The resident band of the Groove Brno festival, the B-Side Band has earned a reputation as one of the most distinctive ensembles on the Czech big band scene. It has accompanied foreign stars such as the French Electro Deluxe, American Grammy winners Judith Hill, Kurt Elling and the New York Voices, and for many years it has worked with Vojta Dyk on domestic stages. It also took part in the new recording of Jaroslav Hnilička’s famous “Jazz Mass” in its final expanded form, with which it regularly represents our country on foreign stages and at festive occasions.
The “full-fledged” band (the B-Side Band celebrated its 18th anniversary in 2024) entered a new era some time ago, in which it stands on its own, without the well-known name of the soloist in the lead, i.e. no more “… & B-Side Band”. The debut album “There and Back” was the confirmation of this step, which came, so to speak, “from own sources” – among the members of the eighteen-strong ensemble there were found exceptional composers, arrangers, but also singers.
With their album Tam a zpět (There and Back), the B-Side Band toured the country, bringing the atmosphere of American music clubs to smaller venues – including a unique big band sound, but also Czech lyrics. And this is exactly the atmosphere they will undoubtedly try to create on the stage of the Brno Dam at the first open-air edition of the Groove Brno festival.
