Ondřej Havelka a jeho Melody Makers is a Prague-based swing big band founded in 1995 by actor, singer and tap dancer Ondřej Havelka (born 1954) after he left the Original Prague Syncopated Orchestra. The band plays American jazz standards alongside early Czech and Central European swing of the 1920s-30s on period instruments, with every concert staged down to the last detail - costumes, hairstyles and overall direction all faithful to the era. Havelka holds the Anděl Award for Clip of the Year (1995) and Jazzman of the Year (1996), and the band ranks among the longest-running European big bands of its kind.
The band plans a show 'Heaven on Earth' with baritone Adam Plachetka dedicated to songs of the Liberated Theatre (Ježek, Voskovec, Werich) with concerts in Litomyšl, Brno, České Budějovice, Zlín, Plzeň and Prague's Lucerna.
The band performed with the program 'Swing! Swing! Swing!' in Olomouc (Reduta, December 8) and at Prague's Lucerna (December 14).
The concert in Velké Meziříčí was postponed from March to October 14, 2025 due to Ondřej Havelka's illness.
The band presented a new program 'Šecky pecky synkopicky (tak jak dycky)' drawing from archival compositions that had not been performed for up to 25 years, supplemented with new additions to the repertoire.
Ondřej Havelka celebrated his seventieth birthday in 2024, and the band continues its active concert activities.
