Zuzana Navarová
Encyclopedia
Zuzana Navarová de Tejada (18 June 1959, Hradec Králové
– 7 December 2004, Prague
) was a Czech singer and songwriter. She began her career in the early 1980s as a member of Nerez, and gradually become one of the most significant personalities of the Czech folk and world music scene. Her style was partially inspired by Latin American music
.
and Czech language
at the Faculty of Arts and Philosophy of the Charles University in Prague
. A part of her studies Navarová spent in Havana
, Cuba
where she took music inspiration for her later career. Following her studies she began to work as a teacher. At the end of the 1980s, together with fellow musicians from Nerez, she studied also at the Prague Conservatory
. Although she began her music career as a student, with the band Výlety, her breakthrough only came in early 1980s, when she joined Nerez. She met co-founding members of Nerez, Zdeněk Vřešťál and Vít Sázavský, during her studies in Prague. The performances with the band brought her first critical acclaim and popularity. In 1982, she won the best singer award at the festival Vokalíza in Prague.
In the 1990s, she began her brief solo career. Her first and only solo album Caribe she released with Caribe Jazz Quintet in 1992. It was sung in Spanish, in a Latin American musical style, using songs by Pablo Milanés
and José Antonio Méndez. Shortly after that, she started a long-lasting collaboration with Colombian
songwriter and guitarist Iván Gutiérrez. In 1991, the Czech Music Foundation awarded her as the best librettist of 1990. Nerez ended its activities in 1993, following the recording of album Nerez v Betlémě. In 1994 she recorded another album with the band Tres, and since 1998 she began collaboration with the band Koa. In 2000, Gutiérrez moved to Madrid
and Koa engaged a Romani musician Mário Bihári, with whom Navarová collaborated for the rest of her career.
She has composed music for theatre plays and participated also in other musical activities. At the beginning of the 1990s she helped establishing the foundation Nadace Život umělce. As a producer, she collaborated with Věra Bílá
and Kale) and helped at the beginning of the career of singer and accordionist Radůza.
In the early 2000s she became ill with cancer, but attempted to conceal her health condition from public and secretly underwent treatment. Navarová died of cancer in December, 2004. She was 45. She performed at the stage with Koa even in the last days of her life; her last concert with the band took place in Prague, on 14 November 2004.
During her stay in Cuba, Navarová married Luís de Tejada, whose name she later adopted. However, in later years she severed contacts with her husband. Iván Gutiérrez later indicated, that Navarová married for the purpose of helping Tejada to emigrate from Cuba.
The lyrics by Navarová from 1998 to 2004 were published in 2009, under the title Andělská počta.
In 2001, Navarová participated on the album Andělové z nebe by Radůza; Marie Rottrová included two songs by Navarová on her album Podívej (2001).
Hradec Králové
Hradec Králové is a city of the Czech Republic, in the Hradec Králové Region of Bohemia. The city's economy is based on food-processing technology, photochemical, and electronics manufacture. Traditional industries include musical instrument manufacturing – the best known being PETROF pianos...
– 7 December 2004, Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
) was a Czech singer and songwriter. She began her career in the early 1980s as a member of Nerez, and gradually become one of the most significant personalities of the Czech folk and world music scene. Her style was partially inspired by Latin American music
Latin American music
Latin American music, found within Central and South America, is a series of musical styles and genres that mixes influences from Spanish, African and indigenous sources, that has recently become very famous in the US.-Argentina:...
.
Biography
Navarová studied SpanishSpanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
and Czech language
Czech language
Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
at the Faculty of Arts and Philosophy of the Charles University in Prague
Charles University in Prague
Charles University in Prague is the oldest and largest university in the Czech Republic. Founded in 1348, it was the first university in Central Europe and is also considered the earliest German university...
. A part of her studies Navarová spent in Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
where she took music inspiration for her later career. Following her studies she began to work as a teacher. At the end of the 1980s, together with fellow musicians from Nerez, she studied also at the Prague Conservatory
Prague Conservatory
Prague Conservatory, sometimes also Prague Conservatoire, in Czech Pražská konzervatoř, is a Czech secondary school in Prague dedicated to teaching the arts of music and theater acting.- Instruction :...
. Although she began her music career as a student, with the band Výlety, her breakthrough only came in early 1980s, when she joined Nerez. She met co-founding members of Nerez, Zdeněk Vřešťál and Vít Sázavský, during her studies in Prague. The performances with the band brought her first critical acclaim and popularity. In 1982, she won the best singer award at the festival Vokalíza in Prague.
