Blue Effect

Big beat is the backbone of most of the band’s repertoire, but they do not shy away from other genres such as art rock, jazz rock or progressive rock, all of which are part of Radim Hladík’’s expertise. This is shown in his collaboration with Jazz Q in 1970 and with the Czech Radio Jazz Orchestra, with whom he recorded three albums. In the 70s, the band achieved great success internationally, with thousands of people attending their concerts in Finland, Hungary and Poland and was critically acclaimed by countless international critics. In the band’s 50 year long music career, a plethora of musicians played with them – Vladimír Mišík, Lešek Semelka, Luboš Pospíšil or David Koller, and in regard to the lyrics the band collaborated closely with a major Czech author – Zdenek Rytir, and also with poet Pavel Vrba and musician Jaroslav Hutka. Since 2004 the band has been playing in a stable formation, with the founder Radim Hladík joined by singer, guitarist and keyboardist Honza Křížek (former leader of crossover and rock band Walk Choc Ice), bassist Vojta „Wojttech“ Říha (former projects such as T.H.C. The Human Cell, Petr Rajchert and others) and drummer Václav Zima (former bands such as -123 min, Krausberry and others). The band has been popular throughout its career not only because of its impeccable repertoire, loyal fans from past years, but also the great energy transferred between the band and its audience, which is getting younger every day. All of this underlines the relaxed, spontaneous and friendly atmosphere of their concerts.