On a Different Note: Top Polish Jazz Spots to Visit

jazztopad-sony-rollins-2011-wroclaw-fot-lukasz-giza-ag-lg_061111_207.jpg, default, Sony Rollins playing the Jazztopad Festival, 2011, fot. Łukasz Giza / Agencja Wyborcza, On a Different Note: Top Polish Jazz Spots to Visit

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A museum and mountain hostel, a prestigious concert hall and a monument to a famous doctor. Above all, however, music venues – because Polish jazz is alive and well.

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Barbara Nawratowicz and Piotr Skrzynecki at the Piwnica pod Baranami, Kraków 1957, photo: Wojciech Plewiński / Forum

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If we assume that the first jazz concert in Warsaw was the performance of Zygmunt Karasiński's quintet at the Oaza club in 1922, it appears that Polish jazz will soon celebrate its centenary. Despite its long history, it remains a living phenomenon. Jazz is indeed taught at universities, and there are books and films devoted to its pioneers – but the genre itself has never become a museum exhibit.

None of the above is to say that young jazz students and music lovers have forgotten about the roots of Polish jazz. Nothing of the sort. Although I do have the impression that in this circle, there is a consensus that the better way to commemorate jazz pioneers is to record an album with variations on their works, rather than to name a street after them.

I am writing this to explain why when writing about Polish jazz places that are worth visiting, I will seldom refer to its history. It is a vibrant scene, a living organism. There’s no point in spending too much time on nostalgic journeys. But enough excuses.

Warsaw

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Mała Orkiestra Dancingowa playing at the Klub SPATIF, photo: Klub SPATIF

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A place that promotes modern, often avant-garde jazz, and at the same time makes you feel like a character from Andrzej Wajda's Innocent Sorcerers is the SPATiF club. The renovated headquarters of the Association of Polish Theatre and Film Actors has for years been a place where the rising stars of Polish cinema waited for film proposals – entertaining themselves with gossip, heated discussions and, of course, alcohol. The space on the first floor often hosts jazz concerts and performances by electronic and avant-garde musicians.

Another club worth visiting is Pardon, To Tu. Concerts don't take place there as often, but there are still plenty of jazz records and books on art to be bought, as well as opportunities to meet the leaders of the contemporary Polish improvised music scene. If such a meeting doesn't occur, you can contemplate a giant wall with hundreds of names of bands crucial to the founders of Pardon, To Tu painted on it.

Concerts in the jazz club 12on14 are held with much greater frequency. Every day there’s a chance to see a performance by a young Polish group, veterans of the scene or international stars. Amongst the bigger stages of Warsaw, the repertoire of The Witold Lutosławski Concert Studio of the Polish Radio is certainly worth following. Even if only for the impressive hall and its superb acoustics.

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The Congress Hall at the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw, photo: Rafał Guz / Agencja Wyborcza

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Crucial venues for the history of Polish jazz include the still-functioning student clubs Stodoła and Hybrydy. The former hosted the first editions of the famous Jazz Jamboree festival back in the 1950s. Today, at Stodoła – the oldest Polish students’ club – jazz festivals (Summer Jazz Days, Jazz Jamboree) are still organised. However, in both venues, regular improvised music concerts happen only rarely.

The renovation of the Congress Hall, which is currently scheduled to open in 2024, is being prolonged. This representative, stylish concert hall has for decades hosted the greatest stars of Polish and international jazz. In 1983, Miles Davis himself performed there.

Staying in the centre of Warsaw, it’s also worth visiting a building on Konopnicka 6, where the YMCA operated just after the war and where the writer and jazz promoter Leopold Tyrmand used to live. At this address, the famous event Jam Session No. 1 took place in 1948, before the Soviets banned jazz. The building now houses the Museum of Jazz.

Speaking of history, the building where the first jazz concert in Poland took place stands at 9 Wierzbowa Street, near Teatralny Square.

