“This is what I grew up on”
In the beginning, of course, there was jazz.
The earliest radio memories of Jan “Ptaszyn” Wróblewski, born in 1936 in Kalisz, concerned jazz and the immediate post-war years. These were, as he said, “quite strange years, when none of us, let alone a ten-year-old puppy, could have imagined what would happen. But the interest in music had already taken place.”
– You could buy records with jazz bands in stores. I mean, it was written there that these were jazz bands, but it wasn’t always and not entirely true. But they were, nevertheless, some recordings that tried to at least imitate the atmosphere of jazz – said Jan “Ptaszyn” Wróblewski in 2019. – Of course, the designs were almost exclusively American at that time. They were wonderful orchestras, and to this day I have great sympathy for them, because I grew up with them.
However, after this time of first falling in love with jazz, there came “this strange period when jazz was suddenly banned for strange reasons.”
Listen 15:45 Notes from the present 16/09/2019.mp3 Jan “Ptaszyn” Wróblewski on the beginnings of his interest in jazz music. Andrzej Zieliński’s broadcast from the series “Notes from the present” (PR, 2019)
15:32 Ptaszyn 2 ok.mp3 Jan “Ptaszyn” Wróblewski about his debut. Andrzej Zieliński’s broadcast from the series “Notes from the present” (PR, 2019)
Jazz as a political enemy
– I still can’t understand it, because it was supposed to be a symbol of imperialist music, but jazz never had anything to do with imperialists – explained the artist. – I would even say quite the opposite. Nevertheless, this music disappeared from the radio and almost all record labels were closed.
This ban, stemming from political reasons – the turn of the 1940s and 1950s in Poland, the dark times of Stalinism and, when it comes to culture, socialist realism – is, as Jan “Ptaszyn” Wróblewski put it, “still half the trouble”.
– The joke was that the term jazz meant, that is, the authorities understood, everything that smelled of any rhythm or anything from outside Poland. Jazz was samba, rumba, African folk melodies – recalled the musician in the first talk from the radio series “Notes from the Present”.
At the same time, he talked about reaching for banned music, despite these political restrictions. Reaching is sometimes paradoxical.
– I was fascinated by a recording that was played during the large-scale exhibition “This is America”, which, of course, was supposed to mock everything that was possible in America, including its music – said Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski. – Well, from the speakers there were, among other things, playing recordings of Charlie Parker, of course suitably ridiculed beforehand, preceded by some stupid jokes. But they were there nonetheless.
“I felt like I grabbed God by the legs”
Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski graduated from the Faculty of Agricultural Mechanization of the Poznań University of Technology, as well as the State Higher School of Music in Krakow. He began his musical career in 1954: he led student dance groups in Poznań, in which he played the piano and clarinet.
However, as the artist himself emphasized in his radio memoirs, he owed his initiation into jazz music primarily to Krzysztof Komeda.
– In the 1950s, Krzysiu Komeda taught us everything in his apartment. He had a plan to create a permanent band in Poznań – recalled the legendary jazzman. – He told me about it when we were returning by train from a ball in Warsaw. “You need to study,” I heard, “I’m considering you.”
This “I take you into account” influenced the entire life of Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski. After a year of preparation, the legendary Komeda Sextet was created, with which the artist made his debut.
– Already then, when I was just starting out musically, I understood well that improvisation was the most important thing in jazz – he said. – It’s not about playing the melody, but about what will be made of it later – he added.
It was during the formation of the Komeda Sextet that he received his nickname, which was initially “Ptaszyna”.
– It once happened that four Jans were present at the rehearsal. Every time Krzysio says “Jan, what did you play here?”, four of you were hit on by “What, me?”. So Krzysio came to the conclusion that we should be named somehow – recalled Jan Wróblewski. – I got the “Ptaszyna”, which two years later, also by Krzyś, was renamed “Ptaszyn”.
Listen 49:54 jan ptaszyn wróblewski season for two 2011.mp3 Interview with Jan “Ptaszyn” Wróblewski. Broadcast “Sezon na Dwójkę” hosted by Tomasz Szachowski (PR, July 12, 2011)
The mentioned professional debut of Jan “Ptaszyn” Wróblewski on the jazz scene took place during the 1st Jazz Festival in Sopot in August 1956. The event was organized as part of the thaw after the Stalinist period and attracted tens of thousands of fans eager for jazz music.
– At the time of the first festival in Sopot, it was known that jazz could not be banned for a second time – the artist recalled in a broadcast from 2011 and admitted that at that time he had not yet thought about pursuing music professionally. – I wasn’t thinking about any profession at all, I was just attracted to it and I played as long as I could. Especially since when I joined Komeda’s Sextet, I felt as if I had grabbed God by the feet and I wasn’t worried about what would happen in two years, or if anything would happen in two years. It was just nice.
He remained in Komeda’s Sextet until its dissolution, i.e. until the end of 1957.
“I’m a saxophonist by profession”
Although back in Sopot, Jan “Ptaszyn” Wróblewski did not plan to take up music professionally, music entered his life for good.
– I am a saxophonist by profession – the artist emphasized in one of the archived broadcasts. – A few other professions came along, but these are, you could say, derivative activities. And when it comes to the saxophone, of course I am interested almost exclusively in jazz, although there were also various variations here, he said.
