Product Code Database
Barbara Stanisława " Basia" Trzetrzelewska (; born 30 September 1954), better known as Basia, is a Polish singer-songwriter and recording artist noted for her Latin music-inspired jazz-pop music.
She began singing professionally in various Polish bands beginning in the late 1960s and during the 1970s, then moved to the UK in 1981. She rose to fame as a singer in the British trio Matt Bianco. By 1986, Basia and her bandmate Danny White had left the group to focus on her solo career.
She signed with Epic Records and enjoyed a successful international career from 1987 until 1995, particularly in the U.S., where her first two albums Time and Tide and London Warsaw New York both sold more than a million copies. Her biggest hits include "Time and Tide", "New Day for You", "Promises", "Baby You're Mine", "Cruising for Bruising", and "Drunk on Love". She also developed a following in Asia.
She took a lengthy hiatus due to personal tragedies. She made a comeback to regular recording and performing beginning with the release of the Matt Bianco reunion album Matt's Mood in 2004. She releases her music through independent labels.
In 1969, Basia performed as a vocalist in a local band, Astry, appearing with them at the National Festival of Beat Avangarde in Kalisz where they won. Always good at exact sciences, Basia had intended to study mathematics at the Jagiellonian University, in Kraków but eventually took up physics. During her first year at university, Alibabki, a popular Polish all-female band asked her to join the group. Basia accepted the offer in 1972, dropped out of university, and toured with them in Poland and abroad, mostly in Eastern Bloc countries, until 1974. In 1976, Basia took part in the National Festival of Polish Song in Opole as a soloist to no success. From 1977 to 1979, she performed in Polish rock band Perfect.
Moving to London with her partner in January 1981, Basia recorded demo tracks for various artists. She met Danny White (brother of jazz guitarist Peter White) there and his collaborator Mark Reilly by answering their ad in Melody Maker. The trio performed in 1983 as Bronze, but later changed the name to Matt Bianco. Their debut album Whose Side Are You On? was released in 1984 and turned out to be a hit in Europe. It spawned Matt Bianco's UK Top 40 singles "Get Out of Your Lazy Bed" and "Half a Minute".
The second album, London Warsaw New York, recorded in 1989 and released in early 1990, was promoted by the popular singles "Baby You're Mine" and "Cruising for Bruising". The latter peaked in the top 40 on both US and Canadian singles chart. The album also included the cover of Stevie Wonder-penned track "Until You Come Back to Me", a minor hit on the Adult Contemporary chart. London Warsaw New York was another commercial success, selling in over two million units worldwide including more than one million in the US, earning Basia her second American platinum certification. It also became Billboards Contemporary Jazz Album of 1990. The album was a strong seller in Japan which at that point had become Basia's number two market. The LP was supported by an extensive tour spanning the US, Europe, and Japan. Seeing Basia's success, her label released Brave New Hope, a compilation consisting of remixes and rare tracks. Her third studio album, The Sweetest Illusion, was released in spring 1994. Mixed by David Bascombe, the project marked the end of a ten-year working relationship with mixmaster Phil Harding. The Sweetest Illusion included a number-one hit on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart, "Drunk on Love", and the moderately successful song "Third Time Lucky". Although less successful than Basia's two previous albums, it reached the top 40 on the US charts and received gold certification from the RIAA for selling over half a million copies. In Japan it peaked in the top 10, receiving a platinum sales award, her greatest achievement there. To support The Sweetest Illusion, Basia again embarked on a long tour in the US, Japan and Europe. On the tour, she played her first ever solo concerts in Poland. She recorded a 16-song live album, Basia on Broadway during the New York City leg of that tour.
In 1996, Basia contributed vocals to Peter White's song "Just Another Day" which was released as a single from his album Caravan of Dreams. A retrospective compilation album, Clear Horizon – The Best of Basia, came out in 1998 consisting of notable chart hits, non-single tracks, and new material including a cover of "Waters of March", written by Brazilian composer Antônio Carlos Jobim. The compilation was Basia's last release for Sony Music and was a minor success only in Japan, largely due to lack of promotion from the label.
Basia recorded duets with Polish artists Monika Lidke and the band Pectus for their respective albums, simultaneously working on the new solo album. In 2014, she was given the Commander's Cross of Polonia Restituta for promoting Polish culture worldwide and n 2015, she received the Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis. Her fifth solo studio album, Butterflies, was released in May 2018, preceded by the single "Matteo". It received positive reviews and charted in the top 5 on the Jazz Albums chart in the US, and the top 20 in Poland. The accompanying concert tour spanned the US, Poland and East Asia. In November 2019, Basia was honored with the Kosciuszko Foundation Pioneer Award. In 2021, she was featured on the single "Fire & Ice" by The Clarisse Sisters.
Basia is noted for having a wide vocal range of approximately three . She has also incorporated Polish language elements into her songs which are otherwise English. Her native language can be heard in "Copernicus" and "Reward" from London Warsaw New York; in the album Matt's Mood; as well as in "An Olive Tree" and "Yearning" from The Sweetest Illusion. She has also released two songs performed entirely in Polish: the concert album Basia on Broadway features a live recording of "Dzień się budzi" (English: "The Day Is Dawning"), and It's That Girl Again has "Amelki śmiech" ("Amelka's Laughter").
Basia is an avid lover of architecture which she calls her "unfulfilled passion".
|
|
