- On October 23-26, the 69th edition of Krakow Jazz All Souls’ Day, the oldest jazz festival in Europe, was held under the slogan “Jazz that creates history”.
- Saturday’s Krakow Jazz Gala at the Krakow Opera was the last of the main concerts as part of this year’s event.
- The final concert was dedicated to the music of Włodzimierz Nahorny, performed by the Silesian Chamber Orchestra with vocal participation from: Natalia Kukulska, Krzysztof Kiljański and Wojciech Myrczek
- The “Golden Helikon” for lifetime achievement went to Urszula Dudziak
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As in previous years, this year the oldest jazz festival in Europe included several venues in the city. We visited Podgórze, wandered to Nowa Huta, and for the finale we appeared in the very center, at the Krakow Opera. However, before we move on to the main course of the 69th Krakow Jazz All Souls Day, it is worth briefly recalling the events that perfectly introduced us to the last gala.
Masters and disciples
The first day was reserved for artistswho, despite their young age, have already been able to distinguish themselves with extraordinary sensitivity and ethics, as they want in the art of jazz. According to the slogan of the 69th edition of Krakow Jazz All Souls’ Day, ie “Jazz that creates history”, we were dealing with history recently. On the stage of the First and High School of Music named after her The Mała Wieniawa Ensemble and last year’s Krakow All Souls Day Festival scholarship student in the “Hope of Polish Jazz” category – Artur Małecki – played at Bronisław Rutkowski Festival in Krakow. The establishment of this year’s edition only proved that we can be confident about the future of the domestic jazz world.
The second day belonged to Kuba Badach, who surprised the Krakow audience with the band. Good arrangements, adventurous performances and further confirmation that Kuba Badach is a multi-tasking artist. One could say, a musical chameleon who feels comfortable both in pop writing and in slightly more sophisticated forms, as seen by us on Thursday night at the Nowa Huta Cultural Center. And when we add to the rich catalog of vocal skills the inherent elegance, the ability to improvise, a pinch of humor and, above all, the innate talent to lead the audience, we get we are a recipe for a complete artist. And this is worth emphasizing, especially since we don’t have many representatives of this genre in the Polish music scene.
The last days of this year’s Krakow Jazz All Souls Day brought us to the building of the Krakow Opera. On Friday evening, a true master of vocal embroidery and playing with form played, and his prize cabinet was also enriched with another, very important image. Urszula Dudziak received the “Golden Helikon” for her life achievements and artistic creation. The star of All Souls’ Day left no doubt that there are still plenty of times and nights ahead where we will have the opportunity to pay her respects. Master form.
Krakow Jazz Gala
The end of these few days of music at the highest level was the Krakow Jazz Gala. We stayed at the full Krakow Opera, where Saturday night was dominated by the sounds of Włodzimierz Nahorny. Music with which artistic activity began in 1959, i.e. just a few years after the beginning of the Krakow Jazz All Souls Day. An outstanding pianist, saxophonist and arranger who, as befits a modern jazzman, often goes far beyond the boundaries of jazz music in his work and numerous collaborations. And this was the motto of Saturday’s gala, in which Włodzimierz Nahorny could not participate due to health problems.
We could hear from the stage, and the first part of the concert opened with a fantastic performance of the jazz ballad “Old Friend Revisited”. The artistry of the performance, the skillful atmosphere and the detailed arrangement, which the Silesian Chamber Orchestra was responsible for, caused the Krakow Opera to be filled with a storm of praise for the first time and not the last time on Saturday night. After a few minutes, the instrumental introduction turned into a meeting with Wojciech Myrczek, one of the invited soloists, who performed the song “She’s So Beautiful” with ease and artistry, with words by Wojciech Młynarski.
Krakow Jazz All Souls Day – Krakow Jazz Gala. Pictured: Wojciech Myrczek
The final point of the opening section was the wonderful free jazz composition “At the Checkout”. It was then that one of the brightest elements of the Krakow Jazz Gala appeared on the stage – Mateusz Adamczyk. An amazing violinist who took us on a journey to the edge of madness for several minutes. The amazing performance of Włodzimierz Nahorny’s compositions together with psychedelic scenes by Olga Balowska and Adam Nyk will remain in the memory of the Krakow audience for a long time.
