Ondřej Havelka and his Melody Makers (Czech: Ondřej Havelka a jeho 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 authentic to the period. They are one of very few European big band formations in continual existence over more than a decade, and have been a considerable presence on the swing scene of post-Communist Central Europe.
The Original Prague Syncopated Orchestra split in 1995, actor and singer Ondřej Havelka with his colleague Karel Majer leaving to form their own ensemble, with Havelka as artistic director and lead vocalist, and Majer initially as bandleader but leaving after a year. This group eventually adopted the name "Melody Makers".
In recent years the group has performed a number of songs best known from Ella Fitzgerald's recordings, with Gypsy singer Věra Gondolánová as guest vocalist.
| International |
|
|---|---|
| National |
|
| Artists |
|
 | This article on a jazz ensemble is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
  | This article on a Czech band or other musical ensemble is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
