Polish Delights Posted by djmaru

Henryk Debich: Na Opak From: String Beat [Muza, 1975] Wojciech Karolak: Instant Groove From: Easy [Muza, 1974] Polish Jazz has to be one of the most coveted forms of the genre outside of the U.S., and it's rise to popularity has a deep history. After 1945, Poland fell under the dominance of Russia, quickly labeling Jazz music as music of the enemy and banning it alltogether. Like the course of Prohibition, jazz soon went underground, symbolizing the spirit of independence, noncomformity and cosmopolitnism in Poland. But after Stalin's death in 1953, jazz music quickly resurfaced, and fans in Poland were able to turn to the U.S. for inspiration, using it to mold their own brand of jazz. I'm glossing over this information rather quickly, but there's a plethora of coverage on the subject if you just Google "Polish Jazz." Like killermike's post on Skalpel a few weeks ago outlined, Polish Jazz has become quite the hotbed for breaks and loops for contemporary music. Today, I'm posting up a couple tracks that clearly define the Polish Jazz climate of the mid 70's and I don't know much about them so I'm not going to front like I do. The first tune comes from Henryk Debich, off of an album that has been called one of the holy grails of Polish Jazz. The first track "Na Opak" opens with a great drum break, and then introduces layers of instruments before coalescing into a classicly funky jazz track. Wojciech Karolak I happen to know a little more about thanks to Wax Poetics Number 4. Born in 1939, Karolak studied piano and saxaphone at a music high school in Krakow, and played in various Polish jazz ensembles before switching to the Hammond organ in 1971. "Instant Groove" off his album Easy is a monster tune, utilizing Karolak's spacey keyboard synth work under a mellow vibe. Great bass work and open beats are all over this bad boy.