Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #262028 in Digital Music Album
• Released on: 2009-05-05
• Running time: 0 seconds

Customer Reviews

Welcome to the music of the genius of jazz - Krzysztof Komeda

Krzysztof Komeda (1931-1969) is the most important artist in the whole history of Polish Jazz and one of the founding fathers of European Jazz. He was called an innovator with a complex of tradition, as well as a romanticist expressing himself in the contemporary idiom, a poet of the piano, a visionary, a genius of jazz. His music reflects not only the romantic tradition of Polish composers like Frederic Chopin, but also echoes the jazz influences of Bill Evans' refinement, Eric Dolphy's revolution, and John Coltrane's freedom from artificial constraints.

The musical genius of Komeda expands the range of expression in jazz by adding a dramatized lyricism, widening the essence of jazz. He was an excellent composer famous for his sparse, sometimes fragmentary but always mysterious melodies, leaving the listener to guess the rest. His movie scores emphasized music and sounds as an equal counterpart to images.

As a jazz musician and composer, Komeda exerted crucial influence on creating an original style, often described as the Polish School of Jazz, which subsequently influenced the whole Polish and European jazz scene.

Komeda's discography embraces hundreds of tracks, live concerts, and home recordings; often leaving jazz fans wondering where to start their musical journey with Krzysztof Komeda. Consequently, for a long time the urging need existed to create a representative collection of Komeda's tunes for a growing pool of jazz fans, which needed an introduction to the music of a great Polish jazz master. This compilation, which consists of a wide-ranging selection from Komeda's artistic legacy, responds to this challenge.

"The Genius of Krzysztof Komeda" includes the most comprehensive collection of Komeda's compositions, jazz tunes, and motion picture themes found on soundtracks from cult movies like "Knife in the Water", "Cul-de-sac", and "Rosemary's Baby". On recordings from this album, Komeda is accompanied by many of his long time collaborators, including Bernt Rosengren, Roman Dylag, Michal Urbaniak, and his most famous apprentice - Tomasz Stanko. A special guest appearance by the band from the contemporary Polish Jazz scene - Simple Acoustic Trio, proves once again that Komeda's music is still alive, continuing to inspire new artists and conquering new hordes of listeners, many decades after Komeda's tragically early death.

Welcome to the music of the genius of jazz - Krzysztof Komeda. We hope you will be coming back for more.