Soyka

Stanislaw SOYKA – a jazz singer, pianist, and songwriter was born 1959 in Zory, a small town in the Upper Silesia, an industrial region of Poland.He started performing in public as a soprano singer in the Gliwice Cathedral Choir. He was eight years old and a violin student of the second grade at the State Musical School in Gliwice. He continued his musical education at the Music High School in Katowice and has completed it with master degree in arrangement and composing from the Katowice Music Academy.Soyka’s professional debut was a November 1978 concert at the National Philharmonic Hall in Warsaw in the prestigious „Jazz at the Philharmonic” series. The recital, inspired primarily by Black Music, i.e. classic jazz, soul, and R&B, included songs originated by Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, The Beatles and George Gershwin, but also traditional Polish Christmas carols and folklore tunes, and was recorded and released as Soyka’s debut LP entitled „Don’t you cry”.In 1981 Soyka’s second LP, „Blublula”, was released and brought ravishing interpretations of all-time jazz favourites such as Duke Ellington’s „I’m just a lucky so and so” and John Coltrane’s „Naima” supported by superb Wojciech Karolak Trio. The album was voted the „Jazz Record of the Year 1981” and sold well enough to earn the „Golden Record” honour. It was then, when the legendary jazz critic and radio broadcaster, Willis Connover, the „Voice of the USA”, having checked out Soyka’s gig at the Jazz Jamboree Festival in Warsaw said: “This cat is Polish music’s best kept secret!” The secret was revealed soon, as Soyka hit the circuit of European jazz festivities, including the All Stars Jazz Fest in Stockholm, Umbria Jazz in Perugia, and Nancy Jazz Festival in Nancy.The mid-1980-ties witnessed emergence of Soyka’s genuine and distinct style. He left behind the American classics and moved towards the Polish musical tradition. His repertoire included more and more of his original tunes. The most valuable feature was developing – his own unique sound and expression.In 1986 Soyka signed a contract with RCA Germany and cut a self-entitled album, „Stanislaw Sojka”, for the label. In 1988 he started a long lasting stint with guitarist Janusz „Yanina” Iwanski, a co-founder of the charismatic „Tie Break” band, a protagonist of the progressive wing of the Polish jazz scene in the 1980-ties.The Soyka - Yanina duo performed and recorded extensively. Their „Acoustic” album (produced and released in 1991 with spiritual and financial assistance of Yello’s Dieter Meyer) has been said to precede the "unplugged" pop vogue by a few years . Both „Acoustic” and the subsequent „Neopositive” CDs have reached multi-platinum market, and a song entitled „Tolerancja” has become a huge hit and a major contribution to Soyka’s cult following.On February 6, 1995 Soyka’s fifteenth album, „Retrospekcja”, was released, the first of a string of Soyka’s Pomaton EMI Polska releases. As its title suggested, the album was a collection of Soyka’s greatest hits so far, recorded live at a 1994 gig in Cracow, a milestone in his career, starring a fully mature artist in his own rights, speaking nobody’s language but his own.And then in 1995 comes a new adventure: „Soyka sings W. Shakespeare Sonnets” an album that leveraged on Soyka’s literary fascination and friendship with a distinguished writer, translator, and humanist, Maciej Slomczynski, and featured a collection of twelve Shakespeare’s sonnets translated into Polish by Maciej Slomczynski and Stanislaw Baranczak. A sequel of the same material sang in its original language followed twenty months later, both albums leading Soyka to a unique privilege of presenting their autographed copies to Queen Elisabeth II at a meeting held in Warsaw by the British Council on the occasion of Her Majesty’s royal visit to Poland in 1996.In 1996 – 2002 EMI released a series of Soyka’s productions, including albums such as „Polskie Piesni Wielkopostne” („The Polish Lent Songs”), „Soykanova”, or „Sztuka Bladzenia” („The Art of Rambling”) quite innovative and far out. Soyka was rambling, exploring, experimenting...In 2003 Soyka wrote, sang, and recorded music to John Paul II’s „Rome Triptych”. On November 4, 2003 Soyka and his band performed the album’s material in Vatican at a ceremonial concert on John Paul II’s name day. The Lyricist Himself was in the audience, applauding….All the time an innovator, yet perfectly recognisable from his very first note, a musical animal with performer’s charisma, whether backed by a band or just by himself at a microphone and piano, once mounted onstage he totally conquers the audience and keeps it breathless throughout the set. He said in an interview: „I do not care for fireworks, I do not sing to show off. My ambition and desire is that my singing and my songs spirit up those, who have come over to listen to me. I want them to live cheerful and strengthened.”Come over and check out yourself, how cheerful and strengthened can Soyka make you.J.J.

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