MICHAL URBANIAK

Jazz is my life. 

Fusion, reggae, samba, salsa, hip-hop, rap, r&b- it's all jazz to me. 

New York has been my home for over thirty years. It's where I have recorded over sixty records. With music as my travel agency, I have traveled the world. 

Now, thanks to the Internet, I can be at home in all these places.

-Michał Urbaniak

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Michał Urbaniak (born January 22, 1943) is a Polish jazz musician and composer born in Warsaw, playing mainly the violin, lyricon and saxophone during concerts and recordings. He played a central role in the development of jazz fusion in the 1970s and 1980s, and has introduced elements of folk, R&B, hip hop, and symphonic music to jazz.

Biography

Urbaniak started his music education during high school in Łódź, and continued from 1961 in Warsaw in the violin class of Tadeusz Wroński. Learning to play on the saxophone alone, he first played in a Dixieland band, and later with Zbigniew Namysłowski and the "Jazz Rockers", with whom he performed during the Jazz Jamboree festival in 1961. After this, he was invited to play with Andrzej Trzaskowski, and toured the USA in 1962 with his band "The Wreckers", playing at festivals and clubs in Newport, San Francisco, Chicago, Washington, and New York City.

After returning to Poland, he engaged on work with Krzysztof Komeda's quintet (1962–1964). Together, they left for Scandinavia, where, after finishing a couple of contracts, Urbaniak remained until 1969. There he created a band with Urszula Dudziak and Wojciech Karolak, which gained considerable success and was later to be the starting point for the famous "Michał Urbaniak Fusion".

After Urbaniak returned to Poland and the violin (which he abandoned for the saxophone during the time in Scandinavia), he created the self-named "Michał Urbaniak Group", to which he invited, among others, Adam Makowicz (piano) and Urszula Dudziak (vocals). They recorded their first international album, Parathyphus B, and played on many festivals, including Jazz Jamboree in 1969–1972. During the Montreux'71 festival, Urbaniak was awarded "Grand Prix" for the best soloist and scholarship by the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston. After many triumphant concerts in Europe and the USA, in May 1973 he played for the last time before a Polish audience and emigrated with Urszula Dudziak on September 11, 1973, to the United States, where he now lives as US citizen.

In spite of getting an award from Berklee, he did not study there. Recommended by John H. Hammond, Urbaniak signed a contract with Columbia Records, who published the west-German album Super Constellation under the name Fusion. For the promotion tour, he invited Polish musicians, including Czesław Bartkowski, Paweł Jarzębski, and Wojciech Karolak. In 1974, Urbaniak formed the band Fusion, and introduced melodic and rhythmic elements of Polish folk music into his funky New York based music. Urbaniak followed his musical journey with very innovative projects like: Urbanator ( first band fusing rap & hip-hop in jazz), "Urbanizer" (project with his band and 4 piece R&B vocal group - 1978) and UrbSymphony, (where on Jan. 27th 1995 jazz group with rapper and Apple computer played concert and recorded cd & dvd with 60 piece full symphony orchestra)

Since 1970 Urbaniak is playing on a custom-made, five string violin furnished especially for him, violin synthesizer called "talkin'" violin, soprano, alto and tenor saxophones and on lyricon (electric sax-like horn). His fusion with a hint of folklore was becoming popular among the leaders of American jazz, and also provided opportunity for many new musicians (Harold Williams, Steve Jordan, Marcus Miller, Kenny Kirkland, Omar Hakim, and Victor Bailey. He started to play in well known clubs such as Village Vanguard and Village Gate, in famous concert halls such as Carnegie Hall, Beacon Theatre, and Avery Fisher Hall. In this period he played with such stars as Weather Report, Freddie Hubbard, Elvin Jones, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, George Benson, and Billy Cobham.

Urbaniak has invited and has been invited by many other well known jazz stars, including Lenny White, Wayne Shorter, Marcus Miller, Joe Zawinul, Ron Carter, Kenny Barron, Buster Williams and Quincy Jones. In 1985, he was invited to play during the recording of Tutu with the father of fusion, Miles Davis. Davis is reported to have said on this occasion: "Get me this fucking Polish fiddler, he's got the sound!"