Kraków

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Kraków Jazz Autumn festival at Klub Alchemia in Kraków, 2012, photo: Michał Lepecki / Agencja Wyborcza

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Of all the Polish metropolises, Kraków has the reputation of being the slowest, the least dynamic. Perhaps this is simply due to its long history, which lives on every street corner. In this case, though, that stability pays off because in Kraków – like in no other Polish city – music clubs enjoy longevity.

One of the oldest and most renowned venues in the Old Town is Piwnica pod Baranami – home of the famous literary cabaret, and in the past, one of the most respected jazz stages in Poland. In the late 1950s, Krzysztof Komeda, Andrzej Kurylewicz, Andrzej Trzaskowski and Jerzy Matuszkiewicz all played there. Today, jazz concerts are held at the venue every Thursday.

In Kraków, it’s not only stages that are operating uninterruptedly since jazz pioneers performed there, but there’s also a venue founded by one such musician. The jazz club is known as U Muniaka and was founded in 1992 by the famous Polish saxophonist. According to Krystian Brodacki in The History of Jazz in Poland, it was the first club in Polish history to be owned by a musician. Many aspiring musicians and also renowned stars, including Wynton Marsalis and Joe Lovano, have performed there. Despite Janusz Muniak's death in 2016, the club is still active, organising concerts every day.

Harris Piano Jazz Bar plans its events with the same frequency. Founded in 1997, the club has been hosting Polish and foreign jazz bands every day.

The repertoires presented at both venues consist to a large degree of traditional, mainstream jazz. By contrast, free jazz concerts are organised at Alchemia, founded in 1999. The club, located in the Kazimierz district, also hosts the annual Kraków Jazz Autumn festival. At this event, which presents the most exciting figures of improvised music, Mats Gustafsson, Peter Brötzmann, and Joe McPhee have already performed. Alchemia has been cooperating for years with the Kraków-based Not Two label, which specialises in avant-garde jazz. Of course, it too enjoys a longevity that is surprising by today's standards.

Bydgoszcz

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The Bydgoszcz Moden Music Orchestra at the Mózg club, 2012, photo: Tytus Żmijewski / PAP

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One of the most impactful jazz clubs to open in Poland after 1989 is unquestionably the Bydgoszcz-based Mózg. The only doubt concerns whether it is actually a ‘jazz club’. Founded by musicians Jacek Majewski and Sławomir Janicki, the art centre was the headquarters of yass – an independent music scene deriving from improvised music, punk-rock and folk.

The transgressive Totart artistic group also had a significant influence on this milieu. For this reason, yass concerts often had performative components or even turned into unexpected happenings. A large number of them took place on the Mózg stage, where bands such as Miłość, Mazzoll & Arythmic Perfection or Trytony performed. The club has been continuously operating since 1994, inspiring the next generation of unconventional artists. It houses not only a scene but also an art gallery, recording studio and artist studios. Since 2014, the managers of Mózg have also been organising music events in Warsaw.

Zamość

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Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski at the Jazz na Kresach festival at the Kosz Club in Zamość, photo: Iwona Burdzanowska / Agencja Wyborcza

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As an excellent example of a 16th-century renaissance city, Zamość has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Situated in eastern Poland, this architectural jewel should also be visited by fans of jazz music. The outstanding Polish pianist and composer Mieczysław Kosz – after whom the Kosz jazz club, founded in the 1980s, is named – was born in this area. Its stage hosts regular concerts and renowned festivals: Jazz na Kresach and International Metting of Jazz Vocalists. The latter is now slowly approaching its 50th anniversary.

Zakopane

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Janusz Muniak and his band playing at the Jazz Kalatówki festival in Zakopane, photo: Marek Podmokły / Agencja Wyborcza

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Staying with the topic of jazz at Poland's biggest tourist attractions, Zakopane needs to be mentioned as well. Located at the foot of the Tatra Mountains, the town has been hosting the Jazz Spring festival since 2004, and in local restaurants, you can come across concerts of improvised music as well.

