Goran Bregović

Infobox Celebrity
name = Goran Bregović

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birth_date = Birth date and age|1950|3|22|mf=y
birth_place = Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, now Bosnia and Herzegovina
occupation = composer
salary =
networth =
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Goran Bregović (Serbian Cyrillic: Горан Бреговић) (born March 22, 1950) is a Yugoslav musician from Bosnia and Herzegovina and one of the most recognizable modern composers of the Balkans.

Composer and guitarist Goran Bregović has been a household name in the Balkans for over three decades. Born in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina (then Yugoslavia), to a Croatian father and Serbian mother, which is why he always says that his nationality is Yugoslavian. Bregović has composed for such varied artists as Iggy Pop and Cesaria Evora. He earned his fame wielding a guitar with his rock band Bijelo dugme, a group that rose to stardom and set the groundwork for the Yugoslav rock scene. Known internationally for his scores for Emir Kusturica’s films ("Time of the Gypsies", "Arizona Dream", "Underground"), Bregović commands an ensemble that matches his larger-than-life persona. A rowdy brass band, bagpipes, a string ensemble, a tuxedo-clad all-male choir from Belgrade, and traditional Bulgarian and Roma singers make up his dynamic 40-piece band and orchestra. Bregović’s compositions, extending Balkan musical inspirations to innovative extremes, draw upon European classicism and Balkan rhythms, evoking rock’s searing power as well as the repose of sacred sounds–all fueled by the insistent drive of brass. [Lincoln Center Festival website]

Early life and career

Goran Bregović was born in Sarajevo to a Croat father and a Serb mother. His father was an officer in the Yugoslav People's Army. His parents divorced and he remained living with his mother in Sarajevo.

Goran played violin in a music school, however, deemed untalented, he was thrown out during second grade. His musical education was thus reduced to what his friend taught him until Goran's mother bought him his first guitar in his early teens. Bregović wanted to enroll in a fine arts high school, but his aunt told his mother that it was supposedly full of homosexuals, which percipitated his mother's decision to send him to a technical (traffic) school, As a compromise for not getting his way, she allowed him to grow his hair long. Upon entering high school, Goran joined the school band Izohipse where he began on bass guitar. Soon, however, he was kicked out of that school, too (this time for misbehaviour - he crashed a school-owned Mercedes). Bregović then entered grammar school and its school band Beštije (again as a bass guitar player). When he was sixteen, his mother left him and moved to the coast, meaning that other than having a few relatives to rely on, he mostly had to take care of himself. He did that by playing folk music in a bar in Konjic, working on construction sites, and selling newspapers.

Spotting him at a Beštije gig in 1969, Željko Bebek invited 18-year-old Bregović to play bass guitar in his band Kodeksi, which Goran gladly accepted.

Eventually, Kodeksi shifted setup so Goran moved from bass to lead guitar, resulting in Kodeksi having the following line-up during summer 1970: Goran Bregović, Željko Bebek, Zoran Redžić and Milić Vukašinović. All of them would eventually become members of Bijelo dugme at some point in the future. At the time, they were largely influenced by Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, which was the merit of Milić Vukašinović who "infected" them with that kind of music. In the fall of 1970 this resulted in departure of Željko Bebek who (both as rhythm guitar player and singer) wasn't needed anymore in the band. At the end of the year, Goran's mother and Zoran's brother arrived to Naples and took the band back to Sarajevo.

Then in the autumn of 1971 Goran entered university and decided to study philosophy and sociology. He soon quit, however. In the same time Milić Vukašinović left for London, so Goran and Zoran started playing in a band, named Jutro (trans. "Morning"). The band in the next few years transformed a lot and on January 1, 1974 the band changed its name to Bijelo dugme ("White Button").

Bijelo dugme

Rock group Bijelo dugme ("White Button") were one of the most popular bands of SFR Yugoslavia right from their arrival on the scene during mid 1970s until their folding in late 1980s.

