Adam Makowicz grew up in a house where a piano was the centre of the home. His mother had long planned for him to become a classical virtuoso, but a meeting with a musician who introduced him to jazz changed this path completely. Adam packed his bags and left for Kraków, where he moved into a jazz nightclub and immediately became part of the city’s jazz scene. It was here where his thorough classical education and incredible talent led him to create his unique virtuoso style, one that merged the technique associated with classical music with the vibrance of jazz. In this episode, this standout Polish jazz pianist talks about freedom, beauty and interpretation in jazz music.

Time stamps:

[01:06] The centre of our home
[02:03] Art Tatum
[02:59] Radio
[04:40] Rebel
[05:09] Under the piano
[06:49] Duo with Urszula Dudziak
[09:30] John Hammond
[11:06] Freedom
[13:23] The first polish jazz virtuoso
[14:04] Solo
[15:10] Beauty 
[15:58] New York
[17:34] Martial Law
[19:51] Chopin
[22:20] Home

Read the transcript of this episode

Music from this episode

[07:00] Composition: Darkness and Newborn Light
Artist: Urszula Dudziak and Adam Makowicz
Album: Newborn Light 

[10:08] Composition: Chopin's Willows
Artist Adam Makowicz
Album: Adam 

[20:44] Composition: Prelude No. 24 In D Minor
Artist: Adam Makowicz, Leszek Możdżer
Album: Możdżer vs. Makowicz at the Carnegie Hall 

Further Reading 

• Adam Makowicz // on Culture.pl

• Willis Conover: The American Godfather of Polish Jazz // on Culture.pl

• Interview with Willis Conover // on memory.loc.gov

Further Watching

• Adam Makowicz performing in 1986

• Adam Makowicz performing with Leszek Możdżer

• Unit // Full album

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 Wojciech Oleksiak & Monika Proba
Produced by Move Me Media
Edited by Wojciech Oleksiak
Proofread by Adam Żuławski
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.