And so, after Komeda’s Sextet, at the beginning of 1958, Jan “Ptaszyn” Wróblewski became a member of the Jazz Believers supergroup, and soon he was selected as a Polish representative to the International Newport Band, with which he took part in the Newport Festival. The orchestra performed as a guest with Louis Armstrong, took part in television programs, and gave concerts in the Netherlands and Belgium.
Listen 15:43 Notes from the present 19/09/2019.mp3 Jan “Ptaszyn” Wróblewski about travels and concerts in the United States Andrzej Zieliński’s broadcast from the series “Notes from the present” (PR, 2019)
– Unfortunately, concert tours are a killer. And they used to be gigantic – recalled Jan “Ptaszyn” Wróblewski in a conversation with Roch Siciński. – I remember that once we were away from home for a whole month. But we never had any conflicts or quarrels in the band, because there was simply no way that people prone to arguments would appear in my quartet or sextet. We were very well matched socially, all nice people. We had a nice time together, he added.
Listen 14:33 Dwojka 2022_12_02-09-30-25.mp3 Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski: no, I’m not interested in accompanists, only partners. I take boys who can show something of themselves. So when I have the opportunity to give them a solo – why not? (PR, 2022)
Jan “Ptaszyn” Wróblewski in 1973 during the International Jazz Festival Jazz Jamboree. PAP/ Janusz Rosikoń
The artist also composed film music, including: to such films as “Mr. Anatol is looking for a million” and “Long live love”, as well as numerous songs, including the popular ones: “Kolega Maj”, “House in Malwy Painted”. His two compositions – “Zielono mi” with lyrics by Agnieszka Osiecka and “Żyj Kolorowo” with lyrics by Wojciech Młynarski – won festivals in Opole.
Jan “Ptaszyn” Wróblewski has also been involved in teaching for over half a century, conducting workshops for young jazz musicians. For many years, he also co-founded the Bielska Zadymka Jazzowa festival. He has released over 30 of his own albums and has participated in the recording of dozens of others.
“More than half a century on Polish Radio”
As Jan “Ptaszyn” Wróblewski admitted with disarming honesty, he always “wandered somewhere close to the radio.” He began recording his first songs in radio studios in the 1950s. In 1968, the artist’s cooperation with Polish Radio began, lasting over half a century. He then headed the Polish Radio Jazz Studio team, which he led for the next decade.
Additionally, he collaborated with the radio orchestras of Edward Czerny, Andrzej Kurylewicz and the Studio M-2 band led by Bogusław Klimczuk. On October 26, 1969, he inaugurated the “Jazz News” program.
In turn, the cooperation of the Polish musician with Willis Conover, a jazz popularizer at Radio Music USA, resulted in the creation of the program “Three Quarters of Jazz” in 1970. Jan “Ptaszyn” Wróblewski enjoyed extraordinary sympathy among listeners thanks to his unique ability to talk flowerily about music.
Listen 00:42 Trzy quadranse jazzu 1.mp3 Introduction to the first issue of the magazine “Three quarters of jazz” run by Jan “Ptaszyn” Wróblewski. (PR, 7/01/1970)
– Only once, in the first year, did I agree to take a leave of absence. I don’t remember who replaced me then, but I know that when I listened to these broadcasts while away, I shook my head and decided I wouldn’t let that happen again! I have always tried to be alone and take responsibility for it – the legendary jazzman confessed on Polish Radio.
Listen
17:49 Dwójka PTASZYN about the work of a radio operator 1/03/2024.mp3 Jan “Ptaszyn” Wróblewski about the work of a radio operator (Poranek Dwójki)
He hosted the cult program until the day before his death, May 6, 2024.
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Read also:
- Stories of Jan “Ptaszyn” Wróblewski, the doyen of Polish jazz
- Jan “Ptaszyn” Wróblewski: “Three quarters of jazz” on the radio is my pleasure
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Among many of Jan “Ptaszyn” Wróblewski’s reflections on music, not only improvised music, preserved in radio recordings, there are also words about the broadly understood avant-garde. And about what music should be like above all.
– I don’t like playing avant-garde, but that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate it. I appreciate her when she is good, and that is very rare. I was one of the first to play it in Poland, at the Helsinki festival in the 1960s, said Jan “Ptaszyn” Wróblewski. – However, I have found that the less a person understands what he is playing, the more favorably he is assessed. At some point I didn’t know what I was playing or how I was playing anymore. And the more I didn’t know, the more I was applauded. And since I treat music as a pleasure for myself, I returned to proven things. For me, music must be beautiful first and foremost.
Listen 14:17 jan ptaszyn wróblewski___sŁ_muz 4847_tr_0-0_19519279[00].mp3 Andrzej Wróblewski’s broadcast from the “Monographs” series. Interview with Jan “Ptaszyn” Wróblewski. (PR, 10/08/1986)
Finally, we can recall the words of Jan “Ptaszyn” Wróblewski, which were spoken at the end of what turned out to be his last broadcast on Polish Radio, on May 6, 2024:
– And now, unexpectedly, we have quite a lot of time left, although, to be honest, I wasn’t prepared for it. Therefore, today I would like to finally show you what I will start my next program with. And if you want to know what it is, tune in next week. And I say: goodnight. These were “Three quarters of jazz”, said Jan “Ptaszyn” Wróblewski.
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