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Leader, Composer, Arranger , Violinist, Saxplayer & Multiinstrumentalist 

Miles Davis, George Benson, Herbie Hancock, Quincy Jones, Larry Coryell, Kenny Garret, Kenny Barron, Ron Carter, Eumir Deodato,Stephane Grappelli,Oliver Nelson, Lenny White, Larry Young, John Hendricks, Joe Williams, Elvin Jones,Buster Williams, Joe Henderson, Johny Griffin, Ted Curson, Astor Piazzolla, Freddy Hubbard, Tom Browne, Steve Gadd, Anthony Jackson, Victor Bailey, Omar Hakim, Bernard Wright, Marcus Miller and many others.

"As a boy prodigy violinist, I played many recitals and concerts with philharmonic orchestras. I took part in competitions for adults and was awarded a scholarship to study in Moscow with the famous David Ojstrach. At the same time I fell in love with American Jazz along with it's culture and a passion for this other musical life began to emerge. One might say that after I began to play Jazz I felt as though a second musical identity came to being. Dr. Jekyll was the straight A student in music school practicing intensely everyday until the afternoon. After which Mr. Hyde would appear experimenting with the new sound of Jazz at local clubs and bars. I dreamed of a time in my life when these two musical identities of mine could be combined somehow.

However, much time passed before my dream could become a reality. I made a promise to my mother that I would not take that scholarship for violin in Moscow. I put the violin aside altogether and began traveling the world as a young saxophonist. I left Poland for good knowing that playing with promising young musicians who played real American Jazz there is more to learn than anywhere in Europe, at least at that time. So I finally came to live in the New York I dreamed of for years and the victory was sweet. 

Eight years after I thought I had given up the violin for good I dusted it off and arduously began to teach it to play Jazz as I had done with the saxophone. As a jazz violinist I started a band in which I began connecting the music of my youth and all my experiences of jazz, rock and funk. I was never indifferent to what I heard around me and that is how Fusion came to exist. The experimentation of many musical elements and seeing how they can be used to compliment and ignite eachother was fascinating. In New York I discovered a group of incredible young musicians from Jamaica Queens whose innocence, passion, professionalism and profound precision enabled this experimentation to take place. After playing Fusion for a while my music began to evolve further into Acid Jazz; combining the melodic soul of Jazz with the then very fresh beats of Hip hop. 

Shortly after the release of Urbanator I felt the need to introduce my classical roots to the new sound of Hip Hop. An official meeting of both loves was due. So, on 27th of January 1995, for the first time in the history of music, a rapper preformed with a philharmonic orchestra. That day I had proved to myself that which I knew always to be true: God created music and people devided it into categories. "

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Michal Urbaniak, jazz saxophonist, violinist, composer and arranger; born 22 January 1943 in Warsaw.

As a student of the Music Secondary School in Lodz, Urbaniak played in a Dixieland band Tiger Rag. A self-taught saxophonist, he enrolled at the National Higher School of Music in Warsaw in Tadeusz Wronski's violin class in 1961, simultaneously approaching Zbigniew Namyslowski's Jazz Rockers, the band with which he would have his debut at the "Jazz Jamboree" Festival in Warsaw the same year. The following year he left for the United States to concertise in jazz clubs with Andrzej Trzaskowski's quintet The Wreckers and to appear at jazz festivals in Newport and Washington. In 1962-64 he played in Krzysztof Komeda's Quintet, and in 1965 appeared in the film "Jazz aus Polen", made by Joachim Berendt for West-German television. In 1965-68 he stayed abroad, mostly in Scandinavia, playing and recording with the local musicians.

