Polish Jazz - Freedom at Last
From catacombs to the free society
- the Story of Polish Jazz
Part 1:
Chapter 2: Polish Jazz 1918-1939
Milestones:
The rebirth of Poland and the war with Soviet Russia
The beginnings of Jazz life in Poland
Ady Rosner
Polish Jazz at the end of 1930's
November 11, 1918 marks the rebirth of Poland as an independent
country. Resurrected in the aftermath of World War I, Poland became
a democratic republic. The beginnings were not easy, at that time
Poland consisted of three separate politically, culturally and economically
parts, due to more then hundred years of forceful division of the
late 18th century Polish state into three different countries: Russia,
Austria, and Germany (then Prussia). The existence of the new republic
was soon threatened by its neighbor - Soviet Russia. For Soviet's
leader Lenin, the invasion of Poland was a prelude to something
bigger - a transplant of Bolsheviks revolution into Germany. That,
according to Bolsheviks plans, would lead them to the conquest of
the entire Europe. After conquer of Poland, simultaneous attacks
through Romania, Czechoslovakia and Hungary were planed, to provoke
revolution in Italy. Poland was the major obstacle in Lenin's master
plan for Communist Europe and the only one country separating Soviet
and German revolutions. To make the matters worse for Poland, the
non-existing Polish Army had to be hastily assembled from Polish
soldiers from all over the world; there was not enough time for
proper training, and not enough supplies nor arms. One observer
describing the Polish Army said that they were "like so
many children born of the same mother, but conceived by different
fathers". The Polish-Soviet War was nasty, brutish and
short. Starting with a pre-emptive attack by Poland against Soviet
forces in Ukraine in April of 1920, it soon turned into the disaster
for Poland. Not surprisingly, Polish Army was initially unable to
match the strength of the several hundred thousand man strong Soviet
Red Army, which ruthlessness was often compared to Genghis Khan's
Mongol horde. Poles had to give up more then half of Polish territory
and retreat to the Wisla river line. But what was later called by
historians "the miracle at the Wisla river" (cud nad Wisla),
the Polish army regrouped and in the final battle defatted the Red
Army. After the end of the war Soviet losses were over 200,000 and
Lenin's dream for Communist Europe vanished. The victory bought
Poland two decades of freedom. During that time the Republic of
Poland went through difficult process of re-birth, full of political
turmoil, President's assassination, changing governments, military
coup d'etat, ethnic conflicts, and economic difficulties. But despite
all of the obstacles, the new Poland was able to achieve stunning
success - coherent statehood, and one of the fastest growing European
economies.
During
the period immediately after World War I the New American Music
- Jazz began its European expansion, sweeping the continent from
west to east, and from north to south. In 1923 the first Polish
Jazz band was found; it was called "The Karasinski & Kataszek
Jazz - Tango Orchestra" and was created by Zygmunt Karasinski,
a saxophonist; Szymon Kataszek, Jazz pianist, violinist, clarinet
player, composer, and arranger; Jerzy Petersburski, pianist and
Sam Salvano, drummer. The band became an immediate sensation in
Warsaw as the first Polish band playing the American Music, in style
of Paul Whiteman and Red Nicholas. The Karasinski & Kataszek
Jazz - Tango Orchestra became the most popular Warsaw dance orchestra,
playing in popular night clubs and revue theatres, such as "Morskie
Oko" or "Wesoly Wieczor". In 1934-1935, they even
toured Europe and Middle East.
Another popular bands of that era included "Lofka Ilgowski
Orchestra" heavily influenced by Benny Goodman's style, and
"The Petersburski & Gold Orchestra", with leaders
Jerzy Petersburski (piano), and Arthur Gold (violin). During the
rest of "the 1920s Jazz Decade" the Petersburski &
Gold Orchestra established itself as the most popular dance orchestra
in Warsaw, performing at its most fashionable restaurant "Adria".
Other popular Jazz music acts of that era included cellist and banjo
player Fred Melodysta, composer Henryk Wars, pianist-composer Zygmunt
Bialostocki, and bandleader Kazimierz Turewicz. All of them, beside
regular concerts, often worked for the movie industry, contributing
to countless films produced in Poland during the 1920s and 1930s.
Poland's first record label - Syrena Records (crated in 1904) started
documenting the first recordings of Polish Jazz.
In early 1934 the Polish National Opera opened its stage to Jazz
art form and staged a premiere of the opera "Jazz band, Negro
and Woman" - four years before historical Benny Goodman's 1938
Carnegie Hall concert. But the boom of professional Jazz movement
in Poland in early 30's was due, most of all, to the fact that when,
after1933, fascists came to power in neighbor Germany many musicians
of Jewish provenance left. They came to Poland. Consequently, receptive
and resource-hungry Polish Jazz society was strengthened by Ady
Rosner's trumpet, Erwin Woheller's saxophone and Arkady Flato's
swinging band.
