Śmietana Jarosław, *29 March 1951 Kraków, †2 September 2013 Kraków, Polish jazz guitarist and composer. He learned to play the guitar at the PSSM in Krakow, then graduated from the Faculty of Jazz and Popular Music at the PWSM in Katowice, and in 1971 and 1972, he participated in jazz workshops in Chodzież, where he improved his guitar playing under the supervision of M. Bliziński. In 1972, together with the Hall band, he won a distinction at the Jazz nad Odrą festival in Wrocław, and in 1972–73, he collaborated with the jazz-rock group Dżamble and Klaus Lenz’s big band in Berlin; during his studies, he played in the PWSM big band, with which he performed at the Jazz nad Odrą festivals (1975, 1976), Jazz Jamboree (1975), and in Prague (1977); he also went on a concert tour of academic centres in the United States. In 1973–84, he led his own band, Extra Ball, which brought him popularity as a guitarist and composer (awards at the Jazz nad Odrą festival in 1974 and 1975, albums Birthday, 1976; Go Ahead, 1979); in 1980, the band toured the United States. In 1984–92, Śmietana was the leader of the bands Sounds and Symphonic Sound. Śmietana collaborated with all the leading Polish jazz musicians: Z. Seifert (Kilimanjaro), S. Kulpowicz, H. Majewski, Z. Namysłowski, J. Ptaszyn Wróblewski, T. Szukalski, W. Karolak (Phone Consultations, 1996), P. Wojtasik, P. Baron, A. Czerwiński, A. Cudzich, E. Bem and A. Zaucha; he also often performed and recorded with foreign artists: Harvie Swartz, John Abercrombie (Speak Easy, 1999), Brad Terry, Carter Jefferson, Eddie Henderson, Idris Muhammad, Art Farmer (Plays Standards, 1998), Gary Bartz (African Lake, 2000), and since 2001 with violinist Nigel Kennedy. In 1998, together with, among others, W. Karolak and the Sinfonietta Cracovia orchestra, he recorded Ballads and Other Songs (Fryderyk Award in the “jazz album of the year” category). In 2004, together with his own band and a galaxy of Polish jazz stars and rappers, he recorded A Story of Polish Jazz. He has performed throughout Europe, the United States, and India, and participated in many jazz festivals around the world.
Śmietana combined tradition with modernity; he called out both classical guitarists (Wes Montgomery, Jim Hall, Kenny Burrell, Joe Pass, George Benson) and contemporary ones (Bill Frisell, Pat Metheny, John Scofield, John Abercrombie, Mike Stern). His playing was characterised by a melodious character of the melody, interesting harmony, and even dynamics; in compact, imaginative improvisations he combined brilliant technique, sound discipline and colour imagination; he attached great importance to the natural sound of the electric guitar, although he also occasionally used electronic pickups. From the middle of the 1970s, he was considered the most popular Polish jazz guitarist and took leading positions in the surveys of the “Jazz Forum” periodicals (in the categories: best guitarist, composer, leader, album of the year) and “Guitar and Bass”.
