Rebel Spirits
17 episodes - English - Latest episode: 4 months ago - ★★★★★ - 2 ratingsA podcast celebrating some of the greatest talents of jazz in Poland and highlighting the strength and variety of
its vibrant contemporary jazz scene.
Hosted by Debra Richards, brought to you by Culture.pl, the flagship brand of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute.
Homepage Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Episodes
Rogiński x Širom
December 27, 2023 05:00 - 20 minutes - 37.1 MBIn the tapestry of our lives, there are moments when the hand of Fate gently guides us towards unexpected encounters, and such is the enchanting tale of the Slovenian trio, Širom, and the Polish virtuoso guitarist, Raphael Roginski. It's a narrative they eloquently weave, with the resonating echo of Roginski's recording, 'Raphael Rogiński - Plays John Coltrane And Langston Hughes' African Mystic Music,' subtly influencing the course of their musical union. This collaboration transcends mer...
Rybacka x Pasborg
December 20, 2023 05:00 - 20 minutes - 37.9 MBWithin the Rebel Spirits series, a resounding truth emerges: music born from improvisation demands both formidable technical prowess and a receptive, open-hearted approach. Enter 'Voice 'n' Drums,' a collaborative venture between Polish vocalist Ania Rybacka and Danish drummer Stefan Pasborg, representing a bold exploration of one of humanity's most powerful impulses—to connect. Ania Rybacka steadfastly eschews the constraints of musical genres and labels, forging her path through the boun...
Holland Baroque x Bastarda
December 13, 2023 05:00 - 17 minutes - 32.1 MBThe Bastarda’s and Holland Baroque’s joint project marks the inception of one of two captivating collaborations born from a shared reverence for music of eras long past. To pinpoint an exact period would be unwise, but this exceptional fusion of the Bastarda Trio and the Dutch ensemble, Holland Baroque, converges on the concepts, gestures, and dynamics of early music, spanning from the medieval ages to the Baroque era. Yet, as articulated by violinist Judith Steenbrink of Holland Baroque, th...
Dąbrowski x Finsrud
December 06, 2023 05:00 - 22 minutes - 42.4 MBTomasz Dąbrowski received a prestigious commission to craft a composition for the grand finale of the Lodz Summer Jazz Festival, a tribute concert honoring the legendary trumpeter, Tomasz Stanko. Stanko, an internationally renowned figure in the jazz world, served as an extraordinary muse for Dąbrowski, who eloquently captures the enchanting elements that elevated Stanko to his revered status as a musical hero within the jazz realm. Dąbrowski meticulously curated a remarkable ensemble for ...
Wacław Zimpel
January 05, 2023 11:00 - 31 minutes - 28.8 MBAt the heart of a 'Rebel Spirit' is an open mind, and it’s this openness that puts an artist like Wacław Zimpel in a vulnerable place that encourages the development of a musical intelligence that is not only intellectual but also spiritual. Wacław Zimpel has really dived into 'music of the world' as he puts it, to deepen his experience of sound and rhythm and to use his compositions to express something that is primal; at the core of what it is to be human. Wacław may have started his mus...
Piotr Orzechowski aka Pianohooligan
December 29, 2022 11:00 - 22 minutes - 20.4 MBLike the other artists portrayed in Rebel Spirits II, Piotr Orzechowski aka Pianohooligan showed talent and a fiercely original mind at an early age. By his twenties, he'd won competitions and awards and had a clarity about his intention for music-making. There is one comment he made that particularly stood out to me. He said, “I want to revive the spirit of jazz. Step away from academic music. I am awaiting a confrontation.” This is crucial, Piotr knows that at the same time as honoring ...
Aga Derlak
December 22, 2022 05:00 - 26 minutes - 24.8 MBAga Derlak remembers her fascination with music as a young child. And once she began learning piano, she would lose hours in flowing through improvised journeys at the keyboard. This passion led her to gaining a place on the year-long Berklee Global Jazz Institute program. And in this interview, she discusses the impact that has had on many levels of her life. The founder of the project, pianist Danilo Perez, who is part of the incredible Wayne Shorter quartet was a particular influence and ...
Marek Pędziwiatr
December 15, 2022 05:00 - 30 minutes - 41.6 MBIn Marek Pędziwiatr there is a connection between the past and the present. The history of jazz and the African American musicians, who created it, and Polish innovators from Chopin through Krzysztof Komeda and Niemen. Marek is a hub, a central force pulling his golden threads of jazz, hip-hop, classical music, avant-garde, and Slavic folk. But his interest in weaving these genres together is driven by the human experience. Marek is an award-winning musician and composer now based in Wroc...
