A Story of the Beginnings of Jazz in Poland – Wojciech Karolak in the "Music of Freedom" Series

We present another episode of the 'Music of Freedom' series. On the 100th anniversary of Leopold Tyrmand's birth. For eight weeks, we present conversations with musicians who debuted in the 1950s. The hero of the seventh episode is Wojciech Karolak – an outstanding pianist, virtuoso of the Hammond organ, alto and tenor saxophonist, composer and arranger, who for years has been regarded as the best-dressed jazzman. Last summer, Wojciech Karolak, together with master Michał Urbaniak and several outstanding colleagues, accepted the invitation from the National Centre for Culture and played a brilliant concert at the Culture Courtyard.

In an interview with Jacek Wróblewski, the artist talks about why he is not a painter and the paradoxical influence of the exhibition 'Here is America' on his life choices. We also learn who witnessed the first attempts to play jazz in Zakopane and what the East German Tonko tape recorder meant for jazz musicians.



We still have two more conversations by Jacek Wróblewski with:

Andrzej Dąbrowski (15.11)
Lesław Lic (22.11)

On the website audycjekulturalne.pl and on the YouTube channel of the National Centre for Culture, earlier conversations from the series are also available, featuring: Witold Krotochwil, Jerzy Bartz, Janusz Rafalski, Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski, and Przemysław Dyjakowski.

Music of Freedom – is a story about the beginnings of jazz in Poland, about the times of Leopold Tyrmand, who was an tireless and brave promoter of this music, born in 'imperialist' America. This year we commemorate the 100th anniversary of his birth.

The first steps of Polish jazz musicians in homes, clubs, and on stage are told by the musicians themselves, the pioneers of this genre.

Media patrons: RadioJAZZ.FM and JazzPRESS