Ondřej Havelka is a Czech jazz and swing singer, an actor and director.

Career

Havelka has been the lead vocalist

Lead vocalist

The lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...

 for the Original Prague Syncopated Orchestra

Original Prague Syncopated Orchestra

The Original Prague Syncopated Orchestra is a Czech jazz band first formed in Prague, in what was then Czechoslovakia, in 1974...

 (1976-1995) and for Ondřej Havelka and his Melody Makers

Ondřej Havelka and his Melody Makers

Ondřej Havelka and his Melody Makers or simply The Melody Makers, is a Czech retro-band, playing American "jazz standards" and Central European jazz and swing music of the 1920s and 1930s. Carefully studied renditions of the original recordings are interspersed with solos improvised in a style...

 (1995 to present), and has directed and appeared in musicals and award-winning music videos.

Awards

In 1995 the Czech Academy of Popular Music (Akademie populární hudby) voted Děkuji, bylo to krásné, which he directed and performs in, the Anděl award ("Czech Grammy") for Clip of the Year. In 1996 Havelka received a personal Anděl award as Jazzman of the Year.

With the Original Prague Syncopated Orchestra

• Originální Pražský Synkopický Orchestr​ (1979, LP Supraphon & WAM – Germany)
• Srdce Mé Odešlo Za Tebou​ - 2 skladby (1980, SP Panton)
• Stará Natoč Gramofon​ (1982, LP Panton + reed. CD)
• Jazz & Hot Dance Music 1923 - 31​ (1984, LP Panton + reed. CD)
• Sám s Děvčetem v Dešti​ (1989, LP Panton + reed. CD)
• Hello Baby​ (1994, CD EMI – Monitor)

With the Melody Makers

• Ondřej Havelka uvádí The Swings (1995, Monitor/EMI. CD)
• Mě to tady nebaví (1998, Monitor/EMI. CD)
• Jen pro ten dnešní den (1999, Monitor/EMI. CD)
• Rhapsody In Blue: Pocta George Gershwinovi (1999, Monitor/EMI. CD)
• Swing It (2000, V.O.X. Music GmbH. CD)
• Vzpomínky na hvězdný prach (2002, Hot Jazz. CD)
• Nejlepší kusy z repertoiru Ondřeje Havelky a jeho Melody Makers (2003, Monitor/EMI. CD)
• Tentokrát zcela Rozvrkočení / This Time Completely off their Noodles (2005, Hot Jazz. CD)
• Ondřej Havelka a jeho Melody Makers vám přejí veselé vánoce. Bílé a oranžové (2005. CD)
• Rhapsody In Blue Room (2007. CD)

Writer and director

• Zdravý nemocný Vlastimilený Brodský (1999)
• Poslední mohykán (The Last of the Mohicans, 2009) - a documentary mapping the life story of jazz musician Jiří Traxler
  Jiří Traxler
  Jiří "George" Traxler was a Czech Canadian jazz and swing pianist, composer, lyricist and arranger. He is considered a founder and co-creator of the swing music era in the Czechoslovakia. Traxler was the last surviving collaborator of the renowned Czech pre-war composer Jaroslav Ježek...
  
  .

Actor

• Saturnin (1994) as Jirí Oulický
• Kafka
  Kafka (film)
  Kafka is a 1991 mystery thriller film directed by Steven Soderbergh. Ostensibly a biopic, based on the life of Franz Kafka, the film blurs the lines between fact and Kafka's fiction , creating a Kafkaesque atmosphere...
  
  (1991) as Friend of Kafka
• Nefnukej, veverko! (1988) as Father's friend
• Není sirotek jako sirotek (1986) as Jirka Spevácek
• Chobotnice z druhého patra (1986) as Bóda
• Rumburak (1985) as Mr. Tumlír
• Cesta kolem mé hlavy (1984) as Professor Robert Kilian
• Pod nohama nebe (1983) as Petr
• Krakonos a lyzníci (1981) as Teacher
• Koncert na konci léta (1980) as Fenix
• Reknem si to prístí léto (1977) as Karel

External links

• Interview for Radio Prague
  Radio Prague
  Radio Prague is the official international broadcasting station of the Czech Republic.Radio Prague broadcasts in six languages: English, German, French, Spanish, Czech and Russian. It broadcasts programmes about the Czech Republic on shortwave, satellite and on the Internet...
  
  .
• Profile of Havelka at the Prague State Opera
  Prague State Opera
  The Prague State Opera , is an opera and ballet company in Prague, Czech Republic. The theatre was originally founded in 1888 as the New German Theatre and from 1949 to 1989 it was known as the Smetana Theatre....
  
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• Profile of Havelka at the National Theatre (Prague)
  National Theatre (Prague)
  The National Theatre in Prague is known as the Alma Mater of Czech opera, and as the national monument of Czech history and art.The National Theatre belongs to the most important Czech cultural institutions, with a rich artistic tradition which was created and maintained by the most distinguished...
  
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• Melody Makers official website.