In the 1990s, she began her brief solo career. Her first and only solo album Caribe she released with Caribe Jazz Quintet in 1992. It was sung in Spanish, in a Latin American musical style, using songs by Pablo Milanés
Pablo Milanés
Pablo Milanés Arias is a Cuban singer-songwriter and guitar player. He studied at a conservatory in Havana. He is considered one of the founders of the Cuban nueva trova, along with Silvio Rodríguez and Noel Nicola...
and José Antonio Méndez. Shortly after that, she started a long-lasting collaboration with Colombian
Colombian people
Colombian people are from a multiethnic Spanish speaking nation in South America called Colombia. Colombians are predominantly Roman Catholic and are a mixture of Europeans, Africans, and Amerindians.-Demography:...
songwriter and guitarist Iván Gutiérrez. In 1991, the Czech Music Foundation awarded her as the best librettist of 1990. Nerez ended its activities in 1993, following the recording of album Nerez v Betlémě. In 1994 she recorded another album with the band Tres, and since 1998 she began collaboration with the band Koa. In 2000, Gutiérrez moved to Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
and Koa engaged a Romani musician Mário Bihári, with whom Navarová collaborated for the rest of her career.
She has composed music for theatre plays and participated also in other musical activities. At the beginning of the 1990s she helped establishing the foundation Nadace Život umělce. As a producer, she collaborated with Věra Bílá
Vera Bílá
Věra Bílá is a Romani musician and singer of Romani folk and pop songs. She is the lead singer of Kale, and has performed songs in Romani, Czech, and Slovak....
and Kale) and helped at the beginning of the career of singer and accordionist Radůza.
In the early 2000s she became ill with cancer, but attempted to conceal her health condition from public and secretly underwent treatment. Navarová died of cancer in December, 2004. She was 45. She performed at the stage with Koa even in the last days of her life; her last concert with the band took place in Prague, on 14 November 2004.
During her stay in Cuba, Navarová married Luís de Tejada, whose name she later adopted. However, in later years she severed contacts with her husband. Iván Gutiérrez later indicated, that Navarová married for the purpose of helping Tejada to emigrate from Cuba.
The lyrics by Navarová from 1998 to 2004 were published in 2009, under the title Andělská počta.
Nerez
- Porta '83 (various artists, 1984)
- Dostavník 21: Tisíc dnů mezi námi / Za poledne (7" EP, 1984)
- Imaginární hospoda (7" EP; with Karel PlíhalKarel PlíhalKarel Plíhal is a Czech folk and jazz musician, singer, songwriter and record producer.He graduated from the Industrial College of Engineering and then worked as a designer and boilerman in the Olomouc theatre, finally becoming a singer . He has played the guitar since he was 15 year old...
a Slávek Janoušek) (1986) - Masopust (1986)
- Na vařený nudli (1988)
- Ke zdi (1990)
- Co se nevešlo (Nerez a Vy) (1991)
- Stará láska Nerez a vy (1993)
- Nerez v Betlémě (1993)
- Nerez antologie (1995)
- Co se nevešlo (pozdní sběr) (2001)
- Nej nej nej (2001)
- Smutkům na kabát (2005)
- Do posledního dechu (2006)
- …a bastafidli! (2007)
Koa
- Skleněná vrba (1999)
- Zelené album (2000)
- Barvy všecky (2001)
- Jako Šántidéví (2003)
- Koa (2006)
Other
- Vánoční písně a koledy (Christmas Songs and Carols, 1992)
- Morytáty a balady (1993)
- Sloni v porcelánu I. (1999) – sampler
- Nebe počká (2004) – Zuzana Navarová sings five songs on the alum by Karel PlíhalKarel PlíhalKarel Plíhal is a Czech folk and jazz musician, singer, songwriter and record producer.He graduated from the Industrial College of Engineering and then worked as a designer and boilerman in the Olomouc theatre, finally becoming a singer . He has played the guitar since he was 15 year old...
with lyrics by Josef Kainar - Smutkům na kabát (2005) – výběr
In 2001, Navarová participated on the album Andělové z nebe by Radůza; Marie Rottrová included two songs by Navarová on her album Podívej (2001).
Awards
- Award of the folk festival PORTAPorta-People:* Porta , stagename of Christian Jiménez Bundo, a Spanish rap singer* Carlo Porta , Italian poet in the Milanese dialect* Costanzo Porta , Italian composer of the Renaissance...
(1982). - The best vocal performance at the Vokalíza in Prague (1982)
- The main award from the festival PORTA and Vokalíza (1982)
- The librettist of the Year (1990) - awarded by the Czech music Foundation in 1991
- 1993 - nominated by critics in the category female singers (Czech Grammy Awards)
- Žlutá ponorka (1999)
- 2001 - Czech Academy of Music awarded her Anděl in the category folk musicFolk musicFolk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
- 2005 - she was inducted posthumously into Hall of Fame of the Czech Academy of Pop Music