Zdenka Kovačiček

Zdenka Kovačiček (Zagreb, January 16, 1944) is a Croatian jazz and rock vocalist. She remains one of the most prominent musicians on the Croatian music scene.[1][2]

Zdenka Kovačiček
Kovačiček in 2012.
Born (1944-01-16) January 16, 1944
Zagreb, Independent State of Croatia
Occupation
  • Singer
  • Actress
Years active1957–present
ChildrenTina Kristina (b. 1983)
Musical career
Genres
Labels
WebsiteOfficial website

Early life

Zdenka Kovačiček was born on 16 January 1944 in Zagreb. Her father was from Tuheljske Toplice and mother from Dubravica. She attended musical high school where she learned to play piano and accordion. At the age of 19, she enrolled in the foreign trade study on her parents wish, but she never graduated due to the lack of interest. She started a career as a child at the Zagreb Youth Theater where she sang and danced. In 1957, she co-founded duo Hani together with Nada Žitnik. They performed on TV and recorded a movie.[3]

Career
Kovačiček (right) and Nada Žitnik perform as duo Hani in Maribor in 1961.

After duo Hani split in the late 1960s, Kovačiček started a solo career by performing at various European clubs with many successful musicians, including Bill Haley, The Kinks and The Ink Spots. It was then that she became aware of her talent for jazz, soul, and blues. After returning to Zagreb, she started performing with prominent Zagreb jazz musicians, including Boško Petrović, Miljenko Prohaska and Damir Dičić. In 1970, at the Opatija Festival, she performed the song "Zbog jedne melodije davne" [Due to an Old Tune] and won the prize of the jury. This success marked her return to the Croatian music scene and announced the beginning of her solo career.[3]

At the beginning of the 1970s, she performed at various festivals and won many musical awards. In 1971, at the Zagreb Festival, she performed the song by Kornelije Kovač "Otvorila sam prozor" [I Opened the Window]. In the same year, she performed the song "Ljubav" [Love] by Vojkan Borisavljević on the Belgrade Spring Festival and won the prize as a debutant. During 1972, she toured throughout the Soviet Union.[4] After returning to Yugoslavia, she turned to rock music and started collaborating with the Zagreb band 'Nirvana'. In 1973, at the BOOM Festival in Ljubljana they performed before 7 thousand people the song "Klik temu broj 1" [Click Theme No. 1], which was included on the double album BOOM Pop Fest '73 (published by Jugoton). Since then, Kovačiček bears the charism of the most sophisticated female rock vocal in Croatia.[2]

In the mid-1970s, she performed in rock opera "Grička vještica" by Ivica Krajić, Karlo Metikoš and Miljenko Prohaska in the Zagreb Comedy Theater, sang with Yugoslav jazz rock selection and took part in the recording of album "Pop" by Tihomir "Pop" Asanović, which was released in 1976 by the record company Jugoton. At that time, her name was mentioned in rock and jazz music, she performed on every major blues and soul ensemble, received many awards and was proclaimed the best female vocal in Yugoslavia. In 1976, she founded the rhythm, blues, rock, and soul band Zdenka Express, with whom she performed the song "Hallo, Mr. Elton John" which is on the concert compilation of the BOOM festival '76. (published by PGP-RTB). In 1978, Kovačiček recorded an album with Igor Savin's big band that included compositions of prominent composers such as Goran Bregović, Kornelije Kovač, Vanja Lisak, Vladimir Delač and others. They collaborated with bands Nirvana, Time, Bijelo dugme, Telephone blues band and many others.[5]

In 1981, she released studio album Frka, published by Jugoton. Material music was written by Kire Mitrev while the lyrics was from the book "Konstatacija jedne mačke" [Finding of a Cat]" by Slavica Maras-Mikulandra. In 1989, she released an album in English, "Love is a Game", for which she collaborated with Dalibor Paulik and David Stopper. The album was promoted at festivals in Los Angeles, Finland and at Midem in Cannes. At that time, she frequently performed with the Telephone blues band led by bassist Tomas Krkac (former member of Nirvana), most often at the "Disco club Saloon" at the so-called "Ruby Tuesday".

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, they collaborated with producer and conductor Vanja Lisak. In 1991, she published Happy jazz album, containing classical jazz compositions. The album included songs by Georgie Garanjani and Peppino Principe. Album includes songs "Dobro veče jazzeri" [Good evening jazzers], "Mercedes-Benz" (originally sang by Janis Joplin) and "Zbog jedne davne melodije" [Because of an Old Melody]. During the Croatian War of Independence, she supported charity concerts throughout Croatia and abroad, where she held numerous concerts in the Cro Music Aida band. Happy jazz album vol. II was released in 1994 by the Croatia Records. Lisak and Kovačiček album material was recorded on January 2 and 3, 1993 in B.P. club and studio in Zagreb, and along with the classic jazz compositions also contains the song "Dok razmišljam o nama" [As I Think About Us] by Josipa Lisac, and songs performed by the famous Zagreb jazz musicians and Croatian Radiotelevision Tamburitza Orchestra. Kovačiček held a short tour in Austria and Italy. The compilation album "Žuta ruža" [Yellow Rose], released in 1996, contains Kovačiček's festival and radio compositions recorded between 1959 and 1995. In 1999, she collaborated with young composer Marko Tomasović, with whom she published a studio album "Zdenka Kovačiček". The song "Žena za sva vremena" [Woman for All Time] was a great success and returned her to the very top of popularity. At the 2000 Zagreb Festival, she received the Grand Prix and won with the song "Vrati se u moje dane" [Return to My Days] which was at the top of Croatian music charts.[6]

