Stanisław Sojka
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Stanisław Joachim Sojka (born April 26, 1959 in
Żory Żory (; , , ) is a town and city powiat, county in the Silesian Voivodeship, located in southern Poland with 62,848 inhabitants (2021). It is located in the historic Upper Silesia region about southwest of Katowice. Location Żory is located in ...
,
Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( ; ; ; ; Silesian German: ; ) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, located today mostly in Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic. The area is predominantly known for its heav ...
), also known as Stanisław Soyka, is a Polish
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
and pop singer, pianist and composer.


Beginnings

Sojka began performing as a boy soprano in
Gliwice Gliwice (; , ) is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. The city is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the KÅ‚odnica river (a tributary of the Oder River, Oder). It lies approximately 25 km west from Katowice, the regional capital ...
Cathedral Choir, when he was seven years old. At the same time he was also a second-grade violin student at the State Musical School in Gliwice. His musical education was continued at the Music High School in
Katowice Katowice (, ) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Katowice urban area. As of 2021, Katowice has an official population of 286,960, and a resident population estimate of around 315,000. K ...
and completed with a master's degree in arrangement and composing from the '' Akademia Muzyczna im. K. Szymanowskiego w Katowicach''.


Breakthrough

Soyka made his professional debut on stage in November 1978, when he performed at the National Philharmonic Hall in
Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
in the "Jazz at the Philharmonic" series. He presented a recital, inspired by classic jazz, soul and R&B, including songs by
Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...
,
Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...
,
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
and
George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 â€“ July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned jazz, popular music, popular and classical music. Among his best-known works are the songs "Swan ...
, but also traditional Polish
Christmas carols Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A liturgical feast central to Christianity, Chri ...
and folklore tunes. The concert was recorded and released in 1979 as Soyka's debut album entitled ''Don't You Cry''. In that year Stanisław Soyka won the top prize at Lubelskie Spotkania Jazzowe (
Lublin Lublin is List of cities and towns in Poland, the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the centre of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin i ...
Jazz Conference). Over the next six yeards he released three more jazz albums and one of religious music. He was named the best Polish jazz vocalist by readers of the magazine ''Jazz Forum'', from 1983 to 1988. In the same period Soyka also recorded some pop songs for
Polish Radio The Polish Radio (PR; Polish: ''Polskie Radio'', PR) is a national public-service radio broadcasting organization of Poland, founded in 1925. It is owned by the State Treasury of Poland. On 27 December 2023, the Minister of Culture and Nationa ...
, which were later collected on the album ''Radioaktywny'', released in 1989.


Pop career

In 1986, Soyka signed a two-year record deal with
RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...
in Germany. There he recorded his first pop and first international album, entitled simply ''Stanisław Sojka''. Among the producers was
Harold Faltermeyer Hans Hugo Harold Faltermeyer (born 5 October 1952) is a German musician, composer and record producer. Faltermeyer is best known for composing the " Axel F" theme for the feature film '' Beverly Hills Cop'', an influential synth-pop hit in the ...
. Before the album he also produced Soyka's single "Spirit of the West", recorded for an ad campaign for West cigarettes. The album was a commercial flop, but it was a success in his native
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
. In 1988, Soyka returned to Poland and formed a duet with guitarist Janusz Iwański "Janina" from the Polish jazz group Tie Break. They recorded and performed together until 1994. In 1991, Soyka recorded his most famous and best-selling album, ''Acoustic'', co-produced by
Dieter Meier Dieter Meier (born 4 March 1945) is a Swiss musician, conceptual artist and entrepreneur. He is the frontman of the electronic music group Yello, which was co-founded (with ex-member Carlos Perón) by music producer Boris Blank (musician), Boris ...
from
Yello Yello is a Swiss electronic music band, which formed in Zürich in 1979. For most of the band's history, Yello has been a duo consisting of Dieter Meier and Boris Blank; founding member Carlos Perón left in 1983. Their sound is often charac ...
. It brought hits like '' Cud niepamięci'' and ''Play It Again''. In 1992 he was named the Best Polish Star of 1991 by the readers of "Popcorn" magazine for teenagers. His next album ''Neopositive'' from 1992 repeated the commercial success of ''Acoustic'', thanks to the huge hit ''Tolerancja'', which became the biggest of his career. In that year he also won the Bursztynowy Słowik – Grand Prix of
Sopot International Song Festival The Sopot International Song Festival or Sopot Festival (later called ''Sopot Music Festival Grand Prix'', ''Sopot Top of the Top Festival'' from 2012–13 and ''Polsat Sopot Festival'' in 2014) is an annual international song contest held in S ...
. Another album, ''Radical Graża'' from 1994, was less successful, as were all his subsequent albums.


New directions

In 1995, Soyka decided to compose music for poetry and chose William Shakespeare's sonnets, translated into Polish. The album ''Sonety Shakespeare'' was released in 1995 and his English version ''Soyka Sings Shakespeare's Sonnets'' four years later. Soyka gave the Polish version as a gift to
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
, during her 1996 visit to Poland. In 2003, he composed music for the poem "Roman Triptych" written by Pope
John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...
and recorded the album ''Tryptyk rzymski''. He presented these songs live in front of the Pope in the Vatican. In 2001 Soyka recorded the last religious album of his career, ''Polskie pieśni wielkopostne'' with forgotten Polish Lenten songs. But Soyka did not neglect pop music and between those albums released ''Nr 17'' in 1998, ''Soykanova'' in 2002 and album with covers ''Soyka Sings Love Songs'' in 2004. In 2007, he formed his new band Soyka Sextet Plus. In 2008 Soyka recorded as a guest artist two songs with rapper Gorzki, including one with Bizarre from D12 and one reggae song with composer and producer Krakowski. Soyka's first studio album in five years, ''Studio Wąchock'', was released in October 2009. Soyka has won two Fryderyk Awards: as "Best Male Vocalist" of 1994 (on the first ceremony) and for the "Best Poetic Music Album" of 2003.


State decoration

* Krzyż Kawalerski Orderu Odrodzenia Polski, 2009 by
Lech Kaczyński Lech Aleksander Kaczyński (; 18 June 194910 April 2010) was a Polish politician who served as the city mayor of Warsaw from 2002 until 2005, and as President of Poland from 2005 until his death in 2010 in an air crash. The aircraft carrying ...
(Knight's Cross of the
Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta (, ) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on alien (law), foreigners for outstanding achievements in ...
)


Discography


Studio albums


Compilation albums


Collaborative albums


Holiday albums


References


External links

*
Featured Member of Honor in June 2008Stanisław Soyka
at Culture.pl {{DEFAULTSORT:Sojka, Stanislaw 1956 births Living people Polish male songwriters People from Żory Polish pop singers Polish jazz singers English-language singers from Poland Polish Roman Catholics 20th-century Polish male singers 21st-century Polish male singers 21st-century Polish singers Polish male jazz musicians