Suzy, Dizzy… and Sinatra

In the ongoing play "The Fall of the President-Canopy", Croatia seems to play the role that Hungary and Montenegro played in the overthrow of S. Milošević, and at the same time, within Serbia, the label of "Ustasha" is thrown around by those who ran away from history classes even more than from all other classes. On a more important, deeper level - the cultural space ex YU - the departures of Vedrana Rudan and Slobodan Šnajder, however, were well received from the point of view of the local elite. Almost together with them, an excellently disguised great man also from Croatia left us, embedded in the collective memory of millions of (still) Yugoslavs. Naturally relaxed (read: cool), Stjepan Stanić, an obscure individual to many, unobtrusively and in many ways is responsible for the pop culture of a number of generations "in this region".

Born in 1929 in a musical family in the "dry" center of Zagreb, he remembered the pre-war period for its "peace and finesse" and for the cowboy movies from which he got his nickname Jimmy (or, more softly, Đimi - if you really want to). Later in life, in accordance with the growth of personal standards and the decline of general calmness and finesse, he moved further and further away from that center, and always remained a real gentleman without any emphasis on origin, that is, purgeraja. He learned to play various instruments, in the early days he played the guitar more, took up the double bass at school, and towards the end of the (Second World) war, he joined the partisans after an older comrade. Due to the loss of his rifle while hiking in Bosnia, the short episode ended with a return to his hometown, among guys from the front row and into small groups of musicians.

FIRST BOSNIA, SO EUROPE

In various lineups, including as the Stanić Brothers Orchestra, in the early 1950s Jimi honed his craft with monthly engagements in taverns and hotel restaurants in Bosnian towns. Good clothes, but when it got stuck in the driver's seat, I hated the clapping of banknotes on the forehead - he knew that he should return to Zagreb, closer to the radio and maybe make records. He became popular again among the jazzers, dance schools, cultural and artistic societies, and cultural centers sprang up in the city, so there were plenty of opportunities for gigs - dancers, jackal se, and so it is in '54. Jimmy also sang professionally, on the microphone. Kisses and shots started, then he sang them in "Samo za me sav taj char".

Like a number of other jazz instrumentalists who gained popularity with their vocals, Stanić proved to be a master of phrasing and modulation, with a real sense of swing, and that baritone didn't hurt either. "Sinatra is my teacher - you can't imitate him, but you can study...", so it's no wonder that he mastered the repertoire of jazz standards and evergreens from Broadway musicals. The photos prove that he did not swallow a broom, that is, he moved more on stage than was prescribed for vocal soloists at the time. He was also a member of Nikica Kalođera's vocal ensemble, and there he was offered - almost as a joke - to record the quasi-country song "Cowboy Jimmy", and - a hit single in 1954. The cowboy's girlfriend Barbara is mentioned in the text.

Before we follow that branch of Stanić's rich career, a legendary moment: during the first, softly diplomatic arrival of the famous bebop trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie in Yugoslavia in '56, his double bass player was late in Zagreb; knowing the repertoire, "by ear", Jimmy jumped in - he came back from Belgrade just to hear Gillespie live - he did well and allegedly did not accept Dizzy's invitation to continue the collaboration afterwards. Much later, Stanić told that at that time he could not even leave the country - due to an inappropriate intrusion into the political news, he was arrested by the police and his passport was confiscated for three years.

In the mid-fifties, the still few local jazzers worked closely along the axis LJU-ZG-BG, laying the foundations for the golden age of the so-called Yugoslav pop music. In Zagreb, Stanić "ordained" in "Varijete" and "Ric Bar", and in tandem with Zoran Lola Novaković performed in Belgrade in 1955-1957, in one of the oldest hotels - "Imper(j)al" - i.e. the famous tavern "Stambol Kapija" (the building was demolished in 68 due to the construction of the Faculty of Philosophy). His concert at the Kolarč University in early '57. it resonated as a serious novelty. Already a star or at least a favorite of the audience, with his colleague Duško Jakšić bird is after the capital of FNR Yugoslavia; urban legends conveyed that - along with saxophonist Milisav Šarić-Šarac (father of Baby Doll) - he was a swinger not only in music. Luckily, he was able to work with Darko Kraljić in Novi Sad, he also sang Milan Kotlić's compositions and was a guest at dance parties in Belgrade's "Indeks" with the KUD "Krsmanovič" orchestra, which Kotlić led. As a double bass player/singer (vocals in alternation with Nada Knežević), he performed with Spasa Milutinović's ensemble all over the country; they escorted him to his military service, already defined as a handsome man, even a dandy - in a black suit, with a hat and a yellow leather briefcase. End of quote.

SHAMELESS SWING

Belonging to the first post-war generation of YU jazzers, Stanić with the band "Yadran" was among the first from here to be allowed to play music abroad - first in SR Germany, then in Central Europe and Scandinavia. Jimmy's knowledge of various languages ​​certainly helped here, and with the label "Columbia" in the early sixties, there were several singles that he sang in German. And these were often renditions of American songs, but it was only at home that Stanić himself would sometimes take on the role of lyricist for such covers. Because, despite the enviable earnings, this bon vivant returned to Zagreb in time for the commercial takeoff of local hit songs and festivals, as well as television. Moreover, Jimmy adapted very quickly to the new medium.

