Žanil Tataj – Žak (born 2 May 1967), is a Croatian musician, singer,

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

and producer.

Early life

Žak was born in

Rijeka Rijeka (; Fiume ( �fjuːme in Italian and in Fiuman dialect, Fiuman Venetian) is the principal seaport and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, third-largest city in Croatia. It is located in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on Kvarner Ba ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

. He graduated from Music high school in Rijeka, finishing the course of violin and viola. In addition to that he is also a multi-instrumentalist. Žak has learned vocal technics from his mother Petja Todorova – Tataj, famous piano player and vocal educationalist.

Career

Žak has started his rich music career in mid 80's in famous Rijeka's band

Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

. They've recorded their first album, ''Pustite Da Živim'', for Yugoslav

discography Discography is the study and cataloging of published sound recordings, often by specified artists or within identified music genres. The exact information included varies depending on the type and scope of the discography, but a discography entry ...

label Jugoton. They had numerous concerts all around

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

, and have received many different awards from various rock festivals. Between 1988 and 1991 he played a

viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

orchestre of HNK Ivan Zajc. In the beginning of the 1990s Jersey had stopped performing, because Žak was, known for his great vocal abilities, invited to perform with legendary rock band

Divlje Jagode Divlje Jagode () is a hard rock and heavy metal band, originally formed in 1977 in Sarajevo, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SFR Yugoslavia, and since their 1994 reunion based in Croatia. Led by guitarist Sead "Zele" Lipovača, Divlje Jagode are co ...

(Wild Strawberries). They've recorded album ''Magic Love'', which was, because of intention of being published on the European market, sung in English. Because of the war in Yugoslavia, Divlje Jagode stopped performing and therefore Žak has started working with the Slovenian band

Mary Rose The ''Mary Rose'' was a carrack in the English Tudor navy of Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII. She was launched in 1511 and served for 34 years in several wars against France, Scotland, and Brittany. After being substantially rebuilt in ...

. They've recorded album called ''Pleasure & Pain'', but because of the fire blast in studio Tivoli, the album never saw the light of the day. Mary Rose then stopped performing for some years. In the beginning of 1994, Žak has contributed on the joint project of the famous European rock bands

Helloween Helloween is a German power metal band founded in 1984 in Hamburg by members of bands Iron Fist, Gentry, Second Hell and Powerfool. The band has at times been called one of the most influential European heavy metal bands of the 1980s. Its first ...

and

Gamma Ray A gamma ray, also known as gamma radiation (symbol ), is a penetrating form of electromagnetic radiation arising from high energy interactions like the radioactive decay of atomic nuclei or astronomical events like solar flares. It consists o ...

. He also worked with Zoran Šerbedžija, ex-guitarist of Crvena Jabuka on the project "Madcap Laf" in Germany. In 1995 and 1996 he worked as an instrumentalist and vocalist on two albums of Slovenian band Turbo, called ''The Power Of Metal'' and ''A Glimpse Of Home''. In the second half of 1995 he founded a band in Croatia called Aqua, with whom he recorded a self-titled album. He returned to Divlje Jagode with the concert Final top 1000 in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

. This concert was broadcast by SDR 3,

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

and other European TV and radio stations. With Divlje Jagode he recorded an album ''Sto Vjekova'' and successfully performed all over

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

until 1999. In 1999 he recorded his first solo album and with few songs performed on festivals like Neumski and Splitski. At the end of 1999 he published his symphonic album, titled ''Božićne Pjesme''(Christmas Songs). In the beginning of 2000 he started performing with two Slovenian cover bands, Črna Gradnja and Ambasada. Due to the urge for making original authors music, he and

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselve ...

Eki Alilovski refounded Mary Rose in 2004. As the result of this work, they have released a new album titled ''Feniks'', in 2006. In 2006, he also founded a jazzy band Norne with famous Rijeka's vocalist, where Žak is playing a

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

. This band performs various songs in various languages and is getting ready for concerts and possible album. In 2013 he joined Slovenian heavy metal band Black Diamond, after the release of their first album ''Last Man Standing'', on which he sang most of the songs. At the moment he is also working as a vocal coach in music school Studio Maraton. In 2019 Žak founded a new band which performs under his name ''Žanil Tataj – Žak''. In 2019 they've released singles
Prosule se divlje jagode
' and ''

Tišina Tišina may refer to: * Tišina, Slovenia, a town near Murska Sobota * Tišina, Zenica, a village in Bosnia and Herzegovina * Tišina, Šamac, a village in Bosnia and Herzegovina * Tišina Kaptolska, a village near Martinska Ves, Croatia * Ti ...

