LPolish Jazz – the world’s oldest jazz record seriessum
Polish Jazz is not just a record series — it is a symbol of artistic freedom, authenticity and timeless quality. Recognised as the world’s oldest continuously released jazz record series, Polish Jazz has been shaping the sound of European jazz for over six decades.
It all began in 1965, when the first album in the Polish Jazz series was released. Featuring the Warsaw Stompers, it marked the birth of a musical phenomenon. Soon after came albums by Andrzej Kurylewicz’s Polish Big Band, Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski’s Polish Jazz Quartet, Zbigniew Namysłowski Quartet, and the Andrzej Trzaskowski Quintet, whose bold free-jazz ideas announced that Polish jazz had its own powerful voice. To date, over 90 albums have been released under the Polish Jazz logo, each one a chapter in an extraordinary musical story.
In post-war communist Poland, jazz was once forbidden. Playing it required courage, and listening to it meant embracing freedom. Inspired by American jazz legends heard on Willis Conover’s Jazz Hour on Voice of America, Polish musicians transformed those influences into something entirely their own. Their music combined lyricism and Chopin-like melancholy with innovation, experimentation and emotional depth. This authenticity quickly captured international attention.
Watch Polish Jazz covers and listen to the music behind them at:
Polish jazz artists went on to conquer the global stage. Krzysztof Komeda, pianist and composer, became a Hollywood legend with iconic film scores such as Rosemary’s Baby. The Novi Singers vocal group, with its clean sound and innovative style, was chosen by DownBeat magazine in 1978 as the best vocal group in the world. Urszula Dudziak revolutionised vocal jazz with electronic sound converters and live voice loops, earning recognition from DownBeat magazine in 1979 as second only to Ella Fitzgerald. Michał Urbaniak performed with Miles Davis and became a pioneer of jazz fusion in the United States.
The heart and symbol of the entire series is Polish Jazz vol. 5 –Astigmatic by Krzysztof Komeda, featuring Tomasz Stańko and Zbigniew Namysłowski. Its legendary cover was designed by Rosław Szaybo, one of Poland’s most influential graphic artists, later artistic director at CBS Records in London and creator of the iconic Polish Jazz logo. This unique fusion of music and visual art makes Polish Jazz truly exceptional — a meeting point of the Polish school of jazz and the Polish school of poster art.
To celebrate the 60th anniversary of Polish Jazz label, Polskie Nagrania has released a double vinyl album that invites listeners on a journey through six decades of groundbreaking sound.