After he had returned to Poland, he led the Michal Urbaniak Group which included, in different periods, Adam Makowicz (piano), Pawel Jarzebski, Michal Komar and Janusz Kozlowski (bass), Czeslaw Bartkowski and Andrzej Dabrowski (drums) and Urszula Dudziak (vocal). It was with the Group that Urbaniak released his first foreign record, Parathyphus B, in 1970 to a wide "Jazz Podium" readership acclaim. The Group was active from 1969 to 1972, and Urbaniak appeared with it at the Jazz Jamboree festivals in 1969-72 and at the European festivals in Nurnberg, Kongsberg, Molde, Heidelberg and Montreux (Grand Prix in 1971). In 1971 he performed with Violin Summit at the Berliner Jazztage and took part in Wolfgang Dauner's jazz workshop. In May 1973 he played a farewell concert to the Polish audience and, accompanied by his wife, Urszula Dudziak, left for the United States. Although he had received a scholarship, he did not take up studies at the Berklee College of Music. Instead, with John Hammond's support, he signed a recording contract with Columbia, and the label released his West-German record Super Constellation under the name of Fusion in the US. The record's promotional concerts featured Polish jazz musicians Czeslaw Bartkowski, Pawel Jarzebski and Wojciech Karolak. Urbaniak's next Columbia records, Atma and Fusion III, sparked off a streak of success for himself and Urszula Dudziak in America.

In 1975-89 he led the group The Michal Urbaniak Fusion with young American musicians such as Kenny Davis, Tom Guerin, Harold Williams, Ronnie Burrage, Joe Caro, Basil Farrington, Gerald Brown, Bernard Wright and Steve Jordan. Together they recorded and concertised in prestigious jazz clubs (Village Vanguard and Village Gate), concert halls (Carnegie Hall) and festivals (New York, Newport and Washington). Urbaniak appeared a number of times in Europe, touring the UK, France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Sweden. He worked with the big names of jazz, including George Benson, Lenny White, Wayne Shorter, Marcus Miller, Billy Cobham, Joe Zawinul, Ron Carter, Stéphane Grappelli and Miles Davis (on the Tutu project). After a thirteen-year break Urbaniak visited Poland in 1986 and performed at the Jazz Jamboree with his American Michal Urbaniak Constellation. Since then he has kept in close touch with his home country, playing in the "Komeda zywy" / "Komeda Live" concert in 1989, at Jazz Jamboree in 1991, at the "Jazz nad Odra" festival in 1982 and at Zbigniew Namyslowski's jubilee concert in 1994.

Urbaniak has also composed theatre, film and TV scores for Polish and foreign productions. His scores to Krzysztof Krauze's Dlug / The Debt and to Andrzej Czeczot's Eden won him awards at the Polish Feature Film Festival in Gdynia in 1999 and 2002, respectively. He has come top in a number of Polish and foreign music magazine rankings: was named no. 2 tenor saxophonist by "Jazz" readers in 1962-63 and was Down Beat's critics choice in talent deserving wider recognition in 1975, no. 2 jazz violinist in 1976 as well as no. 2 record of the year, no. 5 musician of the year, no. 5 jazz electronic combo, no. 9 composer and no. 4 violinist in 1992. Readers of the "Jazz Forum" magazine have voted him the violinist of the year several times.

Source: http://www.culture.pl/en/culture/artykuly/os_urbaniak_michal

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Once Poland's most promising import in the jazz-rock 1970s, Michal Urbaniak's chief value in retrospect was as a fellow traveler of Jean-Luc Ponty, a fluid advocate of the electric violin, the lower-pitched violectra, and the lyricon (the first popular, if now largely underutilized wind synthesizer). Like many Eastern European jazzmen, he would incorporate elements of Polish folk music into his jazz pursuits, and his other heroes range from the inevitable Miles Davis to Polish classicist Witold Lutoslawski. His electric violin was often filtered with a gauze of electronic modifying devices, and on occasion, he could come up with an attractively memorable composition like "Satin Lady." 

Urbaniak began playing the violin at age six, followed by studies on the soprano and then tenor saxophones. His interests in jazz developed chronologically from Dixieland to swing to bop as he grew up, and he studied at the Academy of Music in Warsaw while working in various Polish jazz bands and playing classical violin. In 1965, he formed his own band in Scandinavia with singer Urszula Dudziak (later his wife), returning to Poland in 1969 to found Constellation, which included pianist Adam Makowicz. Having won a scholarship to the Berklee School upon being voted Best Soloist at the 1971 Montreux Jazz Festival, Urbaniak made the U.S. his home in 1973. He soon formed a popular jazz-rock group called Fusion, recording for Columbia and Arista in a Mahavishnu Orchestra/Ponty fashion, with Dudziak adding darting, slippery scat vocals. This group lasted until 1977, and Urbaniak's profile would never be as high again, although he performed with Larry Coryell in 1982-83, led the new electric group Urbanator in the 1990s, and has performed and recorded in other styles ranging from bop to free jazz. ~ Richard S.