After Bijelo dugme

At the time Bijelo dugme was falling apart, Goran entered the world of film music. His first project was Emir Kusturica's "Time of the Gypsies" (1989) which turned out a great success (both the film and the music from it). Goran and Emir's collaboration continued, and Goran composed music (which was performed by Iggy Pop) for Emil's next film "Arizona Dream" (1993). His next major project, music for Patrice Chéreau's "Queen Margot" was again a great success, and the film won two awards on the 1994 Cannes Film Festival. Next year's Golden Palm went to "Underground", for which Goran Bregović composed the music.

Bregović's music carries both South Slavic and Romani themes and is a fusion of popular music with traditional polyphonic music from the Balkans, tango and brass bands. Although he is a very popular musician in Eastern Europe, Bregović has been accused on several occasions of 'stealing' original Romani and folk music of the Balkans and ultimately rewriting and branding it as his own creation. In 1997, he worked with Turkish singer Sezen Aksu, on her album "Düğün ve Cenaze". After that album, he continued making composite albums with other musicians that were based on his music and singers' lyrics. He made an album with George Dalaras in 1999 named "Thessaloniki - Yannena with Two Canvas Shoes". In 2000 Bregović recorded an album "Kayah i Bregović" (Kayah and Bregović) with popular Polish singer Kayah which sold over 650,000 copies in Poland (6 times platinum record). In 2001 he recorded another album with another Polish singer, Krzysztof Krawczyk, titled "Daj mi drugie życie" (Give me second life).

In 2005 he took part in 3 large farewell concerts of Bijelo dugme.

A number of works by Bregović can be heard on the soundtrack to the 2006 film , most notably Đurđevdan. The itself actually features more Bregović samples than the soundtrack.

Since 1998 he is performing his music mainly in the form of concerts all over the world with his Weddings and Funerals Orchestra, which consists of 10 people (in the small version) or 37 (in the large version, although at some instances this number will be different, depending on participants from the host country).The small orchestra consists of Alen Adamovic (vocals, drums), Bokan Stankovic (first trumpet), Dalibor Lukic (second trumpet), Stojan Dimov (sax, clarinet), Aleksandar Rajkovic (first trombone, glockenspiel), Milos Mihajlovic (second trombone), Dejan Manigodic (tuba) and Goran himself. The uniqueness of the orchestra comes from the voices of the Bulgarian singers Daniela Radkova-Aleksandrova and Ludmila Radkova-Traikova. The large orchestra usually have singers from the Belgrade Orthodox male choir, string performers from Poland or from the country where they perform, as well as other local performers.

Personal

In 1993, Bregović married his long-time girlfriend Dženana Sudžuka. The wedding ceremony held in Paris featured film director Emir Kusturica as the groom's best man and longtime Bijelo dugme backing vocal Amila Sulejmanović as the bride's maid of honour.

The couple have three daughters: Ema (born in March 1995), Una (February 2002) and Lulu (May 2004).

Bregović owns houses all over the world, but spends most of his time between Belgrade where most of his musical collaborators reside and Paris where his spouse lives with their three daughters.

He also has a daughter Željka (born out of wedlock from a previous relationship) who gave birth to Goran's grand daughter Bianca. He has a brother named Predrag who lives in New York and his sister Dajana who lives in Split.

On [http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hk5bdDmkh9HpxSl-ID9M1gWzvchw June 12th, 2008] , he severely injured his spine in a fall from a tree. He fell four meters from a cherry tree in the garden of his home in Senjak, a suburb of Belgrade. He broke vertebrae, but according to the doctors his condition was "stable without neurological complications."

His recovery became fact on July 8 and July 9 with two [http://blog.veni.com/?p=518 big concerts in New York] , where for more than two hours each night he proved his performance skills did not suffer from the accident.

