Grzegorz Turnau - poet, composer, pianist and arranger - is an artist who continues the tradition of the Krakow literary lyrics, walking in the footsteps of Jan Kanty Pawlu¶kiewicz and Marek Grechuta.
As a child he learned to play piano at music school, when he was 13 he moved with his family to England for one year. While there John Lennon died, and Grzegorz discovered popular music and started playing for fun.
In April 1984 Grzegorz Turnau took part in the song review "Everyone Can Sing" in Krakow Club Za¶cianek, winning the Song Writing category. As a result he took part in the twentieth Student Song Festival in May of that year, which he also won. Immediately after the festival, Grzegorz, as his prize received an invitation from Piotr Skrzynecki to the Piwnica Pod Baranami concerts. This very young artist began an annual series of "basement" concerts, were he met the poet Michał Zablocki. The cooperation between these two young artists resulted in songs that have long become the core repertoire of Turnau.
His debut album "Naprawdę nie dzieje się nic" was released in 1991 and owed its popularity mainly to the song of the same name. Two follows before Grzegorz would release his second album "Pod ¶wiatło". This album even now is one of Grzegorz’s most popular, the song "Cichosza" was won the Muzyczna Jedynka award in 1993.
Turnau’s third studio album "To tu, to tam" appeared in 1995, selling in excess of 200,000 copies in Poland. The success of “To tu, to tam” brought a Fryderyk Award (the Polish equivalent of a Brit Award) for best vocalist. The album included the huge hits "Miedzy cisz± a cisz±" and "Bracka". In total Grzegorz Turnau has been to date awarded three Fryderyk Awards the other two being for the albums "Nawet" (2002) and "Cafe Sułtan" (2004). He has also written music for theatre, short films and Television.
Turnau’s new album entitled “Fabryka klamek” comes after a break of five years. Released on November 3rd 2010 it is his first for Mystic Production, Poland’s largest independent label. “Fabryka klamek” peaked at number three in Polish album and has remained in the Top 5 since it’s debut.
The album features guests vocalists Dorota Miskiewicz, Basia G±sienica Giewont and Sebastian Karpiel Bułecka (Zakopower). “Fabryka klamek” features some of the finest Polish musicians: Cezary Konrad (drums), Robert Kubiszyn (bass), Jacek Królik and Marek Napiórkowski (guitar), Leszek Szczerba (saxophones), Mariusz Pędziałek (oboe and English horn) and Slawek Berny (percussion). Strings are supplied by the Orchestra of the Academy of Beethoven under the baton of Michal Nesterowicz. Recorded and mixing was overseen by Leszek Kaminski.
