It may be hard to believe, but when Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski started playing music, jazz was censored in Poland. As a result of Stalin’s cultural politics that governed what kinds of art and culture could be consumed in the country,  anything that may have been associated with western imperialism was formally excluded from public life. However, these rigid policies only made jazz more appealing, leading many young people across the country, like Ptaszyn, to fall in love with it. After Stalin’s death in 1953, Ptaszyn entered the newly re-born jazz scene with a bang and quickly became the epitome of the genre. Not only one of Polish jazz’s most brilliant musicians, Ptaszyn is also seen by many as its voice. For over 50 years he’s hosted  “45 Minutes of Jazz” a Polish radio show dedicated to jazz that continues to inspire several new generations of musicians and jazz aficionados.

Time stamps

[01:11] Outlawed music
[03:36] Forbidden love
[04:21] Willis Conover
[06:53] First jazz events
[09:19] Sopot Jazz Festival
[12:54] Warsaw - Newport
[17:26] Polish Jazz records
[20:01] What is Polish jazz?
[21:03] Polish Jazz Quartet
[22:37] The Polish Radio Jazz Studio Orchestra
[24:48] 45 minutes of jazz
[26:28] Cruise ships
[28:05] The end of the communist regime
[28:43] The nineties

Music from the episode

[06:53] Composition: Memory of Bach
Artist: Sextet Komedy
Album: Jazz 56. I Ogólnopolski Festiwal muzyki jazzowej 

[19:42] Composition: One Step Nearer You
Artist: Kurylewicz Quintet
Album: Go Right

[28:33] Composition: Czarownica  
Artist: Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski Sextet
Album: Komeda. Moja słodka europejska ojczyzna

Further reading

• Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski // on Culture.pl

• 'Birds Of A Feather...' The Godfather Of Polish Jazz, Jan 'Birdman' Wroblewski, At Birdland // on top40-charts.com

Watch more

• Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski performing in Poland in 1981 Jan Ptaszyn

• Wróblewski performing at the Sibiu Jazz Festival in 2009

Credits

This episode of Rebel Spirits was hosted by Paweł Brodowski. The show is brought to you by Culture.pl, the flagship brand of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute.

Written by Bartosz Borowiec & Jan Burzyński
Produced by Move Me Media
Hosted by Paweł Brodowski
Edited by Wojciech Oleksiak
Proofread by Adam Żuławski
Translated by Mateusz Schmidt
Design by Dawid Ryski
Scoring & sound design by Wojciech Oleksiak

Copyrights

The publisher would like to thank all copyright owners for their kind permission to reproduce their material. Should, despite our intensive research, any person entitled to rights have been overlooked, legitimate claims shall be compensated within the usual provisions.Meet the godfather and voice of Polish jazz.