Polish jazz has a history that spans periods of both acceptance and political repression. The beginning of jazz in Poland is difficult to determine. As early as the 1930s, clubs in Warsaw, Kraków, Rzeszów or Poznań would play jazz. This tended to be swing and some of it was influenced by the traditional classical music. American popular music was in great demand. After the Communist takeover, jazz was initially repressed. Although groups like Melomani existed, jazz was officially condemned and forbidden from the radio. Musicians learned about jazz by listening to a shortwave radio broadcast or smuggling jazz records from abroad. After the death of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, jazz in Poland gained renewed freedom. Krzysztof Komeda became the leader of a modern jazz movement that did not copy the American way of playing but developed its own "European" style, especially with his 1966 album Astigmatic. Artwork: https://www.mixcloud.com/tony-todd Broadcasted on www.nessradio.com
