Urbaniak Michał, *22 January 1943 Warsaw, Polish violinist, saxophonist (tenor, alto) and jazz composer. He studied violin with M. Szaleski at the Music High School in Łódź and mastered the saxophone on his own. In the late 1950s, he played in Łódź jazz bands Tiger Rag and Modern Combo. In 1961, he began studying violin with T. Wroński at the PWSM in Warsaw. At the same time, he began performing with Z. Namysłowski’s Jazz Rockers group (recordings for Polish Radio, performance at Jazz Jamboree in 1961). In 1962, he became a member of A. Trzaskowski’s The Wreckers group, with which he travelled to the United States for concerts (performances at festivals in Newport and Washington). In 1962–64, he played in K. Komeda’s quintet (including Jazz Greetings from the East, 1964); in 1965, he appeared in the documentary Jazz aus Polen (directed by J. Majewski). From 1965, he lived in Scandinavia, where he performed in jazz venues and clubs. After returning to Poland in 1969, he founded the Michał Urbaniak Group, which consisted of A. Makowicz, P. Jarzębski, Cz. Bartkowski, W. Karolak and vocalist U. Dudziak (then the leader’s wife); this group performed at the Jazz Jamboree (1969–72) and many other prestigious festivals (Nuremberg, Kongsberg, Molde, and Heidelberg). In 1971, Urbaniak was recognised as the best soloist at the Montreux Jazz Festival and received a scholarship from the Berklee School of Music in Boston; in the same year, he performed with the international group Violin Summit during the Berliner Jazztage. In 1973, he recorded the album Parathyphus B (1973) for the West German label Spiegelei. Before leaving for the United States, he gave a concert in Warsaw (Constellation in Concert, 1973). Despite receiving a scholarship, he did not continue his studies, focusing on promoting his own music on the American market; thanks to J. Hammond’s support, he signed a contract with Columbia, which released the album Super Constellation, previously recorded in Germany (in the USA entitled Fusion, 1974). The success of the album enabled the artist to record subsequent albums (Atma, 1974, Fusion III, 1975), which launched the careers of Urbaniak and U. Dudziak in the United States. In 1975, he won the “Down Beat” magazine critics’ poll in the category “talent deserving wider recognition;” the following year, he took second place in the category “jazz violinist.” In 1975–89, he led the band Michal Urbaniak’s Fusion, which included many American musicians, including K. Davis, T. Guerin, H. Williams, R. Burrage, G. Brown, B. Wright, and S. Jordan. This group recorded albums and gave concerts at festivals in Newport, New York, Washington and in jazz clubs (Village Vanguard, Village Gate); it also toured Europe. In the 1970s and 1980s, Urbaniak collaborated with American jazz stars, including G. Benson, L. White, L. Coryell (The Larry Coryell/Michał Urbaniak Duo, 1982, A Quiet Day in Spring, 1984), K. Kirkland, W. Shorter, M. Miller, B. Cobham (Live in London, 1988), R. Carter (Michał Urbaniak Quartet at the Village Vanguard, 1989), J. Zawinul, S. Grappelli, as well as Polish musicians, including U. Dudziak, W. Karolak, W. Gulgowski, B. Kawka, Z. Namysłowski, and W. Sendecki. In 1985, he was invited by M. Davis to collaborate on the album Tutu (he played on the song Don’t Lose Your Mind); in 1987, he took part in recording the soundtrack to the film Siesta (directed by M. Lambert) with Davis’s music. In 1986, he performed with American musicians and W. Karolak at the Jazz Jamboree (for the first time since leaving Poland). Since then, he has appeared on the national stage more and more often – in 1989, he took part in the Komeda żywy concert, he played at the Jazz Jamboree in 1991, and at the Jazz nad Odrą festival in 1992. In 1992, he recorded Manhattan Man, which brought him recognition from critics and fans (the album was ranked third on the “Down Beat” magazine list). In subsequent years, the following were released: Urbanator, 1994; Urbanator II, 1996; Live in Holy City (with symphony orchestra), 1997; Urbaniax, 1998. Urbaniak has also composed music for numerous television programmes, theatre performances, feature films (including Astonished, dir. J. Khan, 1988; Misplaces, dir. L. Yansen, 1989; Pożegnanie jesieni, dir. M. Treliński, 1990; Szuler, dir. A. Drabiński, 1991) and experimental films (including those directed by Z. Rybczyński: Schody, 1987; Czwarty wymiar, 1988; Manhattan, 1991); for the music to the film Dług (dir. K. Krauze, 1999) and the animated film Eden (dir. A. Czeczot, 2002), he received awards at the Polish Feature Film Festival in Gdynia.
Urbaniak, alongside Z. Seifert, is the most outstanding violinist in the history of Polish jazz and the first musician to achieve artistic and commercial success in the United States; he is the only violinist in the world to have collaborated with M. Davis. At the beginning of his career, he played the saxophone; around 1970, he returned to the violin, which became his main instrument (he occasionally reached for the saxophone). He achieved his greatest successes in the 1970s. At that time, he played fusion music, which he enriched with melodic, rhythmic motifs and scales borrowed from Polish folklore. In his playing, he combined a truly jazz sound (he avoided vibrato and ornaments) with brilliant virtuosity. He mainly performed his own themes (Seresta, Fusion, New York Batsa, Bengal); sometimes, he introduced pieces by other composers, e.g. Z. Namysłowski, whose Kuyaviak Goes Funky (from the album Fusion III) became a huge hit. During this period, he made extensive use of electronic devices; he used a five-string violin built especially for him, which he connected to a synthesiser, and numerous sound transducers; he was also one of the first musicians in the world to play an electronic wind instrument called lyricon (including Future Talk, 1978). The sound of Urbaniak’s bands was largely shaped by the timbre of U. Dudziak’s voice (she sang scat and used electronic transducers) – the themes of the songs were often introduced in unison by the violin and the vocalist’s singing.
In the first half of the 1980s, Urbaniak moved away from fusion (Music for Violin and Jazz Quartet, 1980, recordings with Coryell and W. Sendecki) towards music close to the jazz mainstream. In the second half of the 1980s, he began to use synthesisers, samplers and sequencers with the MIDI system again, allowing him to perform and record all parts of a piece on his own and even to record entire albums (including Cinemode, 1988; Songs for Poland, 1989); he also used a special attachment that allowed him to modulate violin phrases with his voice (in this way he achieved the effect known as “talking violin”). In the following years, he successfully followed new trends, combining jazz with hip-hop rhythms (including Urbanator). Mika Urbaniak, daughter of M. Urbaniak and U. Dudziak, is a valued vocalist performing with jazz and alternative musicians.
Literature: R. Waschko Przyspieszony kurs Michała Urbaniaka, “Jazz Forum” 1975 no. 5; J. Byrczek Wszystko widzę przez pryzmat muzyki, “Jazz Forum”, 1977 no. 2; P. Brodowski Urbaniak, “Jazz Forum” 1986 no. 4; B. Milkowski Tajemnice muzyczne Michała Urbaniaka, “Jazz Forum” 1989 no. 1; P. Brodowski Michał Urbaniak Story, “Jazz Forum” 2001 no. 4/5.
