Wróblewski, Jan “Ptaszyn” (EN)

Wróblewski Jan “Ptaszyn,” “Ptak,” *27 March 1936 Kalisz, †7 May 2024 Warsaw, Polish jazz saxophonist (tenor, baritone), composer, arranger, conductor, publicist, radio journalist, musical critic, and teacher.

He learnt to play clarinet and piano at the Secondary Music School in Kalisz. He set up his first band during his studies at the Poznań University of Technology. He joined K. Komenda’s Sextet in 1956 (primarily as a clarinettist and baritone saxophonist), with which he debuted at a concert celebrating the opening of the TV centre in Poznań. He performed with the Komeda’s ensemble at the 1st and 2nd Jazz Festivals in Sopot (1956 and 1957) and wrote his first songs for it. In 1958–59, he played in the Jazz Believers group. In 1958, he successfully passed the qualifications and was invited by the director of the Newport Jazz Festival, G. Wein, to cooperate with the Newport International Youth Band; he was the only Polish representative in this orchestra (L. Armstrong played with it, among others) and the first Polish jazz musician to perform in the United States. In 1959–61 in Poznań, he led his own quintet (with, i.a., J. Milian), with which he recorded an album for Polskie Nagrania and performed at the festival in Grenoble; at the same time, he collaborated with A. Kurylewicz’s band Moderniści, Poznańska Piętnastka Radiowa and J. Matuszkiewicz’s group. In 1960, he moved to Warsaw, where he founded the Jazz Outsiders band; during this time, he also collaborated as a composer and arranger with the radio orchestras of E. Czerny, A. Kurylewicz and the Studio M-2 band of B. Klimczuk. In 1962–63, he was a member of the Kurylewicz Quintet (concerts in Poland and abroad, the Go Right album, appearances in a regular radio program). In 1963, he was again engaged by K. Komeda, with whom he performed in the Gyllene Cirkeln clubs in Stockholm, and Montmartre in Copenhagen and recorded the album Ballet Etudes / The Music of Komeda (Metronome, 1963). In 1963–66, he played in the Polish Jazz Quartet (W. Karolak, A. Dąbrowski, R. Dyląg), which emerged from Kurylewicz’s group. He performed with this band, among others, at the jazz festival in Juan les Pins (France), in the Blue Note club in Paris and in Germany; in 1964, the group performed at the festival in Bied (Slovenia) and recorded the album Polish Jazz Quartet (1964). In the mid-1960s, Wróblewski led his own bands which included A. Makowicz, M. Kosz, and T. Stańko. From 1967, he directed the Studio M-2 big band, transformed in 1968 into Studio Jazzowe PR. During nine years of activity, the band has featured the best Polish musicians, including T. Stańko, Z. Namysłowski, M. Urbaniak, W. Nahorny, J. Milian, Z. Seifert, A. Trzaskowski, A. Makowicz, J. Muniak, M. Bliziński, T. Szukalski, H. Miśkiewicz and Cz. Bartkowski. The Jazz Studio cooperated with U. Dudziak, K. Prońko, E. Bem, A. Dąbrowski, A. Zaucha, the Novi Singers group, H. Mobley, and N. Davis. The orchestra recorded 187 compositions, and two albums, performed annually at the Jazz Jamboree festival, and gave concerts abroad (Norway, Sweden, Finland, Germany, Hungary). From the 1960s to the end of the 1980s, Wróblewski collaborated (as a composer, arranger, conductor, and soloist) with the Belgian radio band BTR Orchestra. In 1971–79, he headed the SPPT Chałturnik group (including J. Muniak, Z. Namysłowski, T. Szukalski, H. Miśkiewicz, W. Nahorny, W. Karolak), and in 1973–77, together with Karolak, he co-founded Mainstream group (recordings with E. Bem, K. Magnusson, 2 albums, concerts in Poland, Hungary, the Netherlands, Germany, the USSR). In 1975–80, he led the studio Grand Standard Orchestra, and in 1978–81 the Ptaszyn Wróblewski Quartet (tours in the Netherlands, and Czechoslovakia, performance at the Calcutta Jazz Festival in India, concerts in the United States, including at Village Vanguard club). In the 1980s, he led the following bands: New Presentation (1982–84), Ptaszyn Wróblewski & Company (1984–87) and Very Special Blend Orchestra (1985–86) and collaborated with J. Śmietana’s band Sounds (1985–86), and later with his All Stars (1992–94). In the following years, he led: Joint Venture (1993–94), Made in Poland (since 1992), and Ptaszyn Wróblewski Quartet (since 1993). In 2007, he gave concerts in New York. From 1970, he presented the program Trzy Kwadranse Jazzu in the Polish Radio Programme 3, from the 1960s, he collaborated with the “Jazz Forum” magazine (as a reviewer). He was a valued teacher – he lectured in Poland (jazz workshops in Chodzież and Puławy), Germany, Belgium, and Turkey. He received many awards and distinctions, i.a. winner of the Golden Saxophone (1958), 3^rd prize at the international composition competition in Prague (1967), the prize of M. Święcicki (1996), awards at Polish song festivals in Opole (1963, 1970, 1975, 1979); he repeatedly won the “Jazz Forum” poll in the “baritone saxophone of the year” and “arranger of the year” categories. In 1998, he was awarded the Commander’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta, in 2006 he received the Golden Fryderyk Award for lifetime achievement, and in 2007 the Gold Medal for Merit to Culture Gloria Artis.

Wróblewski was one of the most important, versatile, and colourful figures of the Polish jazz scene. As a saxophonist, he was initially influenced by G. Mulligan and S. Rollins; he played modern jazz in Komeda’s and Kurylewicz’s bands, and later performed music that was something in between; he remained faithful to the mainstream style, developed and modified in his formations. His playing style, with the characteristic timbre of the saxophone, excellently constructed improvisations, and expressive swinging, is well recognizable. Wróblewski is considered the most prolific composer of Polish jazz, he is the author of several hundred jazz themes and pieces for larger ensembles (including a symphony orchestra), in which he combines various varieties of jazz, popular and classical music (including Altissimonica). In his compositions, he emphasised the melodic line of the theme, maintained a clear form (with a clear division into thematic and improvised parts), and paid great attention to harmony and colour. Wróblewski was also the most experienced arranger in the history of Polish jazz; his skills, perfected over the years, are best illustrated by arrangements written for the PR Jazz Studio and orchestral compositions. A crucial element of his music was specific humour (song titles), with a penchant for quotations, pastiches, and references to old styles of jazz and popular music. He willingly involved young musicians in his bands who gained stage experience alongside him; among others, J. and W. Niedziela, J. Głód, R. Majewski, K. Stankiewicz, D. Oleszkiewicz and K. Herdzin started their careers in Ptaszyn’s formations. Wróblewski was also one of the most distinguished popularisers of jazz in Poland; his radio broadcasts, during which he presented recordings from his private collection, were (especially in the 1970s and 1980s) a valuable source of information about the history of jazz and current trends. His radio comments and texts were distinguished by their erudition and colourful, imaginative language.

Literature: J. Wróblewski Globtroter, Warsaw 2006.