Ondřej KONRÁD (Czech Republic) - harp, vocal

In the 1980s, Ondřej Konrád, the most credited czech mouth harp player and winner of several surveys made by jazz magazines, played in the Blues Band of Lubos Andrst and Peter Lipa, where he made a name for himself as a soloist and with which he recorded three albums.

In the following decade, he (now also like a singer) co-founded the Binder-Konrád Blues Band (CD 1997), with well respected guitarist Peter Binder.

Since 1997, he has been a member of the 10-musician band with the horn section Savle Meče (CD 2000).

He performed in many European countries and was a member of an international band created for festivals in Poland and Germany. He recorded dozens of albums as a guest and soundtracks for films and theater. He is a co-author of the TV music program Na Kloboučku, which he has also hosted since 1995. And he is also co-author of book about history of Czech rock and roll (Bigbít, 2002, with V.Lindaur) In 2000, he made his own band GUMBO with musicians of younger generation . Diffusion of genres produces a typical sound and character of music although blues, jazz and improvisation remain the "foundation stones".

"Taking songs that range from Van Morrison´s "Moondance" to Billie Holiday´s "Lover, Oh Where Can You Be", Gumbo injects the classics with jazz-bassed improvisation and heavy blues feel. They also do a melancholic version of "All Along The Watchtower" that pulls on even the most indifferent heartstrings. And the band starting to mix some Czech songs into the playlist."
(Prague Post)


Contact: Ondřej Konrád, Charlese de Gaulla 9, Praha 6, 160 00, Czech republic
Phone: +420 605 928 321, ondrej.konrad@quick.cz or: okonrad@rco.cz