The first part of the last concert was not only a clear sign to continue, but above all it clearly showed the magnificence of Włodzimierz Nahorny’s sonic efforts. With each minute, we learned more about the biography of the master, and new artists entered the game and the stage of the Krakow Opera. After the cheerful Wojciech Myrczek, Krzysztof Kiljański introduced the audience to a completely different atmospherewho was enthralled by a subtle, even intimate performance of the composition “I ask the winter stars”.
Krakow Jazz All Souls Day – Krakow Jazz Gala. Pictured: Krzysztof Kiljański, Natalia Kukulska
In turn, Natalia Kukulskawith her usual gusto, she sang the song “You Were Not a Dream”. Admittedly, for several years now, it has been a great pleasure to watch the actions of this artist not only on stage, but also at subsequent album events. These are increasingly bold experiments with different musical issues, it is enough to mention the album “Czułe Struny” a few years ago, where the singer’s voice stood the the background of the music of Fryderyk Chopin. So it should come as no surprise that she also excelled in jazz arrangements. The second part of the final performance was added with a theme from the production “A Hole in the Earth”, where we were transported for a few minutes to the world of American crime films from the 1970s.
An important element of the master’s musical history is the collaboration with the band Breakout. Saturday’s gala at the Krakow Opera included songs from that era. A very creative instrumental arrangement of the song “I would follow you” brought a lot of relaxation during the evening with the works of Włodzimierz Nahorny.
Krakow Jazz All Souls Day – Krakow Jazz Gala
And since the last gala of the 69th Krakow Jazz All Souls Day was full of twists and turns and big climate changes, the next time after the program break was the return to the stage of the violinist Mateusz Adamczyk. The performance of the composition “To Whom Are You Going”, shrouded in an aura of mystery, together with Krzysztof Kiljański, is certainly one of the most important pieces of Saturday’s event. The presence of the violinist had an equally strong effect on Wojciech Myrczek, who in the last concert of the Krakow Jazz Gala surprisingly activated his voice recorder and sang a fragment of “On a calm, dark sea ” surprisingly. The night with music by Włodzimierz Nahorny officially ended with a catchy version of the song “Her Portrait”. From the stage we will hear several amazing stories related to creation:
The two, Natalia Kukulska and Krzysztof Kiljański, did not refuse, i.e. the magical duo that perfectly ended the Krakow Jazz Gala and the 69th Krakow Jazz All Souls Day. A few wonderful days, full of meetings with music at the highest level, and it was the final confirmation of Saturday’s events at the Krakow Opera. Perfect, inventive, but respectful preparations of the Silesian Chamber Musicians, good form of the invited guests and, above all, a wonderful model, ie the music of Włodzimierz Nahorny: “Jazz that creates history”.
Krakow Jazz All Souls Day – Krakow Jazz Gala. Pictured: Mateusz Adamczyk
Before the musical part of Saturday’s gala and in accordance with the Krakow Jazz All Souls Day tradition, scholarships were also awarded in the “Hope of Polish jazz” category. This year’s winners are: pianist and trumpeter Paweł Kowalik and pianist and narrator Mateusz Pałka, both winners are representatives of the Academy of Music. Krzysztof Penderecki in Krakow. Commemorative medals prepared by the Krakow All Souls’ Day Foundation were a novelty, awarded to outstanding people involved in the promotion of jazz music and organizing the oldest jazz festival in Europe. Honorable mentions went to: Marek Stryszowski, Zofia Stryszowska, Jan Pomoca and Andrzej Dąbrowski. As Andrzej Zdebski, member of the board of Krakow Jazz All Souls’ Day, explained from the stage, the base has a versatile character:
The “Silver Helikon” was the last prize awarded as part of the 69th Krakow Jazz All Souls Day, which this time went to Powszechny Zakład Ubezpieczeń SA (PZU).
Jazz Baby Fish!
The anniversary edition of Krakow Jazz All Souls’ Day is next year, and this is the perfect time to submit your program suggestions. At the same time, waiting for the 70th Krakow Jazz All Souls’ Day is sweetened by a film presenting the history of the oldest jazz festival in Europe. As mentioned by the organizers, work is underway to publish a story with the most important people who have been co-creating this campaign for several years as reporters. In addition, you can still visit the Krzysztofory Palace, where the exhibition “Kraków – the jazz center of Europe”, organized on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the first edition of Krakow Jazz Day All Souls, on display until November 24.
2024-10-27 09:18:00
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