Janko Nilović

Janko Nilović (born 20 May 1941) is a pianist, arranger and composer of Montenegrin and Greek descent who was born in Turkey and has lived in France since 1960. He has published many works, most of them on library labels not available for sale to the public. His oeuvre stretches from classical, jazz, and funk to pop, psychedelia, and easy listening.

Biography

Born in Istanbul to a Montenegrin father and Greek mother, he studied piano, oboe and percussion as a child, and set up his own rock and roll band in the late 1950s. He moved to Paris in 1960, and played piano in nightclubs before joining a trio of Greek musicians, Les Doussis, with whom he played bass, guitar and keyboards. The group recorded for Barclay Records, and Nilović then began to find work as an arranger and orchestrator for pop musicians and TV shows, as well as continuing to perform in jazz clubs.

In 1967, he joined with French-based singer Davy Jones (unrelated to the Monkees' singer) to set up Ju Ju Records, writing and producing a series of singles by the singer. His arrangements brought him to the attention of André Farry, the founder of library music label Éditions Montparnasse 2000 (MP 2000), who signed him as a producer. Nilović started to release a series of LPs for the label, including ''Psyc Impressions'', a commercially successful collaboration with Dave Sucky (real name Louis Delacour), described as "a heady stew of funky drums, gnarly fuzz guitar, and big band horn arrangements."

Nilović's song "Portrait d'un Robot" was used in a film short on the children's program ''Sesame Street'' that featured footage of wind-up toys, robots, satellites, and the Space Shuttle in flight.

At the same time as producing a succession of albums on MP 2000 under the collective title of ''Impressions'', widely used in TV documentaries, he worked as organist in the Paris production of ''Hair'', using cast members on some of his recordings. He also released records on other labels, using pseudonyms including Andy Loore and Johnny Montevideo, and in the mid-1970s started working in Belgium where he produced the album ''Funky Tramway'', one of his most successful recordings. He arranged the songs of Michel Jonasz and Gérard Lenorman.

After leaving MP 2000 in the late 1970s, Nilović set up a music publishing company and focused on composing music. His reputation and influence grew, and his music began to be sampled by hip-hop and other musicians. The producer Dr. Dre sampled much of Nilović's piece "Underground Session" for his track "Loose Cannons" from the album '' Compton''. Producer No I.D. sampled Nilović's song "In the Space", for Jay-Z's " D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)", on the album '' The Blueprint 3''; A year prior to this Danny!, who Jay Z would later endorse, sampled "Tapatapa" for " The Groove". In 2010 Nilovic was nominated for a Grammy award for the rap song "D.O.A.(Death of Auto-Tune)", along with Shawn Carter, Ernest Wilson, Gary DeCarlo, Dale Frashuer, Paul Leka, and Dave Sucky.

As of 2019, Nilović continues to work in Paris.

Discography

* 1968 ''Maya Casabianca'' (Festival 66)
* 1968 ''Hommage a Monsieur Charlie Chaplin'' (Trema)
* 1968 ''Janko Nilović & Herve Roy'' (Telemusic)
* 1968 ''Janko Nilović, Raymond Guiot & Hervé Roy'' (Telemusic)
* 1969 ''Psyc Impressions'' (MP 2000)
* 1969 ''International Circus Band - Rande Parade de Cirque'' (Neuilly)
* 1969 ''Los Patos - Voodoo Ju Ju Obsession'' (Festival)
* 1971 ''Vocal Impressions'' (MP 2000)
* 1971 ''Janko Nilović & Pascal Auriat - Power'' (Briand)
* 1972 ''Pop Impressions'' (MP 2000)
* 1973 ''Supra Pop Impressions'' (MP 2000)
* 1973 ''Jazz Impressions 1'' (MP 2000)
* 1973 ''Jazz Impressions 2'' (MP 2000)
* 1974 ''Chorus'' (MP 2000)
* 1974 ''Rythmes Contemporains'' (MP 2000)
* 1974 ''Jouets Musicaux'' (MP 2000)
* 1974 ''Classical Phases'' (MP 2000)
* 1975 ''Soul Impressions'' (MP 2000)
* 1975 ''Percussions Dans L'espace'' (MSP 2000)
* 1975 ''Funky Tramway'' (Vogue)
* 1976 ''Un Couple Dans La Ville'' (MSP 2000)
* 1976 ''Super America'' (MSP 2000)
* 1976 ''Pop Shopin'' (MSP 2000)
* 1976 ''Star Cat Local Band directed by Janko Nilović'' (Cat Music)
* 1977 ''Concerto Pour Un Fou '' (MP 2000)
* 1977 ''L'ensemble de Trombones de Paris performs Suite Balkanique & Double Concerto by Janko Nilović'' (Crystal)
* 1978 ''Un Homme Dans L'Univers'' (MP 2000)
* 1979 ''Histoires Sans Paroles'' (MP 2000)
* 1979 ''Un Piano Dans L'Ouest'' (MP 2000)
* 1979 ''Balkans Impression'' (Selection)
* 1981 ''Concerto pour Trombone et Cordes'
Michel Becquet 'Trombone Extraordinaire' (Symphony Land SLC181) Also includes 'Suite Balkanique' and 'Double Concerto'
* 1986 ''Musique Pour Films Muets'' (Crea Sound)
* 1990 ''Néobaroque Luxuriant '' (FEF)
* 1990 ''Amoureux De Paris'' (1990)
* 1991 ''Extra Strong'' (FEF)
* 2016 ''Supra Hip Hop Impressions'' (Broc)
* 2020 ''Maze of sounds'' (as Janko Nilovic & The Soul Surfers) (Broc)
* 2024 ''Cosmos Giants'' (as Janko Nilovic, JJ Whitefield & Igor Zhukovsky) (Broc)

References

External links

Official site

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nilovic, Janko
1941 births
21st-century French conductors (music)
21st-century French male musicians
21st-century pianists
French composers
French jazz pianists
French male composers
French male conductors (music)
French male pianists
Living people
French male jazz musicians
Montenegrin composers
Montenegrin expatriates in France
Montenegrin pianists
Naturalized citizens of France
Male jazz pianists