Hudba Praha was a Czech rock band formed in 1984 by , after his previous band, Jasná Páka, was banned by the Communist government of Czechoslovakia. The group was active until 2015, with a hiatus between 1996 and 1999. In 2015, it splintered into two separate entities, known as Hudba Praha Band and Michal Ambroà ¾ a Hudba Praha. The band released five studio albums, one double EP, three live albums, and two compilations. Each splinter group has released one album. Michal Ambroà ¾ died in 2022.
Michal Ambroà ¾ formed the group Jasná Páka together with painter VladimÃÂr "Dáda" Albrecht in 1981. In its first incarnation, the band also included David Koller on drums, Jan Ivan Wünsch on bass, and Bohumil and VladimÃÂr Zatloukal on guitars, as well as a duo of "screaming" female backing vocalists, Zdena Pià ¡tÃÂková and Markéta VojtÃÂchová. In 1984, Jasná Páka was banned from performing in public. Ambroà ¾ wanted to continue playing, but rather than going underground, he retired the original moniker and renamed his musical ensemble Hudba Praha. Koller and Bohumil Zatloukal left to join 5P (Luboà ¡ PospÃÂà ¡il's band), and Albrecht decided to dedicate himself to painting. Wünsch, VladimÃÂr Zatloukal, VojtÃÂchová, and Pià ¡tÃÂková remained with the new group.
As the newly established group began to play, evading the ban placed on their previous instantiation, they were joined by a third female singer, Alena Daà Âková. Drummer Libor Kubánek joined in 1985 but was soon replaced by LudvÃÂk "Eman ET" Kandl. The lineup was supplemented by three new instruments: keyboards, played by TomÃ¡à ¡ "Bond" Volák, tenor saxophone by VÃÂtek Malinovský, and alto saxophone by Karel MalÃÂk. At the end of the decade, vocalist Jarmila "Jamajka" Koblicová joined, and Bohumil Zatloukal returned. The band performed all over Czechoslovakia, mainly in clubs, cultural halls, pubs, and at country dances.
In 1988, the group released a self-titled double EP, which was re-issued the same year as a full-length album. In 1992, the live album 10 let Hudby Praha / Jasná páka, recorded on 8 December 1991 at Prague's Lucerna, was released.
At the beginning of the 1990s, the band's female vocal section was reduced to Koblicová and the newly added Daniela ÃÂelková. A second studio album, titled Maelström, was published in 1993 by EMI/Monitor. A year later, Reflex Records issued the compilation Starý pecky (a tak dál...) and in 1995, the band's third studio effort, Maják, was released by Bonton Music.
The first epoch of Hudba Praha ended in 1996, due to various members focusing on solo projects. That year, Bonton released their fourth studio album, Divoký srdce, a name that Ambroà ¾ went on to use for his new project. The band promoted the record with a nationwide tour that culminated at Prague's Lucerna on 6 November 1996. The final performance was recorded and published in 1997 as a double live album, titled Nashledanou.
On 1 June 1999, Jan Ivan Wünsch died, shortly before a charity concert for Kosovo, which Hudba Praha was supposed to participate in, after a three-year hiatus. Bassist Jià ÂàJelÃÂnek joined the group, and Hudba Praha was able to perform at the event. Following this reunion, the band decided to continue playing together.
They toured and performed numerous concerts in the subsequent years, and in 2006, by then known as Jasná Páka/Hudba Praha, the band celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary and was inducted into the Beat Hall of Fame. A year later, they issued a double concert album, titled 25 pecek, which was recorded on 6 December 2006 at Prague's Acropolis Palace. The release included a DVD of the performance as well as the documentary film SpoleÃÂenstvàJasná páka, directed by Oliver Malina Morgenstern.
In 2008, Michal Ambroà ¾ and VladimÃÂr Zatloukal officially reformed Jasná Páka as a separate group, together with David Koller and several new members. As for Hudba Praha, the group underwent a number of lineup changes, with LudvÃÂk Kandl being replaced by Michael "à  imon" à  imà ¯nek and Karolina SkalnÃÂková taking the place of Daniela ÃÂelková. She was in turn replaced by Petra Studená, and singer and artist Petr VÃ¡à ¡a began making regular guest appearances with the group. At the beginning of 2009, Studená left Hudba Praha, followed shortly by Jarmila Koblicová and Bohumil Zatloukal.