' 2019 is also a year when Mary Rose, after years of health difficulties of some of their members, finally released new album ''Resničen Svet''. Album was released on May 17, followed by a spectalural promotional concert in Postojna, Slovenia. This concert is hoped and expected to be an announcement of great come back of one of Slovenia's most legendary bands.

Discography

Albums

* Jersey – Pustite Da Živim, (1988) * Zele/Divlje Jagode – Magic Love (1993) * Aqua – Aqua (1995) * Turbo – The Power Of Metal (1995) * Turbo – A Glimpse Of Home (1997) * Divlje Jagode – Sto Vjekova (1997) * Žanil Tataj Žak – Božićne Pjesme (1999) * Žanil Tataj Žak – Divojčica Naranćica (2001) * Mary Rose – Feniks (2006) * Žika – Filozofija (2008) * Black Diamond – Last Man Standing (2013) * Jersey – Pustite Da Živim (re-release) (2018) * Mary Rose – Resničen svet (2019) * Žanil Tataj Žak – Da Capo (EP) (2019) * Žanil Tataj Žak – Al Fine (2022) * Ravenstine – Ravenstine (2023) * Ravenstine – 2024 (2024) * Žanil Tataj Žak – Coda (2024)

Compilations

* Dobro Jutro Opatija (1996) * Ajmo Rijeka (1997) * Najljepše Božićne Pjesme – Čežnja Vijekova (1998) * Split '99 (1999) * Divlje Jagode – Antologija 1 (2000) * Divlje Jagode – Antologija 2 (2000) * Etnofest Neum 2000 (2000) * Korčula 2000 – Festival Pjesme I Vina (2000) * Divlje Jagode – The Very Best Of – Let Na Drugi Svijet (2014) * Najljepše Božićne Pjesme (2006) * Divlje Jagode – Collection Boxset (2006) * Divlje Jagode – Greatest Hits (2015) * Divlje Jagode – Original Album Collection vol.1 (2018) * Divlje Jagode – Original Album Collection vol.2 (2018)

Singles

Boje Jutra (1995)Gabrijel (1996)Kao More (2000)Divojčica Narančica (2001)Ništa Nije Zauvijek (2001)Prosule Se Divlje Jagode (2019)Tišina (2019)Na Putu Za Raj (2019)Ispočetka (2019)Da li ti je dosta? (2021)Have you Had Enough? (2021) *As Jake Tate Blindspot – Life Inflicts (2021)Alen Šenkovski – Muzej Izgubljenih Duša (2021)Alen Šenkovski feat.Enio Vučeta – Za Sve Je Kriv Rock 'n' Roll (2022)Na Jastuku (2022)Buđenje (2022)Novi Svijet (2022)Hologram (2022)Grom U Koprive (2023)Pustite Da Živim (2023)Ravenstine – Ravenstine (2023)Ravenstine – Freedom Day (2023)Možda Danas (2023)Duga Zima (2023)Ravenstine – Black Is The Brightest Color (2023)Kišni Dan (2023)Blindspot – Shallow Grave (2023)Alen Šenkovski ft. Dragianni – Zagrli Me U Beznađu (2023)Ravenstine – A Long Way Home (2024)Ravenstine – Fly Eagle Fly (2024)Alen Šenkovski – Obzorja Gore (2024)Kako Ljubav Boli (2024)Ništa Labavo (2025)Vrijedilo Je (2025)

Collaborations

Music and Executive producer

* DNA – Naša Priča (2012)
Sara – Ljetna (2013)

Sara – Zauvijek (2015)

Sara – Laku noć (2016)

Silvija Starčević – Plan (2016)

Silvija Starčević – Dobro Jutro (2016)

Silvija Starčević – Hologram (2017)

Carlo Božić – Tajna (2019)

Lucija Gajzler – Reflection (2020)

Tea Vučak – Sve Je Lako (2020)

References

External links

* http://www.maryrose.si/ * https://www.facebook.com/maryroseslo/ * https://www.facebook.com/ZanilTataj/ * https://www.instagram.com/zanil_tataj_zak/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Zak, Zanil Tataj - 1967 births Living people