Andrzej Trzaskowski
Encyclopedia
Andrzej Trzaskowski was an eminent Polish
composer and jazz
musician who, between 1959 and 1990, composed the music and/or conducted the score for some thirty films.
A native of Kraków
, Trzaskowski learned to play the piano as a child and, in 1951, at the age of eighteen, helped to form Melomani
, one of the first Polish swing and bop groups. Between 1952 and 1957 he studied musicology
at the city's Jagiellonian University
, took private lessons in composition and contemporary music theory and was active at the experimental studio of Polish radio.
In 1958 he played and recorded with the Jazz Believers, a quintet which included Wojciech Karolak
and Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski
, and worked with another quintet, led by Jerzy Matuszkiewicz
. The following year he formed his own hard bop
group, the Wreckers, with which he toured the United States in 1962. As the leader of small groups, he performed and recorded with American musicians visiting Poland, such as Stan Getz
in 1960 and Ted Curson
in 1965-66. Many leading Polish musicians, including Zbigniew Namysłowski, Tomasz Stanko
and Michał Urbaniak, played with his groups early in their careers.
Starting in 1964, Trzaskowski began to incorporate avant-garde techniques in his work. In the late 1960s he worked regularly in West Germany
for the Hamburg
-based public radio and television
broadcaster Norddeutscher Rundfunk
, writing more than 20 compositions and participating in workshops. From 1975 onward, he led an orchestra for Polish radio and television.
Although an acclaimed pianist, he decided, from the early 1970s, to concentrate more on composition. One of his early third-stream
works, Nihil novi
, was performed by Don Ellis
at the 1962 International Jazz Jamboree in Warsaw
. He subsequently wrote music for two jazz ballets and for numerous theater pieces and films, including Jerzy Kawalerowicz's Pociąg (The Train a/k/a Night Train) (1959), Mieczysław Waśkowski's Jeszcze słychać śpiew i rżenie koni... (One Can Still Hear Singing and the Neighing of Horses...) (1971), Andrzej Kotkowski's 1978 made-for-TV movie
Gra o wszystko (A Gamble for Everything), Wojciech Marczewski
's Dreszcze
(Shivers) (1981), Janusz Kidawa's Bardzo spokojna wieś (A Very Peaceful Village) (1983) and Krzysztof Magowski's controversial 1990 TV miniseries Świnka (Piggy), which was not broadcast until 1994. He was also one of many musical celebrities making a cameo appearance in Andrzej Wajda
's 1960 film Niewinni Czarodzieje (Innocent Sorcerers
).
.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
composer and jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
musician who, between 1959 and 1990, composed the music and/or conducted the score for some thirty films.
A native of Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
, Trzaskowski learned to play the piano as a child and, in 1951, at the age of eighteen, helped to form Melomani
Melomani
Melomani , also known as Hot-Club Melomani, was a pioneer Polish jazz band, created by the first self-styled Polish jazz musicians....
, one of the first Polish swing and bop groups. Between 1952 and 1957 he studied musicology
Musicology
Musicology is the scholarly study of music. The word is used in narrow, broad and intermediate senses. In the narrow sense, musicology is confined to the music history of Western culture...
at the city's Jagiellonian University
Jagiellonian University
The Jagiellonian University was established in 1364 by Casimir III the Great in Kazimierz . It is the oldest university in Poland, the second oldest university in Central Europe and one of the oldest universities in the world....
, took private lessons in composition and contemporary music theory and was active at the experimental studio of Polish radio.
In 1958 he played and recorded with the Jazz Believers, a quintet which included Wojciech Karolak
Wojciech Karolak
Wojciech Karolak is a notable Hammond B-3 organ player who refers to himself as "an American jazz and rhythm and blues musician, born by mistake in Middle Europe". He has also played saxophone and piano professionally.In 1958, he started working with the band the 'Jazz Believers' playing alto...
and Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski
Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski
Jan "Ptaszyn" Wróblewski is a Polish composer and tenor saxophonist most linked to jazz.He began his musical career in 1956 at Polish festivals. He went on to tour around the world and for a decade, starting in 1958, he directed the Polish Radio Jazz Studio...
, and worked with another quintet, led by Jerzy Matuszkiewicz
Jerzy Matuszkiewicz
Jerzy Matuszkiewicz is a Polish jazz musician and composer. He was a pioneer of the post-WWII jazz movement in Poland. Between 1950-58 he was head of the well-known Polish jazz group, Melomani. Throughout 1964 he performed both inside and outside of Poland. In 1965 he began to mainly produce music...
