Peter Lipa (born May 30, 1943) is a Slovak singer, composer, and promoter of

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

. He has been called the Father of Slovak Jazz. Lipa is regarded as the most significant figure in the Slovak jazz scene. He developed a unique vocal style that focused on the lyrics. His music is influenced by performers including

Jimmy Rushing James Andrew Rushing (August 26, 1901 – June 8, 1972) was an American singer and pianist from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S., best known as the featured vocalist of Count Basie's Orchestra from 1935 to 1948. Rushing was known as " Mr. Five by ...

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

, Al Jarreau,

Joe Cocker John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances that featured expressive body movements. Most of his best known singles were recordings of son ...

, and Bobby McFerrin, and is a mix of jazz and blues. He was the first jazz singer to use Slovak.

Life and career

Lipa was born in

Prešov Prešov (, hu, Eperjes, Rusyn and Ukrainian: Пряшів) is a city in Eastern Slovakia. It is the seat of administrative Prešov Region ( sk, Prešovský kraj) and Šariš, as well as the historic Sáros County of the Kingdom of Hungary. With ...

to Hungarian parents and has worked in

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

, the Czech Republic, and

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...

. His roots are in blues, soul, and classical music and his work rock and jazz standards. In 2003, he released an album called ''Beatles in Blue(s)'' with versions of sixteen songs by

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

. He and his arrangers and musicians intended to create the most unusual renditions they could imagine. Some songs, such as " Every Little Thing" and " I Wanna Be Your Man", are recorded so differently from the original versions that only the lyrics remain. In each case, the tempo, rhythm, chord changes, and melody are new. Three of his studio albums have been listed among The 100 Greatest Slovak Albums of All Time, such as ''Lipa spieva Lasicu'' (2005), at number fifty-eight, ''...v najlepších rokoch'' (2001), at number sixty-three, and ''Naspäť na stromy'' (1995), at number eighty-one.For the complete list of The 100 Greatest Slovak Albums of All Time, use either the topky.sk-link and/or the cas.sk-link: * * His album ''68'' (2012) peaked at number forty-eight on the Czech Albums Chart.

Discography

Studio albums

* 1983: ''Neúprosné ráno'' ( OPUS, #9115 1460; aka ''Moanin) * 1987: ''Škrtni, co se nehodí'' ( Supraphon, #1115 4206) with Luboš Andršt Blues Band * 1987: ''Je to stále tak'' (OPUS, #9315 1940; aka ''That's the Way It Is'') * 1987: ''Peter Lipa a T+R Band'' with T+R Band (OPUS) * 1992: ''Svíčka a stín'' ( Panton, #81 1223-2 331) with

Eva Olmerová Eva Olmerová (21 January 1934 – 10 August 1993) was a Czech pop and jazz singer. She is regarded as one of the greatest Czech jazz singers of all time. Biography Eva Olmerová was born in Prague in 1934. She started piano lessons at the a ...

and Jana Koubková * 1995: ''Naspäť na stromy'' (East West Promotion, #1994-001) with Andrej Šeban, Juraj Griglák, Juraj Bartoš and Gabo Jonáš * 1998: ''Čierny Peter'' (BMG Ariola) with Andrej Šeban, Juraj Tatár, Gašpar and Marcel Buntaj * 2001: ''...v najlepších rokoch'' (Millennium Records & Publishing, #834 006) * 2005: ''Lipa spieva Lasicu'' (

Platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Pla ...

, number #11 on the CZ Top 50 Prodejní.) * 2005: ''Jana Kirschner, Peter Lipa, Boboš Procházka'' with Jana Kirschner and Boboš Procházka * 2012: ''68'' (number #48 on the CZ Top 50 Prodejní.)

Export and English albums

* 1984: ''Moanin (OPUS, #9115 1461) * 1988: ''That's the Way It Is'' (OPUS, #9313 1988) * 1988: ''Blues Office'' (Supraphon, #1115 4255) with Luboš Andršt Blues Band * 1995: ''Up to date'' with T+R Band * 1997: ''Boogie Up'' (PolyGram / EmArcy) with

Peter Breiner Peter Breiner (born July 3, 1957, in Humenné, in former Czechoslovakia, present day Slovakia) is a Slovak pianist, conductor, and composer. Breiner began to play and study the piano at age four. At age nine, he started to study at the Cons ...

* 2000: ''Bistro'' (BMG Ariola) with Band * 2003: ''Beatles in Blue(s)''

Live albums

* 1984: ''Blues z lipového dřeva'' (Supraphon, #1115 3109) with Luboš Andršt Blues Band ;Notes

Awards

;Notes * A The award credited to Andrej Šeban and shared with another album produced by himself, ''Part I'' by Made 2 Mate. * B The award credited to Gratex company. * C The award credited to Adnan Hamzić. * D The award shared with Juraj Tatár, Martin Gašpar and Peter Lipa Jr. * E The award credited to Ľuboš Války a Juraj Kupec. * F The award credited to Marek Ormandík. * G Ľudovít Štúr Order denotes a state decoration, bestowed by the president of the country.

References

;General * * * ;Specific

Bibliography

External links

* *
Peter Lipa
at Muzikus.cz
Peter Lipa
at SuperMusic.sk {{DEFAULTSORT:Lipa, Peter 1943 births Living people Musicians from Prešov Slovak jazz musicians 21st-century Slovak male singers Slovak composers Male composers 20th-century jazz composers 20th-century Slovak male singers 21st-century jazz composers Male jazz composers Czechoslovak male singers Slovak male musicians