Born: January 22, 1943, Warsaw, Poland
Active: '70s, '80s, '90s, 2000s
Genres: Jazz
Instrument: Violin, Lyricon, Sax (Tenor)

Source: Ginell, All Music Guide

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Legendary jazz sesions featuring master virtuoso jazz violinist Michal Urbaniak 
With legendary jazz rhythm section featuring jazz greats like Ted Dunbar, Kenny Barron, Buster Williams, Roy Haynes.
A must-hear!!
Michal Urbaniak is one of the biggest EuropeaNew York jazz stars. Violinist, Saxophonist, composer, arranger, developer of young talents. Since 1973 has lived in New York. Michal Urbaniak became a world famous jazz star after he recorded the “TUTU” album with the greatest Miles Davis. He is also leader and founder of Urbanator Band
Worlds leading legendary Jazz Violinist, Leader, Composer & Arranger. One of the few main creators of Fusion of 70s, 80's and Acid Jazz of 90s & 21th Century. 
Symphonic works & Film music for 15 full feature soundtracks to his credit. Recorded over 40 albums under his own name in the USA. 
Came to U.S. in 1973 from Europe and live in New York. Won Grand Prix Mantraux Jazz Festival for the best soloist. Many times winner of Down Beat Magazine's Readers Poolas Best Violin Player and in top 10 as Musician of the Year,Record of the year, Composer, Arranger, Electric Group of the year and Misc. Instruments-Lyricon. His Recording, "Take Good Care of My Heart" was nominated for the Record of the Year in Down Beat Magazine 1985. 
Toured around the Globe and played most of the Jazz Festivals and Clubs in US and worldwide. Many Television appearances worldwide. Three times guest of world famous Johny Carson's "Tonight Show" on NBC TV. Michal Urbaniak played and recorded (among others) with Miles Davis(Tutu), Quincy Jones(The Wiz), George Benson, Toots Thielmans, Doc Sevrinson, Ariff Mardin, Billy Cobham, Herbie Hancock, Jaco Pastorius, Roy Haynes, Elvin Jones, Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker, Sticks Hooper, John Abercrombie, Larry Coryell, Kenny Garret, Kenny Barron, Ron Carter, Eumir Deodato, Stephane Grappelli, Oliver Nelson, Lenny White, Larry Young, John Hendricks, Joe Williams, Elvin Jones, Buster Williams, Johny Griffin, Ted Curson, Astor Piazzolla, Freddy Hubbard, Tom Browne, Steve Gadd, Anthony Jackson, Victor Bailey, Omar Hakim, Bernard Wright, Marcus Miller and many others.

Source: http://cdbaby.com/cd/urbaniak

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Discography

Paratyphus B (1970)
Inactin (1971)
New Violin Summit (with Don "Sugarcane" Harris, Jean-Luc Ponty, Nipso Brantner, Terje Rypdal, Wolfgang Dauner, Neville Whitehead, Robert Wyatt) (1972)[1]
Super Constellation (and Constellation In Concert) (1973)
Polish Jazz (1973)
Atma (1974)
Fusion (1974)
Funk Factory (1975)
Fusion III (1975)
Body English (1976)
Urbaniak (1977)
Music For Violin And Jazz Quartet (1980)
Serenade for The City (1980)
New York Five at the Village Vanguard (1989)
Songs For Poland (1989)
Milky Way, Some Other Blues, Mardin (1990)
Cinemode (1990)
Songbird (1991)
Burning Circuits, Urban Express, Manhattan Man (1992)
Urbanator (1993)
Code Blue (1996)
Urbanator II (1996)
Urbaniax (1998)
Fusion (1999)
Sax, Love & Cinema (2001)
I Jazz Love You (2004)
Urbanator III (2005)
Jazz Legends" #1 (2006
Jazz Legends" #2 (2007)
Jazz Legends" #3 (2008)
Jazz Legends" Box (all 3 records-2008)

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ZBIGNIEW SEIFERT

Zbigniew Seifert (6 June 1946–15 February 1979) was a Polish jazz violinist.

