Matija Dedić (2 March 1973 – 8 June 2025) was a Croatian jazz pianist and composer, son of singer-songwriter

Arsen Dedić Arsenije "Arsen" Dedić (; 28 July 1938 – 17 August 2015) was a Yugoslav and Croatian singer-songwriter. He wrote and performed chansons, as well as film music. He was also an award-winning poet, and was one of the best-selling poets of former ...

and singer

Gabi Novak Gabrijela "Gabi" Novak (; born 8 July 1936) is a Croatian pop and jazz singer. A wife of the prominent Croatian singer-songwriter Arsen Dedić, whom she married in 1973, Novak became popular in the 1960s. Biography Born in Berlin into a family ...

Early life and education

Matija Dedić was born in

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

on 2 March 1973, to

and

, both singers. He completed his secondary music education at the in Zagreb and, from 1991, studied at the

University of Music and Performing Arts Graz The University of Music and Performing Arts Graz, also known as Kunstuniversität Graz (KUG) is an Austrian university. Its roots can be traced back to the music school of the '' Akademischer Musikverein'' founded in 1816, making it the oldest un ...

, under

Harald Neuwirth Harald 'Harry' Neuwirth (2 February 1939 – 23 March 2023) was an Austrian jazz pianist and composer. Life and career Born in Vienna, Neuwirth came from a musical family; the composer Gösta Neuwirth is his brother, the composer Olga Neuwirth ...

Career

Following his graduation in 1997, he returned to Zagreb to begin his professional career. Around this time he had been performing with the Boilers quartet, alongside trumpeter Davor Križić, bassist , and drummer . Their four albums, released between 1997 and 2003 (with the last album recorded in the band's

big-band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

iteration, named Boilers All Stars), include some compositions by Dedić. In the late 1990s, he founded the Matija Dedić Trio. The band, which drew musicians from Obrovac quartet, namely bassist and Krunoslav Levačić, performed in several European countries and the United States. During this period, Dedić collaborated with various jazz musicians, composed music for television and theatre, and worked with Croatian pop artists. As a solo artist, Dedić released his debut album, ''Solo Part 1'', in 2000. The following year, he issued ''Handwriting'', an album that received three Porin awards in 2002. In 2004,

Dallas Records Dallas Records is a Croatian record label. It was established in 1987 (in Slovenia), and is owned and run by Goran Lisica - Fox, a music producer and manager who started his career in the 1970s as a music journalist. Signed artists include Gib ...

released ''Tempera'', which featured his interpretations of songs by Gibonni. The subsequent year, the same label issued ''Drugi pogled'', a collection dedicated to the repertoire of his father, Arsen Dedić. In 2006, he collaborated with Belgian double bassist on ''Visiting Bruxelles'', and in 2008, he produced ''Life of Flowers'', an album encompassing both his original compositions and works by

Dora Pejačević Countess Maria Theodora Paulina "Dora" Pejačević (; 10 September 1885 – 5 March 1923) was a Croats, Croatian composer, pianist and violinist and one of the first composers to introduce the orchestral song to Croatian music. Her Symphony in F- ...

. In 2011, Dedić released ''MD in NYC'', which combined original material with renditions of selections by artists including

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer. He started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. Hancock soon joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he helped to redefine the role of ...

Sting Stimulator of interferon genes (STING), also known as transmembrane protein 173 (TMEM173) and MPYS/MITA/ERIS is a regulator protein that in humans is encoded by the STING1 gene. STING plays an important role in innate immunity. STING induces typ ...

, and

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...

in a traditional jazz style. Over the span of his career he was awarded the Porin on 38 occasions in various categories. He died on 8 June 2025, at the age of 52.Renowned Croatian jazz pianist dies at 52
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References

Notes

General

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dedic, Matija 1973 births 2025 deaths Croatian jazz pianists Croatian jazz composers Musicians from Zagreb University of Music and Performing Arts Graz alumni Croatian people of Serbian descent Croatian people of German descent