At the beginning of 2000, Croatian Radiotelevision recorded many of her performances, including "Do zvijezda zajedno" [To the Starts Together] and one hour TV show "I to sam ja" [And That's Me].[7] In 2001 and 2004, she performed at the Dora pop festival. In 2001, she performed at the Croatian Radio Festival, Melodies of the Croatian Adriatic, Split Festival of Pop Music and Etno fest Neum. In the same year, Kovačiček signed a contract with the record label Cantus and released album "Ja živim svoj san" [I Live My Dream] in which she sang songs by Marko Tomasović. Producer and arranger on the material was Duško Mandić. In 2002, she received Porin Award in the category Best Female Vocal for the performance on that album.[8] In 2004, she released new album "To Be Zdenka".

Acting

Zdenka Kovačiček became a member of the Zagreb Youth Theater (ZKM) when she was five. There, she started attending acting classes, singing, and dancing. Until the beginning of her singing career, she remained ZKM member. In 1979, she performed as grandma Urša at the Zagreb Comedy Theater's rock opera Grička vještica which was produced by Karlo Metikoš, Ivica Krajač, and Miljenko Prohaska. She made over 200 performances. From 1984 onward, she attended Marija Kohn's acting classes and later of Krešimir Zidarić in the Theater Bagatela. Delighted with Kovačiček's acting talent, Zidarić founded an acting group composed of theater enthusiasts and talented actors at the Moša Pijade University in Zagreb. They produced comedy "Obljetnica braka" [Merriage Anniversary] in which Kovačiček and Zidarić played main characters. In 1997, she once again got the opportunity to show her talent as an actress and imitator in her one-hour show on Croatian Radiotelevision titled "I to sam ja" [And That is Me]. Afterward, she received the invitation of famous director Damir Zlatar Frey to perform in Slovene's permanent audience in Trieste in 2002 as the main character in the rock opera "Princess of Grain Beans" [Princessa na zrnu graha]. For her performance, she received many praises from the Slovenian, Croatian and Italian critics. She had the greatest theater success with the musical "S ljubavlju, Janis" [With Love, Janis] which premiered on 25 October 2008. The Musical was written according to an autobiographical book published in 1992 by Laura Joplin, Janis Joplin's sister, based on letters that Janis wrote regularly to her family, according to which Randall Myler wrote the Broadway hit.[9]

Private life

Kovačiček married Austrian Rudy Kamperski in 1964. They eventually divorced. She has one daughter, Tina Kristina (b. 1983) who lives in New York City. Kovačiček is a feminist and is in favor of abortion rights.[10] She is also animal rights advocate.[11]

Discography

Study Albums

Year, title, record label

  • 1978. Zdenka Kovačiček (PGP RTB)
  • 1984. Frka (Jugoton)
  • 1989. Love is a game (Suzy)
  • 1991. Happy jazz album - with Vanja Lisak and George Garanian (Helidon)
  • 1994. Happy jazz album vol. II (BJ Promotions / Croatia Records)
  • 1996. Žuta ruža (Orfej)
  • 1999. Zdenka Kovačiček (Croatia Records)
  • 2001. Ja živim svoj san (Cantus)
  • 2004. To Be Zdenka (Cantus)

References
  1. https://www.discogs.com/artist/517384-Zdenka-Kovačiček
  2. "ZDENKA KOVAČIČEK - Official web site - BIOGRAFIJA". www.to-be-zdenka.hr.
  3. "Zdenka Kovačiček biografija - Biografija.com". www.biografija.com.
  4. "Zdenka za sva vremena".
  5. "Zdenka Kovačiček, rock pjevačica: Jednostavno se prepuštam toj rijeci da me nosi (1981)". www.yugopapir.com.
  6. "LEGENDA HRVATSKE GLAZBENE SCENE ZDENKA KOVAČIČEK 'Bila sam ispred vremena. No ovaj uspjeh nisam sanjala'".
  7. "I to sam ja - Zdenka Kovačiček".
  8. "INTERVJU: Zdenka Kovačiček: "Moj novi album vratit će dostojanstvo ženama u hrvatskom jazzu" - NACIONAL.HR". www.nacional.hr.
  9. "S ljubavlju, Janis – Kazalište Komedija". www.komedija.hr.
  10. "Iza krinke 'miroljubive šetnje' krije se cilj - zabrana pobačaja — Vijesti — Libela". Libela.
  11. "Zdenka Kovačiček pjeva Janis Joplin za Iggyja Popa".
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