Having lost a number of musicians, Hudba Praha was forced to seek replacements. They engaged the young conservatory students Kristýna "Týna" Peteà ÂÃÂková and Alena "ÃÂlla" Sudová as vocalists. On the tenth anniversary of Wünsch's death, a commemorative event was held at Prague's Acropolis, combining musical performances with the launch of VojtÃÂch Lindaur's biography of Jan Ivan Wünsch, titled Bav se s volem o sobotÃÂ. Other performers at the event included VladimÃÂr Mià ¡ÃÂk, Jaroslav Olin Nejezchleba, and Pavel Skála. Former saxophonist VÃÂtek Malinovský also rejoined the group.
In 2009, Hudba Praha began recording a new studio album, their first in fourteen years. Published in 2010, De Generace included a number of reimagined songs from the band's repertoire as well as some new tracks. The band continued to tour following the album's release, and in 2013, they issued another compilation, under the title ...all the best, which also included several new songs.
In 2014, Michal Ambroà ¾ published ÃÂerná deska with Jasná Páka, their first studio release. That year, apart from disagreements within Hudba Praha, Ambroà ¾ began to experience severe symptoms of an illness, and all his projects were subsequently put on hold. After undergoing medical treatment and recovering, Ambroà ¾ returned to rehearsing, but all progress had stalled within Hudba Praha, and the group split up in 2015.
After the breakup of Hudba Praha, two separate groups, both bearing the same name, took over the original band's repertoire and continued in its footsteps. The first was Hudba Praha Band, which consisted of some former members of Hudba Praha and the original Jasná Páka, minus Michal Ambroà ¾: VladimÃÂr and Bohumil Zatloukal, both on guitar and vocals; Jià ÂàJelÃÂnek on bass; LudvÃÂk Kandl (later replaced by Pavel Skála and in turn, TomÃ¡à ¡ Stoukal) on drums; Jakub Douda on tenor saxophone; Michaela à  ponar Fojtová and Lucie Jandová on vocals; and ZdenÃÂk Hnyk on guitar and lead vocals. The two female vocalists were later replaced by Jarmila Koblicová and Daniela Litváková ÃÂelková. The group played both Hudba Praha and Jasná Páka songs.
In November 2021, Hudba Praha Band released their first studio album, titled Barevný sny. It contained a number of songs previously written for Hudba Praha and Jasná Páka, as well as a few new tracks.
The second group that emerged from Hudba Praha's split went by the name Michal Ambroà ¾ a Hudba Praha, which, apart from its titular leader, included frequent guest David Koller on drums; Michal Pelant and Radovan JelÃÂnek on guitars; Jakub Vejnar on bass; Martin Kopà Âiva on drums; MatÃÂj Belko on guitar and keyboards; Jakub Doleà ¾al on tenor saxophone; and Markéta Toà ¡ovská Foukalová and Tereza KopáÃÂková on vocals. The group released the album Hudba Praha & Michal Ambroà ¾ in 2019.
Michal Ambroà ¾, born on 23 January 1954 in HavlÃÂÃÂkà ¯v Brod, fronted the bands Jasná Páka, Hudba Praha, Divoký srdce, and Michal Ambroà ¾ a Hudba Praha. He hosted the shows Kalumet and NadÃÂje Beatu on Radio Beat and in 2016, recorded the album SrdeÃÂnàpà ÂÃÂbÃÂh, which was produced by David Koller. It included contributions from various musicians connected to Ambroà ¾'s career, such as violinist Radovan JelÃÂnek and vocalists Magdaléna Krià ¡tofeková, Pavla Táboà ÂÃÂková, and Jarmila Koblicová, as well as others, such as drummer Martin Valihora and singer Richard Müller. Ambroà ¾ died on 31 October 2022.
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