Peter Lipa

Peter Lipa (born May 30, 1943) is a Slovak singer, composer, and promoter of jazz. He has been called the Father of Slovak Jazz.^[1][2] 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, Ray Charles, Al Jarreau, Joe Cocker, and Bobby McFerrin, and is a mix of jazz and blues. He was the first jazz singer to use Slovak.^[3]

Peter Lipa
Background information
Born	(1943-05-30) May 30, 1943 (age 82) Prešov, Slovak Republic
Genres	Jazz, blues
Occupation(s)	Singer, songwriter
Instrument(s)	Violin, trumpet, trombone, guitar
Years active	1963–present
Labels	East-West Promotion
Website	peterlipa.com

Life and career

Lipa was born in Prešov to Hungarian-Jewish parents and has worked in Czechoslovakia, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia. 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. He and his arrangers and musicians intended to create the most unusual renditions they could imagine.^[4] 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.^[5] His album 68 (2012) peaked at number forty-eight on the Czech Albums Chart.^[6]

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 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,^[7] number #11 on the CZ Top 50 Prodejní.^[8])
• 2005: Jana Kirschner, Peter Lipa, Boboš Procházka with Jana Kirschner and Boboš Procházka
• 2012: 68 (number #48 on the CZ Top 50 Prodejní.^[6])

Export and English albums

• 1984: Moanin' (OPUS, #9115 1461)^{[n. 1]}
• 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^{[n. 2]}
• 2000: Bistro (BMG Ariola) with Band^{[n. 3]}
• 2003: Beatles in Blue(s)^{[n. 4]}

Live albums

• 1984: Blues z lipového dřeva (Supraphon, #1115 3109) with Luboš Andršt Blues Band

Notes

1. Both albums, Moanin and That's the Way It Is, were re-issued as a box set entitled La La La (1998).
2. Breiner's performance is uncredited on the front cover.
3. The release also features two tracks sung in Slovak, namely "V súkromnom bistre" and "Pamäť".
4. The work features cover versions by The Beatles.

Awards

Year	Nominated work	Award	Category	Result
Major awards and/or nominations
1993	Himself	Ladislav Martoník Award	Best Performance in Jazz	Won
1994	Naspäť na stromy	ZAI Awards	Producer of the Year[A]	Won	[9]
1995	"Balada o štyroch koňoch"		Music Video of the Year[B]	Won
1998	Himself	Crystal Wing Awards	Music Act of the Year	Won	[10]
1999	"Maturantky"	ZAI Awards	Music Video of the Year[C]	Won	[9]
2005	Himself	Aurel Awards	Male Vocal Performance of the Year	Won	[11]
			Record Producer of the Year[D]	Won
	Lipa spieva Lasicu		Record of the Year[E]	Won
			Record of the Year in Jazz/Blues	Won
			Artwork of the Year[F]	Won
			Album of the Year	Nominated	[12]
2010	Himself	Bratislavian Blueberry	Personality of the Year	Won	[13]
Music polls
1983	Himself	Jazz Forum Award	European Jazz Vocalist	Nominated	[14]
1998	Himself	Slávik Awards	People's Choice – Male Singer	19th place	[15]
1999				13th place	[16]
2000				14th place	[17]
2001				12th place	[18]
2002				18th place	[19]
2003				24th place	[20]
2004				21st Place	[21]
2005				8th place	[22]
2006				19th place	[23]
2007				29th place	[24]
2008				32nd Place	[25]
2009				17th place	[26]
2010				31st Place	[27]
2011				17th place	[28]
2012				21st Place	[29]
Lifetime honors and other achievements
1987	Himself	Merited Artist		Honored	[14]
2000		ZAI Awards	The Hall of Fame	Honored	[9]
2003		Ľudovít Štúr Order – Class III	Culture and Art[G]	Honored	[30]
2007	Lipa spieva Lasicu	Best Slovak Album of All Time		58th place	[5]
	...v najlepších rokoch			63rd Place
	Naspäť na stromy			81st Place
The years are listed in order of the respective years, the annual ceremonies are usually held the next.

Notes

• A ^ The award credited to Andrej Šeban and shared with another album produced by himself, Part I by Made 2 Mate.^[9]
• B ^ The award credited to Gratex company.^[9]
• C ^ The award credited to Adnan Hamzić.^[9]
• D ^ The award shared with Juraj Tatár, Martin Gašpar and Peter Lipa Jr.^[11][12]
• E ^ The award credited to Ľuboš Války a Juraj Kupec.^[11]
• F ^ The award credited to Marek Ormandík.^[11]
• G ^ Ľudovít Štúr Order denotes a state decoration, bestowed by the president of the country.^[30]

See also

• Slovak popular music
• The 100 Greatest Slovak Albums of All Time
• Honorific nicknames in popular music