POLSKIE RADIO 1600
By Adam Baruch
This is the fourth installment in the new series of releases initiated by the Polish Radio, which presents archive Jazz recordings. Radio recordings are always a fabulous source of remarkable material, and as far as Polish Jazz history is concerned, the Polish Radio, which was a state monopoly for 45 years, recorded over time a plethora of invaluable material, which apart from the albums released by the Polskie Nagrania record company (also a state monopoly), is the only additional source of Polish Jazz recordings. For many years Polish Radio recorded concerts presented during Poland's most important Jazz venue, the annual Jazz Jamboree Festival and many other festivals as well.
The material presented here was
recorded between 1957 and 1962 and presents the iconic figure of the Godfather
of Polish Jazz, pianist / composer Krzysztof Komeda. Of the twelve recordings,
first five are studio radio recordings and seven are live recordings from the
1961 and 1962 Jazz Jamboree Festivals. Most of the material was recorded in a trio
/ quartet setting except for the four 1957 recordings, which were recorded by a
larger ensemble. The remastering work is incredible and the sound quality brigs
this music back to life at its full bloom, which of course is great news for
the numerous Komeda fans all over the world.
The music presents a
retrospective look at Komeda's early phase, which shows the remarkable development
of his immense talent both as a player and a composer. The transition from the
early period when Komeda is performing American Jazz standards into the later
period when he plays almost exclusively his original compositions shows the
birth of European Jazz, of which Komeda was one of the earliest leaders, caught
live in action. It also shows his role as a composer of film music, including
his early score to the Andrzej Wajda film "Innocent Sorcerers" and
his monumental music for the Roman Polanski debut film "Knife In The
Water". This is the Holy Grail of Polish Jazz, which certainly deserves to
be kept alive and passed from generation to generation as part of the Artistic
heritage, Polish and Worldwide alike.
However, some questions arise as
to the actual selection of the material for this release; although I have been
assured by the people in charge of the production of this album, that all the
music included herein is previously unreleased, it is hardly conceivable considering
the plethora of Komeda releases (legal, semi-legal or completely bootleg) over
the years, with the extended "complete" Komeda series by both Power
Bros and Polonia labels and even the Polskie Nagrania / Muza 3CD set of Komeda
performances at Jazz Jamboree, released in 2011, which seems to duplicate some
of the music included here, and of course the lack of a proper booklet with
proper liner notes, photographs and other well deserved details, which this
monumental music truly deserves. Polish Radio really should have made a better judgment
and more of an effort here. A pity!
As usual with this series, this
is a great document of the era and an integral part of the Polish Jazz saga,
which deserves to be told and studied. My advice is to get hold of this gem
ASAP, as Polish CDs are often out of print before the paint dries on the
booklets.
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