Basia

Barbara Stanisława Trzetrzelewska, known professionally as Basia, is a Polish singer-songwriter and recording artist born on 30 September 1954 in Jaworzno, Poland. Her music is characterized by a Latin-influenced jazz-pop style, and she built an international following across the United States, Europe, and Asia over the course of a career spanning several decades.

Basia grew up in a musical household in Jaworzno, where her parents operated an ice cream parlor in the town center and her mother played piano and provided her earliest music lessons. She had two brothers and a sister. Her interest in singing developed early, supported by an extensive personal collection of vinyl records. In 1969 she performed as a vocalist with a local band called Astry, appearing with them at the National Festival of Beat Avangarde in Kalisz, where the group won. Though she had intended to study mathematics at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, she ultimately enrolled in physics instead. During her first year at university, she was invited to join Alibabki, a well-known Polish all-female ensemble. She accepted in 1972, left her studies, and toured with the group through Poland and various Eastern Bloc countries until 1974. In 1976 she competed as a soloist at the National Festival of Polish Song in Opole without success, and from 1977 to 1979 she performed with the Polish rock band Perfect.

In January 1981, Basia relocated to London with her partner and began recording demo tracks for various artists. She encountered Danny White, brother of jazz guitarist Peter White, and his collaborator Mark Reilly after responding to an advertisement in Melody Maker. The three initially performed together in 1983 under the name Bronze before renaming themselves Matt Bianco. The group's debut album, Whose Side Are You On?, was released in 1984 and achieved success across Europe, producing the UK Top 40 singles "Get Out of Your Lazy Bed" and "Half a Minute." Basia and Danny White departed Matt Bianco in 1985 to concentrate on her solo career, beginning a long-term professional collaboration between the two.

Their first release together was the 1986 single "Prime Time TV," which achieved modest chart results in the UK and Germany. Basia's debut solo album, Time and Tide, followed in 1987. While its performance in most of Europe was limited, it found a substantial audience in the United States through smooth jazz radio. The title track reached number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1988, and both "New Day for You" and "Promises" climbed into the top 10 of the Adult Contemporary chart in 1989. The album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America in November 1989 after selling one million copies in the US, with worldwide sales approaching two million. Her second album, London Warsaw New York, was recorded in 1989 and released in early 1990. Its singles included "Baby You're Mine" and "Cruising for Bruising," the latter reaching the top 40 on both the US and Canadian singles charts. The album also contained a cover of the Stevie Wonder-penned "Until You Come Back to Me." London Warsaw New York sold more than two million copies worldwide, earned a second American platinum certification, and was named Billboard's Contemporary Jazz Album of 1990. Japan emerged as her second-largest market during this period, supported by an extensive tour across the US, Europe, and Japan. Her label subsequently released Brave New Hope, a compilation of remixes and rare tracks.

Basia's third studio album, The Sweetest Illusion, appeared in spring 1994, mixed by David Bascombe and marking the conclusion of a ten-year working relationship with mixmaster Phil Harding. The record produced "Drunk on Love," which reached number one on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart, as well as the moderately performing "Third Time Lucky." Though less commercially successful than her first two albums, it entered the US top 40 and received gold certification from the RIAA for sales exceeding half a million copies. In Japan it peaked in the top 10 and earned a platinum award, her strongest performance in that market. The album's promotional tour took Basia through the US, Japan, and Europe and included her first solo concerts in Poland. During the New York City portion of that tour, she recorded a sixteen-song live album titled Basia on Broadway, which constitutes her Broadway credit from 1994. In 1996 she contributed vocals to Peter White's single "Just Another Day," released from his album Caravan of Dreams. A retrospective compilation, Clear Horizon – The Best of Basia, was issued in 1998, featuring chart hits, non-single tracks, and new material including a cover of "Waters of March" by Brazilian composer Antônio Carlos Jobim. The compilation was her final release for Sony and found only limited success, primarily in Japan.

Basia stepped away from the music industry following the death of her mother in December 2000, a loss she felt deeply. The subsequent deaths of a cousin in a car accident and several close friends compounded her grief, and she experienced depression and uncertainty about returning to performing. After sustained encouragement from Danny White and Mark Reilly, she agreed to participate in a reformed Matt Bianco. The band released Matt's Mood in 2004 to critical acclaim and moderate chart success. The positive reception of the reunion, combined with encouragement from her fanbase, motivated Basia to pursue new solo material. After completing the Matt Bianco tour in 2006, she and White began developing new songs together while Reilly continued performing with Matt Bianco. Her fourth solo studio album, It's That Girl Again, was released in spring 2009 through independent label Koch Records. The ballad "A Gift" was promoted on Polish radio, while "Blame It on the Summer" served as the lead single in the American market. The album reached the top 10 of the US Jazz Albums chart and the top 5 in Poland, where it was certified platinum. A concert recorded in Łódź, Poland in 2011 became the basis for her second live album, From Newport to London: Greatest Hits Live... and More, released in fall 2011. That album included three studio recordings, among them a duet with Polish singer Mietek Szcześniak titled "Wandering," and a cover of Vanessa Williams' "Save the Best for Last," produced by the song's original co-writer Wendy Waldman.