WARSAW: Jan Ptaszyn Wroblewski is an icon of Polish jazz – a legend. Sadly, on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, he passed away at the age of 88.

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Jan Ptaszyn Wroblewski: His leaving is sort of the end of jazz

„One could say that Jan Ptaszyn Wroblewski’s departure, as pathetic as it may sound, is like the end of jazz.” – Juliusz Bolek comments. – „There is only one small consolation that Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski’s music is still with us. There is a huge library in the many recordings and archives of Polish Radio. Fortunately. It somehow alleviates the feeling of emptiness.  It is possible to create an archival online program about jazz from all of this. I think it’s a great idea, although it’s hard to imagine that Jan Ptaszyn Wroblewski will only be with us virtually anymore.”-Juliusz Bolek thinks.

Jan Ptaszyn Wroblewski came from a family of lawyers

Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski, owner: Jan Wróblewski (born March 27, 1936 in Kalisz, died May 7, 2024 in Warsaw) – Polish jazz musician, composer, arranger and conductor, journalist and music critic. 

Jan Ptaszyn Wroblewski played tenor and baritone saxophone. He founded several bands and was involved in many musical projects. From 1970 until his death, he hosted original jazz programs on Polish Radio Program III, including „Three quadrants of jazz”. He was a member of the Academy of Music of the Triple Television. He popularized jazz music in Poland. He also composed film music („Mr. Anatol seeks a million”, „Long live love”) and songs, performed by Ewa Bem, Lucja Prus, Maryla Rodowicz and Andrzej Zaucha, among others. He has created symphonic concerts. He recorded more than a dozen albums of his own, and participated in the recording of dozens of other albums. 

Jan Wroblewski came from a family of lawyers. Parallel to his high school education, he studied at the Elementary Music School in Kalisz, where he learned to play the piano, clarinet and trumpet. During this time, he played in the Kalisz traditional jazz band. 

Mechanizer and musician

Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski studied at the Faculty of Agricultural Mechanization of the Poznan University of Technology, and then at the State Higher School of Music in Krakow. While studying in Poznań, he formed his own ensemble and also collaborated with Jerzy Milian’s Quintet. In 1956, he was invited to join Krzysztof Komeda’s formation. In Komeda’s Sextet he played baritone saxophone. The performance with this group was a professional debut for him; they played at a concert during the opening of the Poznań center of Polish Television, and later (1956-1957) at jazz festivals in Sopot. 

International career

The turning point in Jan Wroblewski’s career is considered to be an audition conducted in the summer of 1958 by George Wein (an American jazz promoter), as a result of which he was engaged to join the International Newport Band and became the first Polish jazzman and the only one from countries behind the so-called Iron Curtain to perform at the Newport Jazz Festival (USA).

The performance of this group was recorded in the film Jazz on Summer’s Day.  After this concert, he performed in many cities in the United States of America, and later in Europe, India, Africa and Asia. In 1964, he performed with his own quartet in a special episode of the German television program „Jazz – gehört und gesehen” (the program „Jazz in Poland”, directed by Janusz Majewski, presented the achievements of the most important performers of the domestic jazz scene). 

Three quadrant jazz

Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski headed the Polish Radio Jazz Studio from 1968 to 1978. The artist’s cooperation with Willis Conover (Jazz popularizer at Radio Music USA) resulted in the creation of the program „Three quadrants of jazz” which he hosted continuously from 1970 until his death. 

Jan Ptaszyn Wroblewski was a founder or joined numerous bands, the more important of which are: „Jazz Believers” (1958-1959),  Andrzej Kurylewicz’s Quintet (1960-1961), „Polish Jazz Quartet” (1963-1966), „Mainstream” (1973-1977), „SPPT Chałturnik” (1970-77), „Extra Ball” Ptaszyn Wróblewski’s Quartet (1978-1984), „Made In Poland” (since 1993).

Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski was a member of numerous bands.

Thank you for reading our article to the end. We invite you to read other cultural publications, which you can find here. News Agency.

AI, Culture /EST/ 7.05.2023 Photo https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27886448

Article Jan Ptaszyn Wroblewski – all that jazz (1936-2024). Death Anniversary is from Agencja Informacyjna.

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