From: owner-basia-digest@smoe.org (basia-digest) To: basia-digest@smoe.org Subject: basia-digest V7 #104 Reply-To: basia@smoe.org Sender: owner-basia-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-basia-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk X-To-Unsubscribe: Send mail to "basia-digest-request@smoe.org" X-To-Unsubscribe: with "unsubscribe" as the body. basia-digest Sunday, October 13 2002 Volume 07 : Number 104 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: First article ["K. S." ] Re: First article [Leslie Brown Osborn ] Re: First article ["Mike Nice" ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 12 Oct 2002 06:33:11 +0000 From: "K. S." Subject: Re: First article Hmmm, I haven't known that it is like this, OK, so here is the translation. Krystyna How we were conquering West?  Myslowita following Basia Trzetrzelewska The Polish group Myslowitz, has started in May this year a European tourne together with Scottish group Simple Minds. Rockmen from Silesia have chance to achieve success that Polish Rock music has never witnessed before. Although there were quite big amount of trials to conquer West. We need to remark right now, that we have had many artistic journeys of Polish musicians to Western countries, that used to have different range and different character. As it is different thing  go to the US for concerts organized by activists of american Polonia, something else performances in small German and Dutch clubs and finally diffrent thing is presence on western lists of hits or participating in prestigious undertakings promoting our artists untill reaching world tops. In the 80s Basia Trzetrzelewska came close to the top. In 1979 she started her life in the USA, where she used to perform before, with group Perfect in centres of Polonia. Singing to the cutlet (chop) for Poles in Chicago was not the biggest dream of ambitious vocalist. When the occasion to record a CD in English for american audience arised, Basia took the risk. Her album Time and Tide was very well received by requireing critics from New York and the singer that was starting as less recognizable girl in group Alibabki, almost in one day transformed into a real star. Quite surprisingly this succes without any precedenses was popularized in Poland only by Marek Niedzwiedzki from radio Trojka ( programm 3). The majority of our music journalists, as if they couldnt have beliveed for such an enormous success, preffered to ignore american debut of Basia, just in case. In the meantime, on the other side of the Ocean she was compared to the best vocalists singing swinging pop. Moreover, as this kind of music was almost totally taken by black artists there, enviously guarding their domain, the success of Basia was even more unbelivable. But after the first album, another came (London Warsaw New York) and the third, probably the best one  The Sweetest Illusion, that strengthened her position on american music market. In the right place at the right time The career of Basia still seem a mistery. Because we dont know what really decided about it. Unquestionable talent? Efficient impresarios? Or maybe a good coincidances  to find oneself in the right time at the right place? Probably, as it usually happenes, all in one. Whatever it was, Basia became and shi still is the best known in America singer from Poland (although my times people dont know that she is Polish K.). The second place in this ranking occupies Urszula Dudziak. When, together with Michal Urbaniak, they went to the US in the mid 70s, they had strong and a bit romantic resolution to interest Americans in kind of jazz that from first tacts was recognizable as music from Poland that hasnt taken too much from its american archetype. Surprisingly  it worked! Urbaniak has obtained a position of lecturer at prestigious Boston jazz college, and soon has been admited to be one of teh best violinist of jazz world, and Urszula Dudziak has recorded first in her life world hit  Papaya, that achieved hihgest places in all world hit lists. This career seemed less surprising to us than later success of Trztrzelewska, as Polish jazz alredy in the 60s was said to be our export product. Polish jazzman were driving arround Europe, inspiring repture of fans, what was each time written carefully in the best those times music magazine Jazz. Great fame gained lullaby of Krzysztof Komeda sung by Wanda Warska in the moovie of Roman Polanski Rosemarys child, and young Tomasz Stanko started to play with good foreign instrumentalists. Very few people were aware of the fact, that in jazz european career is, still one step lower than succes on the other side of the Ocean. We were also a bit spoilt with the fact that for Warsaw jazz festival Jazz Jamboree were comming bests artists on this field, also those from America, and it was easy to compare how do our artists present themselves against the background of the world top. The result of the comparison was quite good. Zbigniew Namyslowski or Janusz Muniak were appearing to be saxophonists not worse than for example Dexter Gordon, and Michal Urbaniak seemed to be even better violin player than Jean Lucia Ponty and Sugercane Harris, together with whom, he recorded later common album. Than, that is in the late 60s and at the beginning of the next decade, jazz was very fashionable in Poland, although young audience were also hoping that something important will happe soon in Polish rock. Unfortunately not too many good things happened. In times when one was hearing with passion long plays of Jimmi Hendrix or Cream, Polish radio was trying to convince Polish audience, that Polish answer for western rock vanguard can be Trubadurzy. It was difficult to hope, that any of our rockmen, routinely driving arround brotherly countries, could interest anybody west of Laba. Although there were some precedents. Dream about the glory In 1966 Czeslaw Niemen recorded in France with the orchestra of Michel Colombier, his great hit Dream about Warsaw. It seemd that this very good song will open for Niemen gate to the world career. But it ended only with the edition of single in France, that has forgotten Niemen very fast. Later Niemen concentrated on work in country and only sporadically was going west without any hope for spectacular success. Its a mistery why people from Pagart (I dont know exactly what it was but probably an association of polish artists or impresarios organising turnesor concerts for artists) thought out to send Niemen to Italy. Those times in Italy there was governing sweet, sugarplum San Remo festival. Niemen suited that as an ox to the carriage. The only effect of Italian journeys became popularised by Niemen pretentious vocalist Farida, whose performances were announced by posters with strange announce Niemen presents Farida (Niemen przedstawia Farida - its ingramatical in Polish as it seems that it was a man, the name of Farida was declinated in a wrong way). _________________________________________________________________ MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 12 Oct 2002 13:25:30 -0700 (PDT) From: Leslie Brown Osborn Subject: Re: First article Absolutely fascinating reading! I've been wanting to know more about the Polish scene for a while and this definitely covers some ground. Interesting that Basia is considered some sort of anomaly! I'm kinda suprised that the Poles don't really claim her, so to speak. It's not like Poland had just been cranking out pop artists on a regular basis to the West! Sheesh, be proud of the one person that did, for whatever reason. (I tend to agree with the author that all three reasons led her her success). I remember Michel Urbaniak from being played on WJZZ back in the day--he is a lot like Ponty but excellent in his own right. You did a fantastic job on the translation, Krystyna--thank you so, so much for giving us access to some very enlightening stuff that we would never have had the chance to know about. This list rocks! Lets keep it active. - --Leslie, working on a Saturday Faith Hill - Exclusive Performances, Videos & More http://faith.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 12 Oct 2002 16:50:55 -0400 From: "Mike Nice" Subject: Re: First article Krystyna, Thanks for all your effort to translate this article! It was very interesting. Mike Faith Hill - Exclusive Performances, Videos & More http://faith.yahoo.com ------------------------------ End of basia-digest V7 #104 ***************************