Bem Ewa, *23 February 1951 Warsaw, Polish jazz vocalist and singer. She started her artistic career in 1969 in the Blues Group Stodoła (performance at the Jazz nad Odrą Festival in 1970); simultaneously, he cooperated with Z. Seifert’s Quartet. As a soloist, she performed at the Jazz Jamboree Festival in 1970. Soon, together with her brother Aleksander and Andrzej Ibek, they set up a band called Bemibek (concert at Jazz Jamboree in 1971, performances in the country and abroad, radio recordings). After personal changes, the band got a new name, Bemibem (1974–77), and recorded an album Bemowe frazy. Bemibem in 1974. While performing with this group, Bem was also developing her solo career, cooperating with J. Jarczyk’s band (1974), J.P. Wróblewski’s group Mainstream (1975), H. Majewski’s Swing Session (album Be a Man, 1981), and later with E. Kulm Quintessence (1991) and Walk Away (1993). She also performed with M. Bliziński (album Dla Ciebie jestem sobą, 1986), J. Muniak, Z. Namysłowski, W. Karolak, and A. Jagodziński, who is her constant accompanist and arranger. She is a laureate of many festivals (e.g. the National Festival of Polish Song in Opole in 1971, 1979 and 1980; Jazz nad Odrą Festival in Wrocław in 1971), and numerous plebiscites and music surveys, i.a. of the monthly “Jazz Forum.” In 1993, she recorded albums Dziennik mej podróży and Żyj kolorowo, and in 1997 Bright Ella’s Memorial, which was a tribute to Ella Fitzgerald; in 2001, the album Mówię tak Myślę Nie was released (Fryderyk Award – album of the year), and in 2007 album Kakadu. After the break from giving concerts (2017–2021), caused by a personal tragedy, she returned to the stage (album Live, 2021).
Ewa Bem, the first lady of Polish jazz, had belonged to the group of the most popular Polish female vocalists since the 2nd part of the 1970s. She has a characteristic voice with a warm, slightly dull tone, a wide range of expression means and improvisatory talent which predispose her to perform swing, standard jazz, blues, bossa nova as well as various kinds of pop. Her most famous hits include: Dzień dobry Mr. Blues, I co z tego dziś masz, Kolorowe lato, Miłość jest jak niedziela, Moje serce to jest muzyk, Podaruj mi trochę słońca, Sprzedaj mnie wiatrowi, Wyszłam za mąż, zaraz wracam, and Żyj kolorowo.
