Muniak Janusz, *3 June 1941 Krakow, †31 January 2016 Kraków, Polish tenor and soprano saxophonist, flutist. He graduated from PŚSM in Krakow. In 1960, he made his debut in W. Miszczak’s band in Lublin, and in 1963, he started cooperation in Kraków with T. Stańko and A. Matyszkowicz’s Jazz Darings band. In 1964, he performed for the first time at the Jazz Jamboree Festival in Warsaw in A. Trzaskowski’s quintet, with which he collaborated until 1967; with this band, he made his first foreign trip to Belgium (recordings for Belgian radio), and also recorded the albums The Andrzej Trzaskowski Quintet (1965) and The Andrzej Trzaskowski’s Sextet “Seant” (1966). In 1967–73, he played in T. Stańko’s quintet (with Z. Seifert, B. Suchanek, J. Stefański), recording albums (including Music for K., 1970; Jazz Message from Poland, 1972; Purple Sun, 1973) and performing many times in many European countries, in clubs and at festivals. He also collaborated with K. Komeda, J. Jarczyk, SPPT Chałturnik and Jazz Studio in Polskie Radio. In 1976, he founded his own quintet (J. Bezucha, M. Bliziński, A. Dechnik, P. Perliński), then a quartet (J. Bezucha, A. Dechnik, J. Śmietana). He also played with foreign musicians, including F. Hubbard, H. Jones, Ch. Ventura, H. Mobley. From 1992, he ran the U Muniaka jazz club in Krakow. Muniak had a wide range of styles at his disposal, from free to mainstream, as well as jazz-rock and pop (accompaniment to songs). Muniak’s most important albums: Question Mark, 1978; Placebo, 1982; Janusz Muniak Quartet; You Know These Songs, 1994; Hot So Fast, 1996.