Seifert was born in Kraków, Poland in 1946. He played alto saxophone early in his career and was strongly influenced by John Coltrane. He devoted himself to jazz violin when he started performing with the Tomasz Stańko Quintet in 1970 and became one of the leading modern jazz violinists before he died of cancer at the age of 32.

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Searching for a Lost Legend

American jazz violinist and composer Zach Brock discovered a posthumous recording of Polish jazz violinist and composer Zbigniew Seifert six years ago by chance in a bargain-basement record store. This discovery forever changed his conception of jazz. The record was entitled, “Passion.” 

A double odyssey, Zach retraces Seifert's musical quest, tragically cut short by cancer at the age of 32 while on his own musical journey - himself, age 32, both men linked by a mutual desire to express the sound of post-Coltrane jazz on the violin. Traveling across the globe to reconstruct the life of an artist racing against mortality to achieve self-expression, Zach awakens in us the question of our own immanent desires by challenging his own. Passion is a testament to the world that affirms, through Zbigniew Seifert, the irrepressibility of human creativity and the phenomenon of a universal expression that transcends nationality and time.

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"Tribute to the great jazz violinist"

Zbigniew Seifert is recognized as one of the great performers of jazz on the violin, and an extraordinary and forward thinking improvisor. Seifert was born in June, 6th, 1946. He began studying the violin at the age of six and ten years later also took up the saxophone. He studied violin at the University Of Krakow, while also playing alto in his jazz group. The music of John Coltrane proved to be a strong influence throughout Seifert's career. The violin took precedence as Seifert' main instrument when he was a member of Tomasz Stanko's quintet from 1969 to 1973. He moved to Germany in 1973, played with Hans Koller's Free Sound from 1974-75 and freelanced with various musicians(including with pianist Joachim Kuhn). Seifert played at the Monterey Jazz Festival with jazz legend John Lewis in 1976 and the following year recorded with Oregon. In the mid to late seventies, Seifert recorded a series of solo records, that established him as one of the most unique voices in jazz, and one of the most sophisticated improvisors on the violin. 

During his career, "Zbiggy" played and recorded with a number of top musicians including Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker, John Scofield, Eddie Gomez, Jack Dejohnette, McCoy Tyner, Phillip Catherine, Billy Hart, Joachim Kuhn, and many others. Seifert passed away at the age of 32 from cancer, leaving a legacy that still influences musicians to this day.

Source: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=115636209

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Zbigniew Seifert

Cracow, Poland (1946 – 1979) 

Zbigniew Seifert (6 June 1946–15 February 1979) was a Polish jazz violinist.

Seifert was born in Kraków, Poland in 1946. He played alto saxophone early in his career and was strongly influenced by John Coltrane. He devoted himself to jazz violin when he started performing with the Tomasz Stańko Quintet in 1970 and became one of the leading modern jazz violinists before he died of cancer at the age of 32.

Source: http://www.last.fm/music/Zbigniew+Seifert

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A masterful improviser who could have ranked at the top with Adam Makowicz and Michal Urbaniak, Zbigniew Seifert's early death robbed Poland of one of its top jazz artists. Seifert started on the violin when he was six and ten years later started doubling on alto sax. He studied violin at the University of Krakow, but when he started leading his own band in 1964, Seifert mostly played alto, showing off the influence of John Coltrane. When he was a member of Tomasz Stanko's very advanced quintet (1969-73), Seifert switched back to violin and largely gave up playing sax. He moved to Germany in 1973, was with Hans Koller's Free Sound from 1974-75 and freelanced (including with Joachim Kuhn). Seifert played at the Monterey Jazz Festival with John Lewis in 1976 and the following year recorded with Oregon. As a leader Seifert (who was affectionately known as Zbiggy) performed music that ranged from free jazz to fusion. Seifert recorded for Muza in 1969, Mood from 1974-76, MPS in 1976 and Capitol from 1977-78. He died of cancer at the age of 32. 

