Actress Joanna Trzepiecińska announced the composer’s death. “Jerzy Derfel has died – a great artist, a great composer, an extremely decent man, the godfather of my son – farewell, friend,” we read in her post on social media.
Derfel was born on January 9, 1941. He graduated from the Secondary School of Music in the piano class in Sopot and the State Higher School of Music in Warsaw. In 1958, he founded the band Flamingo, which performed jazz music.
During his career, he collaborated with many respected artists, including Wojciech Młynarski. He composed the music for his songs and also accompanied him during his recitals. In addition, he also performed with Ewa Dałkowska, Alicja Majewska, Jerzy Połomski, Danuta Rinn, Irena Santor, Mieczysław Wojnicki and others.
He also composed songs to lyrics by, among others, Ireneusz Iredyński, Jonasz Kofta, Agnieszka Osiecka and Jeremi Przybora.
He also worked in film and television. He is best known for his music for cult comedies Stanisław Bareja: : “What will you do to me if you catch me?” and “Misia”. In the second mentioned film, he played a small role as a conductor.