Wojciech Karolak

Wojciech Karolak ( born May 28, 1939 in Warsaw) is a Polish musician (initially alto sax, then piano and organ) of modern jazz.

Life and work

Karolak had as a child piano lessons and was then formed at the Chopin Conservatory before he studied at the Academy of Music in Krakow. Since 1958, he joined as a saxophone player, first with the Jazz Believers ( with ao Krzysztof Komeda ) before he joined the Matuszkiewicz Quintet ( where he also occasionally moved to the piano ). He also played since 1958in the groups by Jan Wroblewski, with whom he performed with Andrzej Trzaskowski, Don Ellis, Ray Charles and Annie Ross and grossed an album ( " Polish Jazz Quartet ", 1964). Since 1961, he focused on the keyboard and led from the following year his own trio, with whom he also accompanied by traveling jazz soloists. Between 1966 and 1972 he lived in Sweden, where he mainly played dance music, but also worked with Putte Wickman and Leroy Lowe before he appeared in 1972 with Michal Urbaniak and Red Mitchell on several European festivals. In 1973 he returned to Poland to work with Zbigniew Namysłowski. The next year, he toured with Urszula Urbaniak and Dudziak through North America and performed at the Newport Jazz Festival, and then to record the large-sized studded album " Easy". He then managed together with the group Wroblewski "mainstream" to form in the 1980s with Tomasz Szukalski and Czeslaw Bartkowski Time Killers and submit acclaimed recordings. In the 1990s he worked with guitarist Jarosław Śmietana with which he presented three albums. Then he worked with Piotr Baron and Zbigniew Lewandowski in High Bred Jazz Trio, but frequently occurred with Leszek Cichońskis Guitar Workshop.

Karolak also writes for the film and has been with the Orchestra of the Polish Radio as a soloist, arranger and composer. In his arrangements, he combines influences from Gil Evans and Neal Hefti.

Disco Graphical Notes

  • The Karolak Trio ( 1962)
  • Easy ( 1974)

Lexigraphic entries

  • Martin Kunzler, Jazz Encyclopedia Vol 1 Reinbek 2002; ISBN 3-499-16512-0
  • Jazz Pianist
  • Jazz organist
  • Keyboardist
  • Composer (Jazz)
  • Film composer
  • Arranger
  • Fusion musicians
  • Polish musicians
  • Born in 1939
  • Man
Michał Urbaniak Urszula Dudziak Integrated Authority File
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