Miroslav Ladislav Vitous (surname originally Vitouš, born 6 December 1947) is a Czech jazz bassist who was born in Prague. He began the violin at age six, and started playing the piano at age ten, and bass at fourteen. As a young man in Europe, Vitouš was a competitive swimmer. One of his early music groups was the Junior Trio with his brother Alan on drums and fellow Czech luminary-to-be Jan Hammer on keyboards. He studied music at the Prague Conservatory (under F.