Polish avant-garde jazz was a distinctive scene that was inspired by, but did not merely copy its western influences. The music played a significant role in the cultural anti-communist counter-revolution during the Cold War in Poland.
The history of Polish jazz starts in the 1920s. Jazz music had first been invented by African-Americans in the United States in the early 20th century, and became one of the first forms of truly popular music; it was danceable, its aspect of improvisation could be wild and unpredictable, and the practice of recording albums and pressing records was becoming more commonplace. The genre culturally diffused to Poland after World War I and the Polish-Soviet War. These events asserted Polish power and independence, but deepened the tension between Poland and the Soviet Union. Meanwhile, Jazz continued to grow in popularity as an enjoyable medium in Poland for the next few decades (Culture.pl).
However, World War II was an extremely tumultuous time period for Polish culture, as Nazi Germany’s occupation of the country from 1939 to 1945 ended many Polish lives and ruined others. The end of the war only marked the beginning of another period of occupation. At the Yalta Conference, world leaders were negotiating the division of post-war European countries between the East and the West. American and British leaders surrendered Poland to the dominance of Soviet communist leader Joseph Stalin. The Soviet communist rule in Poland came along with strict bans on culture, to avoid spreading any images related to the capitalist West. Jazz music, having originated in the United States, was quickly banned because it was a symbol of the western enemy. The government did not allow artists to play jazz music on the radio or perform live music. Jazz continued to secretly grow underground, in private homes, and with the formation of the jazz ensemble Melomani in 1947 (Culture.pl).
Joseph Stalin died in 1953, which marked a significant shift for Polish culture. Legal restrictions on culture became more relaxed following this point, and jazz was able to grow significantly as a cultural force (Culture.pl). In 1956, the Sopot Jazz Festival marked the first emergence of jazz from an underground artistry to a major cultural scale, as well as the first legal acknowledgment of jazz. Other sources of spread were the magazine “Jazz” and official jazz clubs. More foreign jazz musicians were coming to Poland in the late 1950s and bringing their influences to the expanding genre. Jazz came to represent freedom, solidarity, and the joy of youth (Culture.pl).
However, even though jazz was allowed more by the government, there was still great political tension marking the genre. Protests against resource shortages and poor working conditions, starting in Poznan in the late 1950s, set the landscape for the content of music. Artists across all genres were increasingly making protests songs with anti-communist messages. Władysław Gomułka became the leader of Poland in 1956 as the head of the Communist party. Many of his actions appeased communists and did not wish to change the system. He instead opted for a “Polish road to socialism”. Gomułka still continued the pattern of more relaxed guidelines for cultural expression. As the conflicts between the citizens and the state grew, which continued to be reflected in popular music, jazz eventually evolved into 3 different styles: dixieland (traditional), straight-ahead (mainstream), and avant-garde (Culture.pl).
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