Source: Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

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Rare Interview with Zbigniew Seifert

Zbigniew Seifert is in my opinion unsurpassed in playing post Coltrane jazz on the violin. He started playing the saxophone while studying Classical violin at the Academy of Music in Cracow. He got noticed playing around Europe in the early 70ies. For more biographical information see Scott Yanow's article on www.allmusic.com . Seifert refers to the recording Man of the Light on MPS and the self titled Zbigniew Seifert on Capitol in the interview. His last recording, Passion, was for Capitol and featured John Scofield, Richard Beirach, Eddie Gomez, Jack DeJohnette and Nana Vasconcelos. Seifert died of cancer February 15th, 1979, at the age of 32. 

This interview was translated by Michał Markiewicz and corrected by Grzegorz Tusiewicz. Many thanks! Thanks also to Mr. Tusiewicz for obtaining permission from the interviewer Mr.Antoni Krupa of the Polish Radio Krakow for publication on my website. The interview is taken from side four of a live recording on PolJazz (PSJ-101 & PSJ-102) by Seifert called Kilimanjaro. All of the recordings mentioned are featured on my online radio station.

Part One

Zbigniew Seifert: Recently I worked less than 3-4 years ago. Simply, I focused on working on two records. One of them I recorded in the U.S. for CAPITOL and right after the second one for MPS in Germany. I needed a lot of concentration while preparing this material, discussing it with producers, etc. Right now, I played pretty similar repertoire to one I recorded but there was some problem. Namely, it is hard to reproduce this repertoire with different musicians you made records with. I want to say that these people are not worse but less experienced. Also it was hard to play it live because I felt it was not so entertaining comparing to recordings in studio. These were minor problems but made me stop playing so often.
Interviewer (Antoni Krupa): From what you said, I understand you got your own band because all these recordings were made with musicians you had chosen exclusively for it?
ZS: Unfortunately it happened that way. I tried to go on tour in fall with guys I made record for MPS: Billy Hart (percussion), Cecil McBee (bass), and Joachim Kuehn (piano). We had to call it off for many reasons. We did not manage to play on Jazz Jamboree in Warsaw and on Zaduszki in Cracow. We did not make it but I believe that it is possible to organize at least one tour per year in Europe with such musicians I talked about. I’m aware that it can’t be a regular band because for instance these musicians played with stars like Stan Getz, etc. They are pretty busy considering that music is the only thing they do for living. Apart from that, I have one 'changeable' group that works for almost three years and it is called Various Spheres.
INT: What does it mean?
ZS: It means crazy spheres or something. We invented the name ourselves.
INT: You working with these people? Who is playing in that band?
ZS: There was Janusz Stefański, Hans Hartmann -Swiss bassist and Belgian pianist Michel Heer. In the second 'lineup' there was Adelhard Reudinger (bass), Lala Kovacev- percussionist from Max Greger`s Orchestra and also a great friend of mine. Right now, we are not playing at all therefore I cant say who is going to play next time.
INT: Is it changing?
ZS: Yes, each time it is different playing with different people and maybe it sounds ridiculous but each time I select musicians to the music I want to play.

Part Two

INT: As far as I remember you were (even when in Cracow) fascinated by the music of John Coltrane. While reading reviews of your records and concerts I noticed that there is one major idea that you transposed Coltrane`s manner of playing and phrasing from his sax onto your violin. Can you say something about it?
ZS: It is true, I did it consciously. While playing violin I tried to have an impression of playing different instrument, I tried to get different sound from typical violin sound.
INT: With obtaining the major ideas of Coltrane`s playing?
ZS: Yes, phrasing and articulation. And first of all- the way of thinking. As a matter of fact it is the most important.
INT: While graduating the Academy of Music in Cracow, many professors considered you as a promising violinist. I remember also your hesitations of changing the instrument. That time you quit violin sacrificing your work for playing alt sax. This was your start in jazz and also fascination of sax. Right now back to violin?
ZS: At this moment you exposed me, because my beloved professor Tawroszewicz will hardly believe it while listening to it.
INT: You let him down?
ZS: Sort of
INT: But now you’re playing violin again and that is going to make him happy.
ZS: I believe he is not very anxious about it. I saw him just yesterday. It was casual meeting. As for violin, it was sudden decision. Many years ago when we were playing for he first time abroad with Stańko`s quintet, I started to dream about my sax. But when I bought it (it was Selmer, golden one) for lower price, from this moment I started to play sax less and less. It was some kind of a rule, you know, a crucial point.
INT: do you play sax yet?
ZS: I played less and less because no matter what kind of band I played in more interesting for me was to play violin. Simply, it was something different more original and rare. Also I had to overcome many unknown problems while playing jazz on violin. Therefore I did not have time to practice sax and in course of time I played it less ad less, and right about now I’m playing violin only. But sax is my honorary instrument.

