Krzysztof Komeda - Early Life

Early Life

Born Krzysztof Trzcinski, he used Komeda as a stage name due to the Communist government's dislike of jazz. He grew up in Częstochowa and Ostrów Wielkopolski where in 1950 he graduated at the Gymnasium for Boys (gender-separated high school). While at school, he participated in the Music and Poetry Club. After graduating from high school he entered the Medical Academy in Poznań to study medicine. He finished six-year long studies and obtained a medical doctor diploma in 1956. He chose to specialize as an otolaryngology physician.

He took music lessons from early childhood; to become a renowned virtuoso was his dream. He became the member of the Poznań conservatoire at the age of eight, but the war thwarted his plans. Komeda explored the theory of music, and learned to play piano, during this period and later, until 1950; however, he was aware of the loss of the past six years. Komeda was interested in light and dance music. He met Witold Kujawski, the graduate of the same school and already a well-known swinging bass player, at the gymnasium (high school) in Ostrów Wielkopolski. It was Kujawski who acquainted Komeda-Trzciński with jazz, and took him to Kraków. The romantic period of Polish jazz, called the catacombs, had its day in the spotlight, concert publicity did not exist then. Jam-sessions, in which participated such famous musicians as Matuszkiewicz, Borowiec, Walasek and Kujawski himself, took place in the legendary, small Witold’s apartment in Kraków.

Some years later, it became clear why Komeda was fascinated with be-bop performed by Andrzej Trzaskowski. The fascination with jazz and the friendship with famous musicians strengthened the connections of Krzysztof Trzciński with music, even though he was a doctor by profession. He worked for some time with the first, postwar, pioneer Polish jazz band, a group called Melomani that was from Kraków and Łódź, and which mainstays were Matuszkiewicz, Trzaskowski and Kujawski.

Later on, he played with various pop groups from Poznań. One of them was Jerzy Grzewiński’s group, which soon transformed into dixieland band. Komeda appeared with Grzewiński on the I Jazz Festival in Sopot during August 1956, but he achieved success performing with saxophonist Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski and vibraphonist Jerzy Milian. The reason for that was simple: dixieland did not meet Komeda’s expectations at the time. He was most fascinated with modern jazz. Thanks to this passion, the Komeda Sextet was created. Krzysztof Trzciński used the stage name 'Komeda' for the first time when he worked at a laryngological clinic, and wanted to conceal his interest in jazz from co-workers. Jazz was beginning its struggle for respectability with the communist authorities in the era of 'the thaw' and Polish society also; it was regarded as a cheap suspicious music from night clubs.

The Komeda Sextet became the first Polish jazz group playing modern jazz, and its pioneering performances opened the way for jazz in Poland. He played jazz that related to European traditions and which was the synthesis of two most popular groups at those times: The Modern Jazz Quartet and the Gerry Mulligan Quartet.

During thirteen years that passed after the I Sopot Jazz Festival, the artistic personality of Krzysztof Trzciński became more mature, crystallized and lyrically poetic. Krzysztof was, above all, a constantly searching poet and he could find ways of individual expression of jazz inside himself, in Slavic lyricism, and in the traditions of Polish music. He excelled at creating a poetic atmosphere, and knew better than many others how to reach wide audiences. His music has an unmistakable style and its own, unique tone.