. The following year he formed his own hard bop
Hard bop
Hard bop is a style of jazz that is an extension of bebop music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz which incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gospel music, and blues, especially in the saxophone and piano...
group, the Wreckers, with which he toured the United States in 1962. As the leader of small groups, he performed and recorded with American musicians visiting Poland, such as Stan Getz
Stan Getz
Stanley Getz was an American jazz saxophone player. Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre of his idol, Lester Young. Coming to prominence in the late 1940s with Woody Herman's big band, Getz is described by critic Scott...
in 1960 and Ted Curson
Ted Curson
Theodore "Ted" Curson is a jazz trumpeter. He is perhaps best-known for recording and performing with Charles Mingus....
in 1965-66. Many leading Polish musicians, including Zbigniew Namysłowski, Tomasz Stanko
Tomasz Stanko
Tomasz Stańko is a Polish trumpeter, composer and improviser. Often recording for ECM, Stańko is strongly associated with free jazz and the avant-garde....
and Michał Urbaniak, played with his groups early in their careers.
Starting in 1964, Trzaskowski began to incorporate avant-garde techniques in his work. In the late 1960s he worked regularly in West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
for the Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
-based public radio and television
Public broadcasting
Public broadcasting includes radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing and commercial financing.Public broadcasting may be...
broadcaster Norddeutscher Rundfunk
Norddeutscher Rundfunk
Norddeutscher Rundfunk is a public radio and television broadcaster, based in Hamburg. In addition to the city-state of Hamburg, NDR transmits for the German states of Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Schleswig-Holstein...
, writing more than 20 compositions and participating in workshops. From 1975 onward, he led an orchestra for Polish radio and television.
Although an acclaimed pianist, he decided, from the early 1970s, to concentrate more on composition. One of his early third-stream
Third stream
Third Stream is a term coined in 1957 by composer Gunther Schuller, within a lecture at Brandeis University, to describe a musical genre which is a synthesis of classical music and jazz...
works, Nihil novi
Nihil novi
Nihil novi nisi commune consensu is the original Latin title of a 1505 act adopted by the Polish Sejm , meeting in the royal castle at Radom.-History:...
, was performed by Don Ellis
Don Ellis
Don Ellis was an American jazz trumpeter, drummer, composer and bandleader. He is best known for his extensive musical experimentation, particularly in the area of unusual time signatures...
at the 1962 International Jazz Jamboree in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
. He subsequently wrote music for two jazz ballets and for numerous theater pieces and films, including Jerzy Kawalerowicz's Pociąg (The Train a/k/a Night Train) (1959), Mieczysław Waśkowski's Jeszcze słychać śpiew i rżenie koni... (One Can Still Hear Singing and the Neighing of Horses...) (1971), Andrzej Kotkowski's 1978 made-for-TV movie
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
Gra o wszystko (A Gamble for Everything), Wojciech Marczewski
Wojciech Marczewski
Wojciech Marczewski is a Polish film director and screenwriter. He directed twelve films between 1968 and 2001.His 1981 film Dreszcze won the Silver Bear - Special Jury Prize at the 32nd Berlin International Film Festival...
's Dreszcze
Dreszcze
Dreszcze is a 1981 Polish drama film directed by Wojciech Marczewski. It was entered into the 32nd Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Silver Bear - Special Jury Prize.-Cast:* Tomasz Hudziec - Tomek Zukowski...
(Shivers) (1981), Janusz Kidawa's Bardzo spokojna wieś (A Very Peaceful Village) (1983) and Krzysztof Magowski's controversial 1990 TV miniseries Świnka (Piggy), which was not broadcast until 1994. He was also one of many musical celebrities making a cameo appearance in Andrzej Wajda
Andrzej Wajda
Andrzej Wajda is a Polish film director. Recipient of an honorary Oscar, he is possibly the most prominent member of the unofficial "Polish Film School"...
's 1960 film Niewinni Czarodzieje (Innocent Sorcerers
Innocent Sorcerers
Innocent Sorcerers is a 1960 film directed by Polish film director, Andrzej Wajda.- Cast :* Tadeusz Łomnicki – Bazyli* Krystyna Stypułkowska – Pelagia* Zbigniew Cybulski – Edmund* Wanda Koczeska – Mirka...
).
Death
Andrzej Trzaskowski died in Warsaw at the age of 65, from undisclosed causes, and was buried in the city's Powązki Military CemeteryPowązki Military Cemetery
Powązki Military Cemetery is an old military cemetery located in the Wola district, western part of Warsaw, Poland. The cemetery is often confused with the older Powązki Cemetery, known colloquially as "Old Powązki"...
.
Selected Recordings
- The Wreckers (1960, Muza 0133)
- The Andrzej Trzaskowski Quintet (1965, Muza 0258)
- Andrzej Trzaskowski Sextet Featuring Ted Curson "SeantSeant (Andrzej Trzaskowski album)Seant - studio album by Andrzej Trzaskowski Sextet released on Polskie Nagrania in 1966 as Polish Jazz series volume 11. Album features appearance of American jazz trumpeter Ted Curson.-Track listing:Side A:#"Seant" - 9:58...
" (1966, Muza 0378)