biography
Musician, composer, and multi-instrumentalist whose musical language develops at the intersection of jazz, world music, and Mediterranean tradition.
ELVIS STANIĆ
Black Cat - National Journalism Award
for the best instrumentalist
1997. / 1999.
Porin - National Music Award
for the best jazz album
1998. / 2000. / 2006. / 2008.
for the best jazz composition
1998. / 2006. / 2008.
for best jazz performance
2000. / 2005. / 2006. / 2008. / 2009.
for the best recording
2010. / 2013. / 2014. / 2020.
for best instrumental performance
2006. / 2008. / 2018.
for the best performance of folklore
– ethno music
1998.
for the best pop album
2010. / 2014. / 2018.
for album of the year
2014. / 2017.
for the best deal
2012. / 2017. / 2018.
for the best production
2014. / 2017.
for the best pop music album
2016.
for best male vocal performance
2018.
for the best live album
2022.
Status - Croatian Music Union Award
best instrumentalist in the jazz category,
Laidin, fusion and ethnic music
best jazz instrumentalist electric guitar
best instrumentalist electric guitar
best instrumentalist, fun, pop-rock, and urban music
other instruments – accordion
1998. / 2003. / 2004. / 2007. / 2008. / 2009. / 2010. / 2012. / 2017. / 2018. / 2021.
Annual Award of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County
2005. / 2006. / 2007. / 2008. / 2009. / 2010. / 2012. / 2013. / 2014. / 2016. / 2017. / 2018. / 2019. / 2020. / 2021. / 2022.
Other awards
Annual Award of the City of Opatija
1998.
„Toner for millions“1st prize in the Women's Choir category at the Swedish Choir Competition for the composition „Helleya“ by Elvis Stanić, performed by Nova Choir, Gothenburg, Sweden
2004.
The Croatian Composers„ Society Annual Award “Miroslav Sedak Benčić"
2012. / 2022.
Special recognition from the Croatian Music Union for contributions to Croatian music and 40 years of artistic activity
2013.
“Silk Road Friendship Award” - Silk Road International Arts Festival Committee, Xi'an, China
2017.
Recognition of the Municipality of Grožnjan – for exceptional achievements and contributions of particular importance to the development and reputation of Grožnjan, the town of artists.
2019.
Decoration Order of Danica Croatian with the image of Marko Marulić
2008.
Award for Outstanding Musicianship, Berklee Clinics at Umbria Jazz, Perugia, Italy
1994.
Best Entering Student Talent, Berklee College of Music, Boston, USA
1995.
Elvis Stanić is one of the most prominent Croatian musicians, a guitarist, accordionist, composer, and multi-instrumentalist who has been active for decades as an author, musician, and producer.
He has performed at many prominent jazz festivals both in Croatia and throughout Europe, the USA, China, and Egypt. He performed twice as the sole Croatian representative at the world's largest jazz festival in Montreux, and in New York, at Lincoln Center, he presented his own original music with jazz legends Buster Williams, Lenny White, and George Calligan.
He completed classical music education on the accordion, then dedicated himself to jazz, blues, and rock guitar. He won two Berklee College of Music awards for most talented new student and a full scholarship, and continued his education in Boston where he studied jazz composition and jazz guitar, with mentors including Jim Kelly, Dennis Montgomery, John Thomas, Bob Harrigan, and Frank Williams.
After returning to Croatia, he founded the jazz fusion group Elvis Stanić Group, which became one of the best jazz groups in Croatia. Together they recorded five albums and won almost all national music and recording awards. They also released two best-of albums: Introspection and Greatest Hits. Elvis Stanić is the composer, arranger, and producer for Croatia's most successful world music artists. For Putokazi, he composed and arranged four albums, and the song "Naranča" achieved global success and became so beloved that many consider it a folk song, even though it is his original composition. After being featured in the video game Witcher, it is played and covered by artists from Russia to Brazil, and has millions of views on YouTube.
As a freelance guitarist and producer, he collaborated with the most significant jazz musicians in Croatia (Boško Petrović, Big Band HRT-a, Neven Frangeš, Mario Mavrin, Tamara Obrovac, Matija Dedić, etc.) and the world (Gilberto Gil, Django Bates, Buster Williams, Lenny White, Scott Kinsey, Hadrien Feraud, Mike Baker, Katisse Buckingham, Martin Drew, Bobby Thomas Jr, Alwin Queen, Furio di Castri, Karen Asatrian, etc.).
As an author, producer, and arranger, he has developed a long-term collaboration with eminent pop artists, the most notable of whom are Đorđe Balašević, Oliver Dragojević, Josipa Lisac, Massimo, Denis & Denis, and Ibrica Jusić.
Stanić also composes stage music and has written three children's musicals: Ema, The Naughty Story, and The Broken Flock, and collaborates with national theaters in Rijeka, Split, Zadar, and Pula.
He has won numerous national and international awards for musical art and culture (33 Porin music awards for jazz, pop, instrumental, and world music, 11 HGU Status awards for best instrumentalist), and in 2008 was awarded the Order of Danica Hrvatska with the image of Marko Marulić for special merits in culture.
AIRes COLLECTIVE
Elvis Stanić AIRes Collective is Elvis Stanić's latest musical project, where he once again combines the seemingly incompatible: his recognizable original jazz signature in synergy with accordion, tango, samba, and bossa nova leads on a completely new musical journey.
AIRes Collective guides audiences through the streets of Paris, the dance halls of Buenos Aires, and the playful landscapes of Brazil, exploring the sensuality and freedom of Mediterranean and South American rhythms. Each composition tells a new story, enriched by extraordinary musical skill and the emotion that only a truly dedicated artist can bring.
This elegant fusion of jazz, tango, samba, and musette is not just a concert – it's an experience of a musical journey across continents, emotions, and styles, performed by musicians who speak a universal language – the language of exceptional music.