Jacek Fiedorowicz (born July 17, 1969) is a Polish Canadian actor, singer-songwriter, musician, composer and comedian known for performing as Raymond "Ray" Taylor in the RKO Network series It's the Paul Taylor Program!, which ran from 1981-1983 as a local series on various local Canadian TV stations before being picked up by the RKO Network in 1985 and running internationally on and off since then, being one of the longest running children's programs in both Canada and the United States. He also known for the voice of Banner in Bannertail, and he is also recognized as a prolific multilingual singer-songwriter / composer. He has the ability to imitate a variety of accents.
He is a member of ACTRA, UDA, SOCAN, ADISQ, and ASCAP.
Biography
Early Life
Jacek was born in Łódź, Poland, and his family relocated to Canada in 1971 when he was 3 years old. He is the son of Mieczysław Fiedorowicz and Jadwiga Fiedorowicz, and he has a younger brother, Luke, and older sister, Joanna. Luke was a child actor and currently is a musician, and Joanna is an actress. The three siblings speak Polish, English and French. He attended Central Toronto Academy.
In 1980, Jacek made his first television appearance, which was in a Thrills gum commercial. The following year, he made his TV series debut in It's the Paul Taylor Program!, created by Dutch-born impresario Sjoerd Broekhuizen.
Music Career
Jacek began his music career as a solo artist in 1983 with his self-published cassette EP Sincerely, Jacek. Since then, he has worked as a musician & composer for numerous TV shows & movies. He and his wife Wendy Bellingham have also worked on scores together, and with Clay Cornelissen they formed the songwriting/composer team Fiedorowicz-Bellingham-Cornelissen. He has contributed several original songs to Sagwa's Siamese Life and the revival of Sagwa the Chinese Siamese Cat. Jacek has also continued his acting career in addition to being a musician. Since 2010, he has composed the music for the long-running Brazilian TV show O Programa do Sr. Wágner.
Together with Luiza Długosz, he performed "Nigdy nie panikuję", an entry in the Polish national finals for the Eurovision Song Contest 1997. They also recorded an English version, "We'll Never Panic". This song was later adapted into "Warriors Anthem (Never Panic)", the theme song for Warriors (Długosz is credited as a co-writer alongside Jacek and Clay Cornelissen for the Warriors theme song).
Jacek, Clay, Barry Berlin, and Jeremy Forfang produced A Kids for Characters Album: The Magic of Music!, nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Musical Album for Children and a Juno Award for Children's Album of the Year.
Equipment
Keyboards
- Roland Gaia SH-01 - Jacek has been a Roland Gaia SH-01 owner since 2011. He currently owns two SH-01s, the latter of which is a backup that was purchased in 2017.
- Roland JUPITER-80 - Jacek has owned a JUPITER-80 since 2013.
- Roland JUPITER-Xm - Jacek purchased a Roland JUPITER-Xm in January 2020.
- Roland AX-Edge - Jacek has owned his Black Roland AX-Edge since 2019, and has used it in multiple Paul Taylor live appearances.
- EDP Wasp - One of Jacek's first studio keyboards, which he bought second-hand in 1984. Jacek later purchased a second Wasp and a Wasp Deluxe in the 1990s. All three of his Wasps are used in much of his work.
- Moog Liberation - Jacek's first keytar. Like his ARP Odyssey and first Wasp, it was bought second-hand. It originally appeared in some Paul Taylor music videos in the 1980s, and reappeared live at Kids for Character: Moov'n & Groov'n for a keyboard demonstration by Jacek as Ray Taylor. It is one of Jacek's frequently used studio keyboards.
- Moog Source - Jacek famously used this on "Living with Energy" from It's the Paul Taylor Program! (a #1 hit single in Canada and the United Kingdom). He still owns the Moog Source used for it today and continues using it.
- ARP Odyssey Mark III - Jacek's first studio keyboard, which was bought second-hand. Jacek also currently owns a Korg ARP Odyssey which he uses as a backup for his Mark III ARP Odyssey.
- Studiologic Sledge 2.0 - One of Jacek's current studio keyboards, purchased in 2016.
- Studiologic Sledge 2.0 Black - Used by Jacek since 2018.
Guitars
- 1987 Custom Lado R-1 - Jacek and Barney Hartikainen Park were given customized Lado R-1 guitars in 1987. Jacek got two Orange models and Barney got two White models. Both have the It's the Paul Taylor Program! logo on the fretboard. Jacek and Barney still own their Lado guitars.
- 1975 Gibson L6-S - Jacek bought his Gibson L6-S in Natural Finish in 1984 from a flea market in Montreal. It's served as one of his main recording guitars since then. Jeremy Forfang performed with this guitar on "Ode to a Mole Miner" from Mole Miner.