Trumpeter
Ady Rosner soon became the
best and the most popular Jazz musician in Poland. He formed a swinging
orchestra with Polish musicians gaining wide recognition among critics
and enchantment with audiences. The orchestra's vocalist Ludwig
Lampel was hailed by the critics as "a sensational singer
of European Jazz". Rosner's bands not only achieved national
recognition but also an international reputation, touring extensively
throughout Latvia, Denmark, Hungary, Netherlands, and France where
he recorded three albums for French division of Columbia Records.
Later on, after escaping Nazi German / Soviet invasion of Poland
in 1939, Rosner emigrated to Russia where he went through series
of unbelievable "alternative lives": from being the highest
paid musician in all Russia to gulag's prisoner to (after Stalin
death) driving force in Soviet Jazz. Rosner left Russia in 1973,
and died in Berlin, Germany in 1976. Ady Rosner's input to the beginnings
of Polish (and Russian) Jazz is unquestioned, and unparallel to
any other musician. Most of the bands of that era played many different
styles of dance music, and so did Rosner, but what distinguished
his band was his mastery and focus on swing. During his time in
Poland Ady Rosner gained the name of "the King of Jazz Virtuosos".
One Polish critic wrote "Ady Rosner - Jazz sensation!",
and in the British publication Melody Maker, the president of "Sweet
and Hot Club of Brussels", called him "The Polish Armstrong!".
With the 1930s coming to the end, an era of swinging big bands came to Poland.
Late 1930s were also a period of a radical change of music journalism. More
and more frequently, articles not longer merely reported events; they were now
based on note editions, radio broadcasts, recordings and films. The first music
magazines from Paris, London and the USA as "Melody Marker", "Jazz
Hot"," "Down Beat", "Metronome" arrived to Poland.
At the same time first records of R. Steward, B. Bigard and C. Hawkins at the
French label "Swing" hit the shelves in Warsaw, Cracow and Poznan.
The records with music of Duke Ellington, Fletcher Henderson and Jimmie Lanceford
were widely known and very popular. Nobody had anymore any doubts that Jazz
music was finally being accepted and its influence upon music vulnerability
was getting more and more widespread. Its all came to the abrupt end in September
of 1939 with the invasion of Poland by allied armies of Nazi Germany and Soviet
Russia and the beginning of World War II.
November 11, 1918 marks the rebirth of Poland as an independent
country. Resurrected in the aftermath of World War I, Poland became
a democratic republic. The beginnings were not easy, at that time
Poland consisted of three separate politically, culturally and economically
parts, due to more then hundred years of forceful division of the
late 18th century Polish state into three different countries: Russia,
Austria, and Germany (then Prussia). The existence of the new republic
was soon threatened by its neighbor - Soviet Russia. For Soviet's
leader Lenin, the invasion of Poland was a prelude to something
bigger - a transplant of Bolsheviks revolution into Germany. That,
according to Bolsheviks plans, would lead them to the conquest of
the entire Europe. After conquer of Poland, simultaneous attacks
through Romania, Czechoslovakia and Hungary were planed, to provoke
revolution in Italy. Poland was the major obstacle in Lenin's master
plan for Communist Europe and the only one country separating Soviet
and German revolutions. To make the matters worse for Poland, the
non-existing Polish Army had to be hastily assembled from Polish
soldiers from all over the world; there was not enough time for
proper training, and not enough supplies nor arms. One observer
describing the Polish Army said that they were "like so
many children born of the same mother, but conceived by different
fathers". The Polish-Soviet War was nasty, brutish and
short. Starting with a pre-emptive attack by Poland against Soviet
forces in Ukraine in April of 1920, it soon turned into the disaster
for Poland. Not surprisingly, Polish Army was initially unable to
match the strength of the several hundred thousand man strong Soviet
Red Army, which ruthlessness was often compared to Genghis Khan's
Mongol horde. Poles had to give up more then half of Polish territory
and retreat to the Wisla river line. But what was later called by
historians "the miracle at the Wisla river" (cud nad Wisla),
the Polish army regrouped and in the final battle defatted the Red
Army. After the end of the war Soviet losses were over 200,000 and
Lenin's dream for Communist Europe vanished. The victory bought
Poland two decades of freedom. During that time the Republic of
Poland went through difficult process of re-birth, full of political
turmoil, President's assassination, changing governments, military
coup d'etat, ethnic conflicts, and economic difficulties. But despite
all of the obstacles, the new Poland was able to achieve stunning
success - coherent statehood, and one of the fastest growing European
economies. 