Although he qualified as a doyen early on, the witty Stanić did not shy away from unexpected voice effects (it started with country yodeling), funny repertoire, or comical roles in front of the cameras - in fact! His highest interpretive moments - ballads like "Magaljen prozor" by Ljubo Kuntarić from the film "Pokotina raj" from '59, "Prolazi sve" from '65, both about aging - regularly alternated with the bizarre songs "I was the groom of the emperor" from '67 and "Prsluk I shoot" from '71. In alternation with the rock group "Indexi", at the Opatija festival '68, he performed the classic version of the ballad "Tomorrow will change everything" (Kantardžijev-Krajač). In a tuxedo and a "bow tie" only when he had to, with a characteristic mustache and beard, he was seen more and more often in brightly colored sweaters, checkered jackets and a hat (today: a fashion icon). He then confused his admirers, and annoyed many, with the Yugoslav megahit "My mare Suzy" from `71. Because it's one thing to be funny, to add fine irony to the interpretations of "Give me your photo", "Coward" and "When I was a young hunter", but to be a clown with an absurd, some even sarcastic text... If they hadn't met Jimi until then fakina, they easily "registered" him among the old crooks, and whoever felt the departure, knew that we have our own Konrad Lorenz. And we see him as a cameo in movies.

Stanić published the lion's share for Zagreb's "Jugoton", and, unfortunately, there is hardly any trace of his "small records" that he released in 1961-1964 with the Belgrade PGP RTB label, accompanied by E. Sađil and V. Đonović. After dozens of singles, Jimmy has since '73. expertly mastered long-playing, LP records as well, reaching far beyond mere nostalgia. His modernized versions of domestic and foreign evergreen tracks are an example of how the racial crooner (Eng. crooner) survives rocker blows while jazz peeks out of his pocket at the height of his heart. The classic proof is the excellently produced, percussion-enhanced "Kaži sašto me osti" from '74, Z. Krkljuš's hit from the fifties. As in the studio, Stanić often works and easily changes the accompaniment, from various small ensembles to the big band, and he confirmed his locality through songs from Zagorje and Međimurje. Even narrower, "Kužiš, stari moj" from '73, to the lyrics of the then hit author prose in jeans Zvonimir Majdak. Not only a full-blooded entertainer, but a goatherd and witch doctor, Jimmy treats the visitors to his performances with ever longer and more winding stories, developing according to cost up comedians and literally - sticking to the double bass (eng. cost up bass). Although the concert editions did not proportionally record this, the slightly slurred Kajkavian speech and naive, almost childlike philosophy of life made him a stage storyteller of the caliber of the up-and-coming Balasevic, and you will recognize the slow, meandering "delivery" of the point in his admirer Predin.

SUPER STAR

And, when he was expected to enjoy his own oldtimer ban, Jimi in 1982 embarks on a series (of 6) albums Eternal melodies ("Jugoton"), with the Justin brothers (mandolin, ac. guitar) and conquers new generations. That string trio re-records his hits and embraces archival, interwar repertoire - "Dream of Marello" and "Pastir Kostja", "Smetlar" and "Sing the balalaika", and everything like that, come and go. Everything suits him, he is still single, a womanizer - Oedipal? a pervert? – but then by chance he meets the real Barbara, the young widow Trohar. The engagement lasted a long time (13 years), she taught him the old lascivious "Chimneyman" and soon they recorded it together. Elem, again a hilarious hit "on the border of good taste" - Stef mercifully fixes it Pećka ("Yours must be coated"). With his 45 Bars, he goes on stage for the first time, sings beautifully and since then they are like a cabaret tandem, in a culture without variety shows and music halls. "My savior, my rock."

Before the collapse of Yugoslavia, another one passes unnoticed novelty old cat's catch: he sang the audio-porn hit of the Gainsbourg-Birkin duo "Je t'aime… moi non plus" from '69; by no miracle, i.e. parody, there is a third person in Jimmy's double bed - a pet. Stanić's recitations, of course, vary in his cover songs and original songs, both live and over the years, so that also contributed to his longevity as a performer, which was tried several times by others, not himself. Namely, when he was expected to perform in old people's homes, Jimi filled new representative venues in Zagreb ("Močvara", "Tvornica kulture" - Christmas parties accompanied by "The Boys") and gathered audiences in clubs elsewhere in his country. In 2007, he recorded "Autobus Calypso" and "El Tiempo Pasara (Everything Passes By)" with his younger fellow citizens "Cubismo". He commented on the "Porin" Lifetime Achievement Award from 2013 as "sicterusha".

A true folk decadent, an epicurean who has outlived all writers, Jimmy is in his element with the (six-member!) quintet "Scharf Club Swing", on the album Everything passes. (2014, "Vesna music"). Before the pandemic, in a documentary film Jimmy, we testify that he openly enjoys the heat (pendulum), cigars, homemade wine, to cook, sing and dance, take a nap after lunch, and leave the TV crew to Barbara. "I'm only 90 years old and I can still handle performances with ease."

In an excellent production by Josip Cvitanović and his orchestra, the evergreen bard publishes the brilliantly titled 91+ ("Croatia Records"), on which she refreshes some successes - she calls Štefa on her cell phone, there are also "Mimi" and "...Cho", of course Suzi, who has a "sequel" "Smoky" - but she surprises with her vitality in novelties. Swing and scat, tango, beguine and rumba are no secret to Jimmy, but he performed the author's "Mama Inez" (again, "doesn't wear laundry... loves cash") with the ease of his Cuban peers. The following year, with the Philharmonic and Cvitanović, the concert was recorded for Everything passes....Live@Zagreb (2022, “Croatia”).

"I will only retire when I collapse on stage." It almost happened that way.