Jazz Music News, Press Releases - KRZYSZTOF KOMEDA QUINTET: Live in Bled 1965

Following Krzysztof Komeda’s Live in Praha 1964, this is another sensational find from the great Polish label GAD Records. Live in Bled 1965 is a never before released concert recording of the Komeda Quintet at the International Jazz Festival in Bled, Yugoslavia, remastered from the original tapes that rested in archives of the RTV Slovenija for nearly six decades. Of special significance is the fact that it features two Komeda’s extended compositions, “Kattorna” and “Svantetic,” that were included in his legendary album Astigmatic (Polish Jazz, vol. 5), recorded half a year later. Astigmatic has been hailed as the greatest Polish jazz album of all time. For the curious fan, it will be interesting to compare both recordings, find differences and similarities. The lineup is quite different, as only two musicians appear on both: the leader at the piano and Tomasz Stańko on trumpet. The personnel on the Bled album is completed by Janusz Muniak on saxophones, Roman Dyląg on bass, and Andrzej Dąbrowski on drums. On Astigmatic they were replaced by Zbigniew Namysłowski, Gunter Lenz and Rune Carlsson, respectively. Adam Baruch wrote the liner notes, in Polish and English. A treasure.