Warsaw Stompers – Warsaw Stompers (Polish Jazz Vol.01, 1963)

Warsaw Stompers (band)

Henryk Majewski- trumpet
Waldemar Kurpinski- clarinet
Wlodzimierz Kruszynski - clarinet
Jerzy Kowalewski - trombone
Andrzej Dobrawa - trombone
Dimitr markiewicz - trombone
Wojciech Kacperski - piano
Wlodzimierz Gulgowski - piano
Tomasz Ochalski - piano Bogdan Ignatowski - banjo
Zdzislaw Orlowski - bass
Adam Skorupka - bass
Tadeusz Wojcik - bass
Janusz Kozlowski- bass
Marian Zabek - drums
Mieczyslaw Wadecki - drums

Warsaw Stompers (Polish Jazz Vol.01, 1963)

This album presents a series of recordings made by the polish traditional Jazz ensemble Warsaw Stompers (earlier called New Orleans Stompers), which was one of the first and certainly the best of its kind. Led by the excellent trumpeter Henryk Majewski and drummer Mieczyslaw Wadecki the ensemble changed the membership over the years and included in its ranks some of the best future Polish Jazz musicians like saxophonist Zbigniew Namyslowski and keyboardist Wlodzimierz Gulgowski. The traditionalists vs. modernist Jazz War raged in Poland in the 1950s similarly to what happened all over Europe at the time with the New Orleans revival emerging as a counterforce of the new Bebop and beyond. However, beyond the heated discussions running into the wee hours of the night between the opponents, Jazz as music coexisted peacefully, resulting in outstanding results in both fields. The Warsaw Stompers played an all original programme, which is quite remarkable for the time, again emphasizing the deep involvement of the Polish scene with the Jazz tradition, which started even before the WWII. The level of the compositions as well as the performance is truly stellar and anybody who loves traditional Jazz should be able to enjoy this music to the fullest. Highly recommended!

Side Note: Although some Polish Jazz albums were recorded and released in Poland before this album, it marks the very beginning of the legendary Polish Jazz series, which over the years documented the development of the Polish scene and resulted in total 76 releases, which in retrospect include some of the best European Jazz recorded beyond the Iron Curtain. The Polish Jazz LPs and CDs are highly collectable and many fans all over the world try to complete the collection, which is not an easy task these days. The CD reissues (called Polish Jazz Deluxe) expanded the original series with some 20 additional titles, which somehow missed the original series at the time but belong to be a part of it in retrospect.

Track listing:
01. Warsaw Ragtime No.1 (3:25)
02. Bluesoragtime No.2 (2:15)
03. Melba Rag (3:31)
04. Roztanczony Kundel (3:03)
05. Zabawny Charlston (2:52)
06. Kas Bil Rag (3:23)
07. Czarny Lad (3:10)
08. Marzenie Misia (2:52)
09. Ej Przelecial Ptaszek (3:08)
10. Starzyk (3:16)
11. Motywy Goralskie (3:06)
12. Gdyby Rannym Slonkiem (3:02)
13. Rozbawiony Klarnet (2:40)
14. Madras (3:13)
15. Upal (3:06)
16. Nietoperz (2:58)

By Adam Baruch
http://www.adambaruch.com/