Part Three

INT: It is very fashionable to play music popularly called jazz-rock or something between light music and jazz. What do you think about it?
ZS: It is subjective but my opinion about that music is rather negative. As a mater of fact, I became a bit disaffected after and during recording for CAPITOL.
INT: Is this record in such a mood, such a style?
ZS: Sort of, but not so much because my playing has nothing to do with standard phrasing and style of this music. One way or another, in my opinion it is some kind of trend that was started by couple of superb musicians like Herbie Hancock, Chic Corea, etc. And these musicians as usually are doing it great.
INT: Do you think they’re doing it whole-heartedly or it is a whim?
ZS: Absolutely whole-heartedly. That is why they are great. They are doing it whole-heartedly and with absolute, unequalled perfection. Therefore they can let themselves play this way. There is also the other point- commercial aspect. It is pretty visible when you go to the U.S. and have something to say or record something or meet people to talk it over, from the very beginning there is a question: "What do you play?. Because we need something new but when you propose to play something new, something original it turns out that it’s ok but you have to add another two guitars, synthesizer and strings for coloring the sound. Even Don Cherry had these kind of problems when I met him in studio in N.Y. I was completely upset during the recording because producers were fixing incidental music to my improvisation (of course all on the separate tracks). They were doing things about which I had no idea. I sat there sadder and sadder. I was only looking and listening to it. And later on, I met Don who said that he had the same problem and that the most important thing is to reach as many people as possible regardless some stylistic concessions. He tried to comfort me and I think himself as well.
INT: Yes, it looked that way. So right now the most creative people , the most creative environment comes from Europe. I mean, as far as some new searches and projects are concerned. Do you agree?

ZS: Yes, however a lot of music played in Europe is non-jazz. There is a lot of jazz-related music, that is improvised but without fundamental jazz feeling.

Part Four

INT: What do you think about records you made so far and which one satisfies you most?
ZS: It is the record made in Europe in Germany for MPS. It is simply the record on which I placed all my musical dreams and desires from recent time. I’m absolutely proud of this record.
INT: It is titled...
ZS: Man of the light
INT: Who is playing on it with you?
ZS: Billy Hart (percussion), Cecil McBee (bass), Joachim Kuehn (acoustic piano) Jasper van Hoef (Yamaha keyboard)
INT: Jasper Van Hoef is well-known for Polish audience because couple of times he played here. And even recently he was in Cracow with his band Toto Blanke Electrics. Unforgettable impressions from this concert that was played in 'Pod Jaszczurami' club. So , thank you for coming , thank you for this interview and I want to wish you not to have more problems with completing musicians to play along with. And I wish you to release as many records as possible. Also we would like to see you and your band playing concerts in Poland. I think it is possible...
ZS: As soon as there some good tournee with good musicians is coming, I’ll definitely come to Poland.
INT: Thank you

Source: http://www.jazzfiddlewizard.com/Seifert.htm

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Discography

Kunstkopfindianer (1974, MPS Recosds- with Hans Koller)
Man of the Light (MPS Records - 1976)
Solo violin (EMI - 1976)
Kilimanjaro (1979, PSJ-101 by PolJazz)
Kilimanjcro vol. 2 (1978, PSJ-102 by PolJazz)
Violin (1978, Vanguard - with Oregon)
Zbigniew Seifert (Capitol Records - 1977)
Passion (Capktol Records - 1978)
We'll Remember Zbiggy (Mood Records - 1979)

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