own sound."

Wakenius has been busy of late touring the States with the eternally young Oscar Peterson, who is still working at 81. "Oscar is old, but those guys are legends," Wakenius says. "All they have to do is show themselves. It must be some kind of magic. The last concert we played was at the Monterey International Jazz Festival in California, and it was filmed by Clint Eastwood."

Appearing onscreen is nothing new for Wakenius, who once had a television audience of 600 million watching him perform with Peter Almquist at the 1985 Melody Grand Prix. "It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience," he recalls. "It was the biggest audience ever for a jazz duo."

After touring the globe with Peterson — playing such venues as the Hollywood Bowl and Royal Albert Hall in London — Prague would seem a backwater stop for Wakenius. But he says he's excited about performing here.

McLaughlin also had good things to say about the guitar player taking the stage the following night, Biréli Lagrňne. "He's a phenomenon of the guitar," McLaughlin said of the French-born guitarist who, as a precision technician, manages to fuse gypsy music with jazz.

McLaughlin was (and probably still is) a major influence on Lagrňne. But his primary obsession is with one of Europe's most famous jazz musicians, Django Reinhardt. Like Reinhardt, the gyspy within Lagrňne felt he had stretch jazz in an unconventional manner. "Django helped me to go and see what was happening elsewhere," Legrňne says.