List of film scores

* 1977 - "Butterfly cloud" (Leptirov oblak) - Directed by: Zdravko Randić
* 1979 - "Personal Affairs" (Lične stvari) - Directed by: Aleksandar Mandić
* 1988 - "Time of the Gypsies" (Dom za vešanje) - Directed by: Emir Kusturica
* 1989 - "Kuduz" - Directed by: Ademir Kenović
* 1990 - "Silent Gunpowder" (Gluvi barut) - Directed by: Bahrudin Čengić
* 1991 - "The Serbian Girl" (Das Serbische Mädchen) - Directed by: Peter Sehr
* 1991 - "The Little One" (Mala) - Directed by: Predrag Antonijević
* 1991 - "Čaruga" - Directed by: Rajko Grlić
* 1993 - "Arizona Dream" - Directed by: Emir Kusturica
* 1993 - "Toxic Affair" - Directed by: Philoméne Esposito
* 1993 - "La Nuit sacrée" - Directed by: Nicolas Klotz
* 1993 - "La Nombril du monde" - Directed by: Ariel Zeitoun
* 1994 - "La Reine Margot" - Directed by: Patrice Chéreau
* 1995 - "Underground" - Directed by: Emir Kusturica
* 1997 - "A Chef in Love" (Shekvarebuli kulinaris ataserti retsepti) - Directed by: Nana Djordjadze
* 1997 - "The Serpent's Kiss" - Directed by: Philippe Rousselot
* 1997 - "XXL" - Directed by: Ariel Zeitoun
* 1998 - "Train de Vie" - Directed by: Radu Mihaileanu
* 1999 - "The Lost Son" - Directed by: Chris Menges
* 1999 - "Tuvalu" - Directed by: Veit Helmer
* 1999 - "Operation Simoom (Operacja Samum)" - Directed by Władysław Pasikowski
* 2000 - "27 Missing Kisses" - Directed by: Nana Dschordschadse
* 2000 - "Je li jasno prijatelju?" - Directed by: Dejan Ačimović
* 2002 - "Music for Weddings and Funerals" (Musik för bröllop och begravningar) - Directed by: Unni Straume
* 2005 - "Turkish Gambit" (Турецкий гамбит) - Directed by: Dzhanik Faiziyev
* 2005 - "I Giorni Dell' Abbandono" - Directed by: Roberto Faenza
* 2006 - "Karaula" - Directed by: Rajko Grlić
* 2006 - "Le Lièvre de Vatanen" - Directed by: Marc Rivière
* 2006 - ""
* 2007 - "Fly by Rossinant" - Directed by: Jacky Stoév

List of solo and movie soundtrack albums

* "Goran Bregović" (1976, PGP RTB)
* "A milicija trenira strogoću" (1983, Jugoton)
* "Dom za vjesanje" (1989, Kamarad - Diskoton)
* "Kuduz" (1989, Diskoton)
* "Les Temps des Gitans - Kuduz" (1990, Kamarad - PolyGram - Komuna)
* "Arizona Dream - Soundtrack" (1993, Kamarad - PolyGram - Komuna)
* "La reine Margot - Soundtrack" (1994, Kamarad - PolyGram - Komuna)
* "Underground - Soundtrack" (1995, Kamarad - PolyGram - Komuna)
* "P.S." (compilation 1996, Komuna)
* "Silence of the Balkans" (live album 1997, Mercury Records)
* "Düğün ve Cenaze with Sezen Aksu" (1997)
* "Protopsálti (Πρωτοψάλτη)- Paradéchtika (Παραδέχτηκα)" (1998)
* "Ederlezi" (compilation 1998, PolyGram
* "Thessaloniki - Yannena with Two Canvas Shoes with George Dalaras" (1999)
* "Songbook" (compilation 2000, Mercury Records - Universal)
* "Kayah i Bregović" (2000)
* "Tales and songs from weddings and funerals" (2002)
* "Goran Bregovic's Karmen with a Happy End" (2007- Universal)
* "Alkohol" (to be released October 2008)

References

External links

* [http://www.goranbregovic.co.yu/ Official web site]
* [http://www.europopmusic.eu/Yugoslavia_pages/Goran_Bregovic.html Goran Bregovic on Europopmusic.eu] (English)
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