Biography
Ondřej Havelka's Czech swing and jazz orchestra consists of 20 musicians (15 instrumentalists, 5 solists). The orchestra uses costumes, technics and instruments in the style of 1920's-40's.
Ondřej Havelka has been deeply involved with singing, dancing and tapping jazz and popular music of the 1920s and 1930s since the time he was a young student. He has recorded six albums with the Original Prague Syncopated Orchestra, and wrote and co-directed a musical film for this band. At the 1991 Montreux festival of television entertainment, this film was awarded a Silver Rose.
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In the role of the scriptwriter, singer and director, he recorded a series of three clips in 1995. One of them won the 1995 Czech Grammy award as the Clip of the Year. MTV-Latin bought and broadcast another clip, Jingle Bells.
Also in 1995, Ondrej started his own swing big band, Melody Makers, and has been performing with it since.
The Czech Grammy Academy awarded the Jazzman of the Year title to him in 1996.
Biography text from Last.fm, available under CC BY-SA.