Joanna Duda
December 08, 2022 05:00 - 25 minutes - 34.7 MBTo describe Joanna Duda as simply a pianist doesn't capture the extraordinary dimensions of the music she produces. Whether touching a broken keyboard, using the sound of a rewinding tape machine, or mixing in field recordings, her innate playfulness allows any instrument to blossom - you get a sense that one of her greatest strengths is to listen attentively to whatever she uses. Joanna is also an incredible editor, cutting and mixing with bold and surprising artfulness. It was a friend o...
Kuba Więcek
December 01, 2022 05:00 - 19 minutes - 26.7 MBIn the history of jazz, there haven't been many musicians that give credit to their playing video games. But as a nine-year-old hardcore player, Kuba Więcek developed an affinity with repetitive practice and now feels the need for strategic thinking and fast decision-making has stood him in good stead as a bandleader today. After a pivotal moment as a teenager, which he talks about in the interview, when he improvised on his saxophone for the first time, his 10 hour-a-day, video gaming habit...
Marcin Masecki
November 24, 2022 05:00 - 27 minutes - 38 MBMarcin Masecki considers that he has two parents, jazz and classical music. As a pianist, he is steeped in the tradition of learning piano as a young child with all the purity and precision that comes with that. In this interview, you get the sense of how that triggered Marcin’s disruptive streak, and how that has been central to his approach to music. There is reverence and intellectual rebellion. Like many accomplished musicians, there is music in his family. Marcin has spoken of his grand...
The Fusionist: Zbigniew Namysłowski
July 29, 2021 12:50 - 29 minutes - 40.4 MBLike most Polish jazz musicians, Zbigniew Namysłowski learned the basics of jazz listening to Willis Conover’s “Jazz Hour”. Originally starting his musical career playing piano, cello and trombone, Namysłowski became infatuated with the saxophone after meeting composer Krzysztof Komeda, who happened to be carrying an alto saxophone with him, on a train. During that chance encounter, Namysłowski gave the instrument a try and hasn’t stopped playing the saxophone ever since. His original e...
The Virtuoso: Adam Makowicz
July 15, 2021 14:44 - 24 minutes - 33.4 MBAdam Makowicz grew up in a house where a piano was the centre of the home. His mother had long planned for him to become a classical virtuoso, but a meeting with a musician who introduced him to jazz changed this path completely. Adam packed his bags and left for Kraków, where he moved into a jazz nightclub and immediately became part of the city’s jazz scene. It was here where his thorough classical education and incredible talent led him to create his unique virtuoso style, one that merg...
The New Yorker: Michał Urbaniak
July 01, 2021 12:49 - 29 minutes - 41.1 MB“Polish jazz group - 100$ a night” Displayed on the posters in Michał Urbaniak’s band’s van while playing across Europe in the 60s, this hippy travelling player was soon to become one of the most innovative Polish jazz musicians in history. Though his European career was quickly evolving, the old continent simply didn’t feel like enough. From a very young age, Michał knew at heart that he was a New Yorker, eventually jumping at the first chance he got to move to the world’s jazz capital...
The Pioneeer: Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski
June 17, 2021 12:46 - 31 minutes - 43.5 MBIt may be hard to believe, but when Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski started playing music, jazz was censored in Poland. As a result of Stalin’s cultural politics that governed what kinds of art and culture could be consumed in the country, anything that may have been associated with western imperialism was formally excluded from public life. However, these rigid policies only made jazz more appealing, leading many young people across the country, like Ptaszyn, to fall in love with it. After Stalin’...
The Queen: Urszula Dudziak
June 17, 2021 12:45 - 31 minutes - 43.2 MBUrszula’s love for unruly musical experiments got her kicked out from music school when she was a young girl. A few years later, like many young Poles, she stumbled upon The Voice of America - a radio station meant to bring American culture and censorship-free news to people locked up behind the Iron Curtain. This program is where Urszula heard jazz for the first time. Blown away by the uniqueness of the music, one of the voices she heard marked her particularly - the voice of Ella Fitzger...
Announcing Rebel Spirits
April 14, 2021 15:22 - 1 minute - 2.46 MBA podcast about five Polish jazz musicians who came of age in the 1950s and became mesmerised by the music they heard on the outlawed American radio station Voice of America. You’ll hear about difficult decisions, compromises, and longing for a better world. How they went from learning to play jazz from worn-out vinyls to becoming icons that continue to inspire the music world today. Hosted by Paweł Brodowski, brought to you by Culture.pl, the flagship brand of the Adam Mickiewicz Instit...