Born: March 19th, 1937, Ljubljana, Slovenia (Yugoslavia)
Died: June 11th, 1998, Ljubljana (Slovenia)
Nationality: Slovene
In due course, the short impression below will be replaced with a more extensive career overview
BIOGRAPHY
Jože Privšek proved his talent as a pianist and vibraphone player from a very early age onwards, founding his own five-man jazz orchestra, ‘Ansambel Jožeta Privška’. In 1961, when he was only twenty-four, he took over the baton of the Plesni Orkestar Radio Ljubljana (the dance orchestra of the Slovenian broadcaster) from Bojan Adamič.
Under the leadership of Privšek, this band, which was later renamed Ljubljana Radio and Television Big Band, became an internationally much-acclaimed ensemble, performing abroad and winning the prize of the Deutsche Phono Akademie in 1978 for best recording of the year, beating the orchestras of world stars Max Greger and James Last. During his time as the musical director of the big band, Privšek wrote more than 4000 arrangements for it. Under his aegis, talented jazz musicians, including Emil Spruk, Petar Ugrin, and Ladislav Rebrek, got the opportunity to excel as soloists with the orchestra. Upon his retirement in 1992, Privšek was succeeded by Lojze Krajnčan.
In the 1960s, Jože Privšek was one of the most sought-after composers and arrangers in the light entertainment business of his country. Songs of his, interpreted by artists such as Betty Jurković, Alenka Pinterič, and Berta Ambroz, participated in the countless music festivals in the former Yugoslavia, including Opatija and Slovenska Popevka. Other artistst with whom Privšek worked in the recording studio during the 1960s and 1970s, include Edvin Fliser, Neca Falk, Oto Pestner, and Majda Sepe. Moreover, his big band was called upon regularly to record orchestrations for other artists, including the 1966, 1970 and 1971 Yugoslavia Eurovision entries sung by Berta Ambroz, Eva Sršen, and Krunoslav Slabinac.
EUROVISION SONG CONTEST
Among all conductors of the Eurovision Song Contest, Jože Privšek has perhaps the most peculiar record. In 1961 and 1962, when he was in his early twenties, he was composer, arranger, and conductor of the very first Yugoslavian entries to the festival, ‘Neke davne zvezde’ and ‘Ne pali svetla u sumrak’, sung by Ljiljana Petrović and Lola Novaković respectively, and both musically quite original tunes.
More than thirty years later, in 1993, he returned to the competition as the conductor and arranger of the very first entry of Slovenia as an independent state, ‘Tih deževen dan’, which, in the rendition of the 1 X Band, scored badly, but has a very distinctive and pleasant jazzy arrangement to it. Until his untimely death in 1998, Privšek orchestrated and conducted two more Slovenian Eurovision entries, the beautiful ‘Prisluhni mi’ in 1995 and, one year later, ‘Dan najlepših sanj’.
EUROVISION INVOLVEMENT YEAR BY YEAR
Country – Yugoslavia
Song title – “Neke davne zvezde”
Rendition – Ljiljana Petrović
Lyrics – Miroslav Antić
Composition – Jože Privšek
Studio arrangement – Jože Privšek
(Plesni Orkestar RTV Ljubljana conducted by Jože Privšek)
Live orchestration – Jože Privšek
Conductor – Jože Privšek
Score – 8th place (9 votes)
Country – Yugoslavia
Song title – “Ne pali svetla u sumrak”
Rendition – Lola Novaković
Lyrics – Dragutin Britvić
Composition – Jože Privšek
Studio arrangement – Jože Privšek
Live orchestration – Jože Privšek
Conductor – Jože Privšek
Score – 4th place (10 votes)
Country – Yugoslavia
Song title – “Brez besed”
Rendition – Berta Ambrož
Lyrics – Elza Budau
Composition – Mojmir Sepe
Studio arrangement – Mojmir Sepe
(Ansambel Jožeta Privška conducted by Jože Privšek)
Live orchestration – Mojmir Sepe
Conductor – Mojmir Sepe
Score – 7th place (9 votes)
Country – Yugoslavia
Song title – “Pridi, dala ti bom cvet”
Rendition – Eva Sršen
Lyrics – Dušan Velkaverh
Composition – Mojmir Sepe
Studio arrangement – Mojmir Sepe
(studio orchestra conducted by Jože Privšek)
Live orchestration – Mojmir Sepe
Conductor – Mojmir Sepe
Score – 11th place (4 votes)
Country – Yugoslavia
Song title – “Tvoj dječak je tužan”
Rendition – Krunoslav 'Kićo' Slabinac
Lyrics – Zvonimir Golob
Composition – Ivica Krajač
Studio arrangement – Ivan Kelemen
(Revijski Orkester RTV Ljubljana conducted by Jože Privšek)
Live orchestration – Ivan Kelemen
Conductor – Miljenko Prohaska
Score – 14th place (68 votes)
Country – Slovenia
Song title – “Tih deževen dan”
Rendition – 1 X Band (Cole Moretti / Andrej Bedjanić / Tomaž Kosec feat. Urška Gestrin / Sandra Zupanc / Barbara Šinigoj)
Lyrics – Tomaž Kosec
Composition – Cole Moretti
Studio arrangement – Jože Privšek
(Festival Orchestra RTV Slovenia conducted by Petar Ugrin)
Live orchestration – Jože Privšek
Conductor semi-final – Petar Ugrin
Conductor final – Jože Privšek
Score semi-final – 1st place (54 votes)
Score final – 23rd place (9 votes)
Country – Slovenia
Song title – “Prisluhni mi”
Rendition – Darja Švajger
Lyrics – Primož Peterca
Composition – Sašo Fajon / Primož Peterca
Studio arrangement – Jože Privšek
Live orchestration – Jože Privšek
Conductor – Jože Privšek
Score – 7th place (84 votes)
Country – Slovenia
Song title – “Dan najlepših sanj”
Rendition – Regina
Lyrics – Aleksander Kogoj
Composition – Aleksander Kogoj
Studio arrangement – Jože Privšek
Live orchestration – Jože Privšek
Conductor – Jože Privšek
Score audio semi-final – 19th place (30 votes)
Score – 21st place (16 votes)
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