From the perspective of jazz, the most important building is located a few hundred metres higher. Built during the 1930s, the Kalatówki Mountain Hostel was established on the initiative of a skiers' association, but it has become an equally important address for Polish jazz musicians. In February 1959, the famous Jazz Camping took place here – during which rising stars of Polish jazz (Komeda, Namysłowski, Trzaskowski), the Polish film industry (Polański, Barbara Kwiatkowska-Lass, Gustaw Holoubek) and other fields of Polish art (including graphic artist Rosław Szaybo, and photographer Marek Karewicz) came to the hostel. This extraordinary meeting went down in the history of Polish culture thanks to a documentary, also titled Jazz Camping, by Bogdan Rybczyński. In 1997, with the support of saxophonist Zbigniew Namysłowski, Jazz Camping returned to Kalatówki. Every autumn, the event attracts fans of syncopated music to the mountains.

Poznań

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The Bester Quartet playing a concert at the Blue Note in Poznań, photo: Łukasz Cynalewski / Agencja Wyborcza

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Krzysztof Komeda, the composer of the highest-rated Polish jazz album, Astigmatic, was in fact named Trzciński. He went under a pseudonym not because it was easier to pronounce, but to hide his passion from his colleagues. He was a doctor by profession, a graduate of the Poznań Medical Academy. Although he ultimately chose a different career path, an intriguing monument to him can be seen near a university building in Poznań.

In the evenings, visiting jazz fans should check out the club Blue Note, where jazz concerts have been held since 1998. The basement of the neo-Romanesque palace has been a host to top Polish and international stars, including Pat Metheny, Dave Holland or Esbjörn Svensson Trio. Every year, the club also organises the Blue Note Poznań Competition, which is aimed at beginning instrumentalists and vocalists.

Gdańsk

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A concert by Pink Freud at the Żak club in Gdańsk, 2010, photo: Renata Dąbrowska / Agencja Wyborcza

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For many decades, the Tricity jazz and improv scene has been notable for its artistic courage, independence, and even rebelliousness. Although back in the 1990s, Gdańsk-based yass artists chose the Bydgoszcz-based club Mózg as their base, they wouldn't have to travel that far today. In recent years, the club Żak has become a crucial venue for improvised music. Founded in the late 1950s as a student club, it became a city institution in 1991. Today, alongside exhibitions, film screenings and theatre performances, it frequently hosts jazz concerts. One of the most important events that takes place here every autumn is the International Jazz Jantar Festival.

Gorzów Wielkopolski

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Mikołaj Trzaska and his band playing a concert at the Jazz Club Pod Filarami, photo: Daniel Adamski / Agencja Wyborcza

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Although shorter, the history of Gorzów's Pod Filarami jazz club is quite similar to the history of the Gdańsk-based Żak. The place began operating in 1980, and after the transformation of 1989, it became a municipal institution. Jazz has remained a dominant feature of the club ever since. Apart from regular concerts, the Gorzów Jazz Celebrations festival takes place here. The club also runs music education classes for children under the name Mała Akademia Jazzu. Its most acclaimed graduate is the renowned violinist and composer Adam Bałdych.

Katowice

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Selvhenter at the Hipnoza club in Katowice, 2016, photo: Dawid Chalimoniuk / Agencja Wyborcza

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The Hipnoza club has been operating in the centre of Katowice for almost 20 years. This vital venue for jazz in Silesia has also witnessed the birth of renowned festivals such as Tauron Nowa Muzyka or Ars Cameralis. Alonogside jazz greats, folk, alternative rock, and electronic bands of international fame have performed on the Hipnoza stage.

Other cities

Jazz enthusiasts should also mark Bielsko-Biała and Wrocław on their maps. The former hosts the Bielska Zadymka Jazzowa and Jazzowa Jesień festivals. The most important jazz event in the capital of Lower Silesia is the Jazztopad festival, which is held in the National Forum of Music.

^{Written by Jan Błaszczak, Sep 2021}

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